Vinyl Long Play · Mercury Records · 2706809.
2009 · Europe.
Liner notes:
VOORMANN & FRIENDS A SIDEMAN'S JOURNEY
FEATURING PAUL MCCARTNEY I'M IN LOVE AGAIN Written by Dave Bartholome & Fats Domino
DON PRESTON BLUE SUEDE SHOES Written by Carl Perkins
YUSUF ISLAM ALL THINGS MUST PASS Written by George Harrison
JOHN FOHL HAVE YOU SEEN MY BABY Written by Randy Newman
BONNIE BRAMLETT MY SWEET LORD Writen by George Harrison
THE MANFREDS MIGHTY QUINN Written by Bob Dylan
BONNIE BRAMLETT SO FAR Written by Klaus Voormann & Doris Troy
MAX BUSKOHL YOU'RE SIXTEEN Written by Robert F. Sherman & Richard F. Sherman
YUSUF ISLAM THE DAY THE WORLD GETS 'ROUND Written by George Harrison
DON PRESTON SHORT PEOPLE Written by Randy Newman
DR. JOHN SUCH A NIGHT Written by Mac Rabennack
TO HONOR
A SIDEMAN
IS A TRIBUTE
TO ALL
SIDEMEN
CHRISTINA VOORMAN,
MARCH 2009
For his 70th birthday the Sideman Klaus became Frontman Voormann. Together with friends of mine I created a musical journey in time that carries the audience off to the most exciting period of popular music. From session to session I realized that "A Sideman’s Journey" not only puts me on center stage but that this album also serves as an hommage to all side(wo)men of pop history. Each one of them inevitably reminds us of the great names of ingenious artists who played a significant role in popular music. And what good is a great locomotive if the passanger cars are not there to transport the goods? Withou all the talented session musicians who have a distinct feel for rhythm and sound many songs would not have become the greatest thits that we know and love. What would Motown Sound be without The Funk Brothers? Where would all those soul hits be without the Muscle Shoales Musicians from Tennesse? Consequentlym sideman Klaus' album is dedicated to all those sidemen-colleagues whose talents and skills helped turn compositions and arrangements with potential into rousing and moving successful productions.
A Sideman's Journey is the first solo album by German musician and artist Klaus Voormann, released in July 2009. Voormann is best known as the creator of the cover art for The Beatles' album Revolver as well as for being a much-in-demand session musician during the 1970s. He played bass on a large number of well-known albums by ex-Beatles John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr − including All Things Must Pass, Imagine and The Concert for Bangladesh − and by artists such as Harry Nilsson, Doris Troy, Lou Reed, Gary Wright, Carly Simon and Randy Newman. Before then, Voormann had been a member of the 1960s pop group Manfred Mann. A Sideman's Journey is notable for including performances by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), among others.
ReplyDeleteASJ Session 1
ReplyDeleteThe Mill Studio East Sussex
Paul McCartney
It was in 1962 when I first held a bass guitar in my hands. Stuart Sutcliff’s President Bass in the Top Ten Club in Hamburg. In the wee hours of the morning some of the musicians preferred having something else in their arms besides the neck if a guitar. For Stuart it was Astrid’s hips. „Here, you take this,” Stuart put his bass guitar in my hands. At that time Paul was still the pianist for the Beatles and he waved to me to come up on stage. But shy Klaus chose to stay on his chair in front of the stage and played “I’m in Love Again” with the Beatles.
And it was this same old Fats Domino number that Paul and I pulled out of a box of nostalgic songs 46 years later for my first very own album. That afternoon for a few hours we let the old Top Ten Lists come back to life again. Paul sat at the piano in his white shirt, vest or waistcoat as he would call it, and jeans, as though he had just come straight from the Liverpool Cavern Club. In a wonderful mood and looking just great. I sat beside him, a bit nervous with a President bass model in my hands, from the same Hoefner series as Stuart’s instrument back then. My friend Bernhard Paul from the Roncalli Circus had given it to me for my 70th birthday.
It didn’t even take 5 minutes and Paul and I took off! Instead of 2 hours as originally planned we were at it for 5 hours. Paul, as always, the absolute professional, could not be stopped on this Monday in May. He was in high spirits and infected us all. The overdubs went just like clockwork: Paul on drums, Paul on acoustic guitar, Paul on the E-guitar (….That’s an Epiphone, one of my favourites. We played it on „Taxman” and „Paperback Writer”…) Paul with a toy harmonica out of a gum machine, Paul on the Hammond organ. in between stories and finger-food from Linda’s recipe book. While we were floating through sounds and memories and lost all sense of time and place about a hundred sweet little rabbits took over Paul’s garden. „They are safe here” Paul told us explaining the invasion of his hopping friends. „They know we don’t shoot them.” An unforgettable magic day with Paul the Great!
ASJ Session 3
DeleteLos Angeles Palm Tree Studios
Angels like Jim, Trevor and Van Dyke.
Palm Tree Studios, Los Angeles
Ringo had actually wanted to come to Paul’s studio in East Sussex in May. We had phoned a number of times and he had considered countless possibilities, even flying in by helicopter. In the end nothing had worked due to both of their busy schedules.
As an alternative we targeted Los Angeles at the beginning of August. This coincided with Ringo’s last performance on his tour through the US to be followed by an important family celebration.
Without the incredible support of “Los Three Angels“ and former studio partners Jim Keltner, Van Dyke Park and Trevor Lawrence this session could not have happened. For many weeks the phone lines were running hot despite everyone’s overly busy schedules and many commitments. After much debating I finally decided to do the recordings in Trevor’s Blue Palm Digital Studio in Hollywood.
During those two days there was a great coming and going of old friends and collegueas like Don Preston or Albert Lee. Not to forget Joe Walsh whose solo with Short People prompted me to launch into an impromptu virtual guitar performance in the control room. And when the two world-class drummers Ringo and Jim played “You’re Sixteen“ it was like a very special belated birthday present, truly something out of the ordinary. Inara’s version of “He Needs Me” just excellent, accompanied by Van Dyke’s brilliant piano and top-notch orchestral arrangements so typical of him. Together with Grant Geissmann this highly professional studio crew gave a timeless first class performance.