• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Bands & Projects
    • Marty Willson-Piper
    • Marty & Olivia
    • Bands
      • All About Eve
      • Anekdoten
        • How I Joined Anekdoten
      • Atlantæum Flood
      • The Church
        • Sleeve Notes
      • Noctorum
      • MOAT
    • Sessioneer Projects
      • Afridi/Willson-Piper
      • Arktik Lake
      • Blueburst
      • Space Summit
  • Discography
  • Gear
  • Talking
  • Lyrics
    • SOLO ALBUMS
      • In Reflection
      • Art Attack
      • Rhyme
      • Spirit Level
      • Hanging Out In Heaven
      • Nightjar
    • NOCTORUM
      • Sparks Lane
      • Offer The Light
      • Honey Mink Forever
      • The Afterlife
    • MOAT
      • Moat
      • Poison Stream
    • Seeing Stars
  • Sleeve Notes
    • Of Skins And Heart
    • The Blurred Crusade
    • Seance
    • Heyday
    • Starfish
    • Gold Afternoon Fix
    • Priest = Aura
  • Bandcamp

Marty Willson-Piper

The official home of Marty Willson-Piper

  • News
  • Blog
  • Shows
  • Songwriting & Guitar Guidance
  • In Deep Music Archive
  • Contact

Jun 19 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Today was Nick Drake’s birthday (1948), so he would have been 73. Can you imagine the records he might have made if he hadn’t died at the age of 26 on the 25th November 1974? I wonder what Hendrix might have done if he’d lived, after all, he only really made three studio albums and that was just over an 18-month period. How might Jim Morrison have fared into the seventies or John Lennon beyond his 40th year into the eighties and the 21st century? Ironically, dying young is terrible for the depth of your catalogue but it keeps your legacy alive. In the sixties and seventies young rock star death was rife, here are some of the famous ones: Bob Marley, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Tim Buckley, Paul Kossoff, Marc Bolan, Elvis, Sandy Denny, Chris Bell, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Terry Kath, Lowell George, Phil Ochs, Keith Relf, Jim Croce, Tim Hardin, Gram Parsons, Tammi Terrell, Donny Hathaway, Pete Ham, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and this isn’t even getting into the jazz greats. What might records by these artists have sounded like if they’d stayed alive? There are also many deaths from 1980 onwards, but maybe like Mark Hollis, some of these people may have just stopped making music as Bill Withers did or Emitt Rhodes who waited 43 years between albums and then died four years later. What might Jeff Buckley have given us if he hadn’t died so young?

We all know about the Zep controversy of ripping off songs, Killing Floor (The Lemon Song) from Howlin’ Wolf, Dazed and Confused from Jake Holmes and the ongoing saga of Stairway To Heaven and its similarity to Spirit’s Taurus. But yesterday I found another one, less discussed. I’ve mentioned The Aerovons who recorded in the studio next to The Beatles and the similarity between Across The Universe and the title track of their unreleased album Resurrection is scary (including the paper cups bit) and I wonder if Tom Hartman, an American, is pronouncing “we’re” in a Liverpool accent? The album was engineered by Beatles’ engineers Norman Smith, Geoff Emerick, Phil McDonald, and Alan Parsons. Jackie Lomax was an Apple Records artist and he made the album Is This What You Want?. Produced by George, and the title track is very similar to I Am The Walrus. Have a listen.

On a more up to date and down to Earth subject that doesn’t involve death or plagiarism, Olivia found our electrician’s coin wallet in the corner of the kitchen. We’d been told he’d lost it somewhere yesterday when he was installing the new oven and hob, but we didn’t find it till this afternoon. I once found a wallet in a taxi in Sydney (have I told this story before?). I didn’t give it to the taxi driver as I thought it might not have a chance of being returned to its owner. I was staying at the Hotel New Hampshire in Kings Cross and recording Priest=Aura. I looked through the wallet, there was 100 bucks in it. I found a phone number and called it, it was a friend of the owner and I asked the friend for the owner’s number and she obliged. I called the owner and said, “I found your wallet in a taxi,” silence on the other end of the phone. I continued, “if you want to come and get it, I’m staying at the Hotel New Hampshire in Kings Cross”. A short silence and then she said, “Are you trying to be funny?”. Pretty sad world we live in, I thought, I didn’t want to leave it with the taxi driver and she didn’t trust that my actions were honourable. I told her that it would be at reception if she wanted to come and get it. I gave the wallet to Chico, the receptionist, and told him not to tell her who left it or give her my room number when she comes to pick it up. So I went upstairs, sometime later she arrived and quizzed Chico about who had left it and of course, he wouldn’t tell her. I wonder if she learnt anything? I wonder if I did?

Music Of The Daze

Written by Marty Willson-Piper · Categorized: Blog

Missing

This is my stolen 1965 Rickenbacker 12-string, serial number EB157. If there's any chance of this guitar coming back to me before I go to meet my maker, then that would be wonderful. Please contact me if you have any information.

11209512_1669022976719710_7288437867089763325_n

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eric Brightwell says

    June 21, 2021 at 12:58 am

    The Aerovons had a lot of charm — some of it rather Bee Gees-ish, as I recall, when that album finally got released. I assume, rightly or wrongly, that they may’ve picked up a bit of Beatles melodies when both were recording at Abbey Road, and maybe that influenced the decision to leave the album on the shelf for so long. Could’ve been the other way around, though, I suppose.

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

  • spotify
  • facebook
  • youtube

Liking the blog?

Tour Dates

Mailing List

In Deep Music Archive

Songwriting & Guitar Guidance with Marty Willson-Piper
ORDER HERE

"These are awesome sessions that I highly recommend for guitar players of all levels. Very informative, frank discussions on everything related to guitar and music in general. Definitely a must for anyone pursuing songwriting."
(Stephen G., VA, USA)

"Marty knows how to bypass scales and get to the heart of feel and timing. His musical knowledge spans multiple cultures and genres. Perhaps most importantly, Marty is a cool dude. I highly recommend his guitar guidance." (Jed B., MN, USA)

"Ok, so you’re sitting in your home and Marty is across the world but is actually right here teaching you how to play guitar and write songs. He is a delight to talk to and he is your teacher, meaning he wants to see you get something out of his lessons. You know he’s paying attention and wants to steer you in the right direction. I am so grateful and humbled that he offers his time in this manner. This is an amazing opportunity for anyone who admires anything from his enormous body of work. How often do you get to learn from somebody that inspired you in the first place? Amazing." (Ann S., CA, USA)

Missing

This is my stolen 1965 Rickenbacker 12-string, serial number EB157. If there’s any chance of this guitar coming back to me before I go to meet my maker, then that would be wonderful. Please contact me if you have any information.

11209512_1669022976719710_7288437867089763325_n

MARTY WILLSON-PIPER © 2023 - Front Page Images by Hajo Müller