You Need Love - Some notes from Mick
Track 1: Devil On The Road
(Mick Clarke)
With Lou Martin, keyboards, Mike Hirsh, drums, Mick Phillips, bass
Recorded as an extra track for the CD issue of the "Looking For Trouble" album.. this was a great session where everyone played well and the sound was excellent. Nick Robbins on the board.
Track 2: Carry Me Home
(Mick Clarke)
With Lou Martin, keyboards, Wilgar Campbell, drums, Martin Skipper on bass and guest Mark Feltham on harp. Originally on the "Rock Me" album, a solid lump of blues featuring what Linda calls Wilgar's "Belfast Drumming". Superb harp from Mr Feltham, engineered by Chris Mansbridge.
Track 3: Re-Heat
(Mick Clarke)
With Lou Martin, keyboards, Mike Hirsh, drums, Mick Phillips, bass. From the "extra tracks" session, an instrumental slide number which just fell onto the tape. Lou on top form, great drumming from Mike H.
Track 4: Careless Love
(W.C.Handy)
With Lou Martin, keyboards, Ron Berg, drums, Len Davies, bass. From the "Looking For Trouble" album, the song is a jazz and blues standard from the early days of the blues.
With Ron Berg from Blodwyn Pig, the man with the driest humour on the planet, and, as Lou dubbed him, "Careless Len" on bass. A great player who retired prematurely from the music biz. A good rocking track - Chris Mansbridge engineering.
Track 5: As Long As I Have You
(Willie Dixon)
With Lou Martin, keyboards, Ron Berg, drums, Len Davies, bass. Little Walter's wonderful track given a rocked up treatment. I think it works, and it was a staple of the live set for some time.
Track 6: You Need Love
(Willie Dixon)
An important song for me.. the first Muddy Waters record I ever bought, then the first track on the first album of Killing Floor, then the first track on the first MC solo album. And a staple of the live set ever since. I try to drop it now and then but it bounces back and seems eternally popular. The intro's nicked from Charlie Musselwhite's version of a Little Walter song and the solo guitar was inspired by Freddie. Other than it's heads down and see you at the end.
Engineered by Chris Mansbridge. From the "Looking For Trouble" album, With Lou Martin, keyboards, Ron Berg, drums, Len Davies, bass.
Track 7: Sidekick
(Mick Clarke)
From the "Looking For Trouble" album, With Lou Martin, keyboards, Ron Berg, drums, Len Davies, bass. A simple device of a second lead guitar repeating the phrases of the first - inspired as I remember by the Fleetwood Mac track.. forget the name. Anyway it works well enough - there was even a band formed and named after it in Belgium.. it may have been Holland. I was flattered. Another fab solo from Lou - Engineered by Chris Mansbridge.
Track 8: Honky Tonkin'
(Hank Williams)
I love Hank Williams.. basically a white bluesman as far as I'm concerned, though known as one of the greats of country music. His originally Honky Tonkin' has some unusual timing but I stripped it down to a straight bit of rock'n'roll. I like the idea a lot, and I think it's a great track if you ignore my slightly dodgy singing. Worth noting that before this album I had never sung a note.. I learned on the job. Lou shines once again, and I like my little solos.. the one that is not on slide is based on the guitar from the B Side of Johnny and the Hurricane's "Red River Rock".. it was called "Buckeye".
Honky Tonkin' was also the first of my tracks that I ever heard on the radio.. thanks to Stuart Coleman at the old Greater London Radio for that. When I think of playing the song live it takes me back to the Father Redcap pub in Camberwell, South London. Tommy the landlord gave me my first live break really, booking me straight in for three Saturday nights. Packed out from the beginning and we never looked back. From, as you'll have worked out, the first album "Looking For Trouble", With Lou Martin, keyboards, Ron Berg, drums, Len Davies, bass. Engineered by Chris Mansbridge.
Track 9: Good Friend
(Mick Clarke)
From the second album,"Rock Me" with Lou Martin, keyboards, Wilgar Campbell on drums and Martin Skipper on bass. Engineered by Chris Mansbridge. I think I wanted to do a kind of Roy Buchanan instrumental but with my own guitar sound, so I came up with this. I think it works, generally.. nice feel and it doesn't really sound like anything else I can think of. One of my later band members hated it.. didn't get it at all. Hey ho.
Track 10: Green Light
(Mick Clarke)
Another track from "Rock Me" with Lou Martin, keyboards, Wilgar Campbell on drums and Martin Skipper on bass. Matt Irvin on backing vocals - Engineered by Chris Mansbridge. A lump of early blues rock.. works OK.
Track 11: Ain't It Hard
(Mick Clarke)
From the third album "All These Blues".. Wilgar Campbell on drums, Russell Prett on bass and Peter Terry on keyboards. A nice track, originally recorded with Wilgar on vocals. Wilgar's voice worked well on stage but didn't seem to record too well, so we decided to rewrite the song for my vocals. I played a Les Paul on this - nice solo from Peter Terry and solid rocking drums from Wilgar. Engineered by Nick Robbins.
Track 12: Let It Go
(Mick Clarke)
Also from "Rock Me" with Lou Martin, keyboards, Wilgar Campbell on drums and Martin Skipper on bass, plus guests Mark Feltham on harp and Matt Irvin on backing vocals. Engineered by Chris Mansbridge. A good rocking boogie with great harp from Mark. And I remember that the rhythm track went straight down first take and swung like hell. Good job everyone!
Track 13: Solid State
(Mick Clarke)
From the "extra tracks" session with Lou Martin, keyboards, Mike Hirsh, drums, Mick Phillips, bass. Engineered by Nick Robbins. A funky little instrumental rocker with slide guitar and piano. Nice little track and a favourite of my friend Dangerous Dave's. He won't mind me mentioning.
Track 14: Nothin' But A Fool
(Mick Clarke)
Streuth! Not a word I've ever used before, as I remember, but.. blimey, listen to this thing. What were we on? It's like one of those post punk high speed pop songs from the 80s, played by a bunch of 20 year olds on pills. But we were old enough to know better. Nevertheless, does this thing rock or what? From "Rock Me" with Lou Martin, keyboards, Wilgar Campbell on drums and Martin Skipper on bass, plus guest Matt Irvin on backing vocals. Engineered by Chris Mansbridge.
Track 15: Gone Too Long
(Mick Clarke)
From the "Looking For Trouble" album, With Lou Martin, keyboards, Ron Berg, drums, Len Davies, bass. Engineered by Chris Mansbridge. It's a 12 bar shuffle.
A special thanks to Graham Sharpe, owner of Elephant Studio in Wapping, where all these tracks were recorded. Elephant was a great studio which also played host to the Pogues, The Damned, and other notables. It was in the Dockland area of London which was at the time not developed, and had a really funky feel to it. Graham was always a pleasure to work with.. how many other studio managers would have helped me haul my Marshall 4 X 12 cab up the stairs after every session?
And to those no longer with us.. my friends Lou Martin and Wilgar Campbell. Good people and great musicians. And a very special nod to the late Franco Ratti of Appaloosa Records in Milan. After approaching twenty two record companies it was Franco who responded with an album deal, and from there I was able to build a career.
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