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LET'S VISIT THE FARM





Ian C Stewart "Let's Visit the Farm" MP3
Michael Million "Oh My! That's Bass" MP3
Michael Million "Unchallenged Hate" MP3

Here's one I kind of forgot about & a few of its siblings while I'm at it.

Hearing it now, "Let's Visit the Farm" is not like I remember it at all! This song was recorded in September 1989 at Michael's house.... in the soundproof room... he had been in Florida for the summer during which time I got my first 4-track. Even in those days I recorded all the freakin' time, I probably recorded four albums worth of stuff by the time I got the 4-track out of its box. So, I was already a pro, or so I thought. Michael was new to multitracking, so I gave him a product demo there, using.... it sounds like whatever we had on hand. It's probably the Tokai guitar or possibly my Warlock through my old Peavey Backstage amp. Definitely his Ibanez fretless bass. We're lucky I had my Casio PT-whatever tiny keyboard to lay down that deathly drum break!!!!!! Hah. Two tracks of vocals, both via the flanger pedal (naturally). And the lyrics came from an antique childrens' book that happened to be in the vicinity, titled Let's Visit the Farm.

The vocals are my normal late-80s approach, which was James Hetfield filtered through my friend Aaron Pauley, Tom Araya, King Diamond and a hint of Anthony Kiedis and Perry Farrell. Ambitious and obnoxious at the same time. Value.

Michael's first foray into multitracking is included here. His stuff was already more sophisticated than mine. And this piece is very interesting because it straddles that line between being brutally heavy (ie - loud, distorted guitars) and floaty (ie - slow tempo, chords instead of riffs, that type of thing). It would be another 2.5 years before we'd hear Godflesh, but this piece somehow precludes them completely... right down to the drum machine & downtuned guitars. And the sampling keyboard!

On this track you hear Synsonics toy drum machine played probably live by me, I assume. Everything else by Michael. The guitar bit is classic, and the sampler is still pretty amazing. Y'know I still used the toys as toys in those days but Michael was able to see a use beyond playing burps and farts back over multiple octaves. Well, in addition to those things.

& it's amazing how much this sounds like Jesu... or rather, how much Jesu sounds like this untitled piece from 1989. I've said it before, I'll say it again now. WE INVENTED EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!

And Michael cranked out this still amazing Napalm Death cover, "Unchallenged Hate" from the still amazing From Enslavement to Obliteration LP. He did everything on this, including the drums. It still rules.
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Comments

Darrin said…
Would that be the flanger that is now the Drunken Sailor Flanger?

And yeah, that cover was sweet, esp for being maybe the 3 rd or 4th thing Michael had done on a 4track.
November 14, 2007 at 1:04 PM
Ian Stewart said…
that's the flanger all right!
November 14, 2007 at 5:37 PM
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