The slip case cover for CD3, the one which a couple of Grammar School at Leeds bands earned places on

Last November Oliver Whawell got me involved in helping with a couple of Jazz bands at my old school They were recording tracks to offer for possible inclusion on a professional album set. The original post is here. My role was to secure funding and arrange for a quality sound guy (Paul Gowlett) to record and engineer. I ended up doing far more – good thing I no longer teach or I’d not have had time.

The CDs have arrived. I was lucky enough to receive a free copy of the triple album and I’m knocked out.

While not particularly a Roxy Music fan I do have their ‘Avalon’ album. Obviously I’ve heard of Brian Eno and Bryan Ferry, and I remember their single Virginia Plain being a smash hit during the summer I was floating between university and my first teaching job (1972). This album is introducing me to so much more. Thank you.

The few songs I already knew have been lovingly transformed into fresh, exciting and inventive  interpretations. All too often cover versions either stick too close to the original or make changes which don’t quite work. Here you have the results of 42 bands from around the world putting a great deal of skill and sweat into getting it right. The result is great! And it really does work because I now want to hear the Roxy originals.

The back of the slip-case cover. Our bands are 'Jazz in 6ths' and 'Out of the Blue'. Oliver's is 'The Strawberry Thieves'.

We thought Oliver’s arrangements for our two songs were beautiful. Both bands are heavy on saxophones, and it works. The raw tracks sounded bad when we listened back because the only suitable room we could have for three days has very bad accoustics (why design a music room like that?). Paul Gowlett removed the inappropriate echoes and created final mixes which were good. Burning Sky records then had these mastered in some way that improved the sound even further, and the final CD results are better still. I wish I understood what these sound engineers do.

The album is no back-street ramble produced by a bunch of kids for their Mums and with the vague hope it’ll do as a demo for that big deal.

We have here excellent musicianship, enticing production, professional engineering, and a product way better than a lot of the stuff on the racks in HMV. It is a labour of love. These tracks were not just thrown together in a spare moment. Each one has been worked on hard, but not over-worked. There is variety. There is excitement.

Marketing something like this is risky. In the book world you can sell on Amazon while printing to order (POD). You no longer have to invest a lot of money up front, or decide how many copies to risk paying for. Alan Heaton has taken a risk, but also limited it by only making 1000 copies. If the right people get to hear this work it’ll take off. It deserves to.

The bands were great fun to work with. Giving up a whole weekend to this project was tiring (depression had overtaken me by the November recording sessions) but you made it worth while.

Thank you to Alan Heaton for coming up with the idea and making it work. There is no way Alan will make a profit from this first run – not if you factor in the number of hours he’s put into it over the last fifteen months. Maybe someday we’ll meet, Alan. It’s been good working with you.

Copies may be ordered from Burning Sky Records. Just click on those three words. You’ll also find more info about the global project.

The single CD album is also available on Amazon. I think I’ll get my copy there. Might boost coverage by helping the album’s rating.

There’s photos and more info on the GSAL contributions on my web site at this page. You can also listen to samples of our tracks there.

Finally to quote from the booklet notes written by Alan:

…can you hear the toll of the bell at the grammar school at leeds? a school so cool they have furnished not one but two bands for this record…

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Both bands were accepted. Submissions had been sought worldwide, and many were from professional bands. Our guys were the only school bands accepted. Great work guys!

The Out Of The Blue recording of War Brides will be on the single CD edition.

The Jazz In Sixths recording of Skill And Sweat will be on the 3 CD edition.

Both were masterfully arranged for the bands by Oliver Whawell, who also looks after the bands when he’s not teaching saxophone or working with The Strawberry Thieves. Paul Gowlett engineered and mixed the recordings.

The project, called ‘Roxy Music Revisited’, is the brainchild of Alan Heaton and Burning Sky Studios.

Both editions should be in the shops for September 15th 2009.

There’s more information, including links and samples, on my web site: www.nigel-leech.com/nroxymrevisited.htm

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