Separation Anxiety
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The 2009 album by John Zonn and a furthering of his compositional explorations...
Contents |
[edit] About
Multi-tracking, layered vocals, electric guitars, percussion, spoken word...all abound comfortably within the digital realms of this CD (or collection of mp3s). Each song talks of the bridge - the gap, between 'here' and 'there'; between 'safe and secure' and the voyage to another existence. From greyhounds to aliens, an enduring sense of anxiety and forboding is pushed outward to the minds of the listeners...
[edit] Tracks
| Track | Title | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Die is Rolled | 3:53 |
| 2 | The Occupants' Return | 4:36 |
| 3 | I'm Not Your Child | 6:21 |
| 4 | It's a Dog's Life | 3:37 |
| 5 | Do the Seagulls Know it's Xmas? | 9:00 |
| 6 | January | 4:48 |
[edit] Awards & Certifications
Not yet!!
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| | | |
[edit] Chart Toppers
Again, not yet!!
| Year | Song | Chart |
|---|---|---|
| | | #1 |
[edit] Credits
Performance Credits
John Zonn Main Performer
Rathlin Pride Vocals (Track 4)
The East Sussex Seagull Chorus Collective Background Vocals (Track 5)
Woloschuk/Draper Songwriting
Dury/Jankel Songwriting
Newton-John/Travolta Songwriting
Gardner/Miller Songwriting
Brown/Jones Songwriting
Technical Credits
John Zonn Production, Photography, Cover Design, Arrangements, Recording
Silent Partner Associates Additional Location Recording
Ipswitch WS_FTP Sound Effect
[edit] Trivia
- The first two tracks were inspired by the song: Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft, by Klaatu - a Canadian progressive rock band.
- The whole mini-album could be said to be 11 years in the writing, as (apart from the song - January - which was written in 1986) the songs span the years between 1998 and 2009, although they were all recorded in 2009.
- The last two choruses of the song - Do the Seagulls Know it's Xmas? - parody firstly: the Ian Dury & The Blockheads song Sweet Gene Vincent, and secondly: the Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta song Summer Nights.
- January - was originally written and performed by a band called 7 Sisters that Zonn had strong connections with back in the 1980s.
- The inside cover photo of John Zonn was taken by him from a rooftop at the back of his apartment and looking at a mirror that had been serendipitously mounted on the wall of a flat directly opposite his, but over the road, thus allowing a degree of 'separation' between the photographer and the subject.
- The Virtual Keyboard that Zonn plays on the song - The Die Has Been Rolled - was recorded via microphone directly from a speaker rigged up to the Internet and played using his computer keyboard mouse - possibly an oblique reference to a Monty Python sketch.
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[edit] Song Meanings
- The Die is Rolled - refers back to the song about World Contact Day that Klaatu wrote in the 1970s. This piece and the next song - The Occupants' Return - are asking the listener to imagine that aliens did actually come down to Earth to help us then, but that after a while they had enough and went home because they didn't feel they were getting the respect they deserved and also their ships were having difficulty coping with the hostile environment. The first track is a fictional parting conversation between an alien and his Canadian buddy.
- The second song is like an update of - Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft - but describing what happened then, in the late 70s, and what is happening now, with the current environmental crises etc. It's a cry for help to any aliens out there who would choose to come down here and help us out again!
- I'm Not Your Child - is a bit like - She's Leaving Home - by The Beatles. It's set in the late 1980s maybe and could in some ways be like a Zonn autobiography, but with him taking on the role of a young rebellious female...
- It's a Dog's Life - Imagine how a greyhound feels once it's working life as a racing dog is over...It retires to a sleepy suburban lifestyle as a family pet and needs to adjust to its new position and environment. So this song is as if the greyhound is writing about the diffficulties it is facing in its new life.
- Do the Seagulls Know it's Xmas? - A song about theology and ornithology, but written in a slightly comic style and with undercurrents of Monty Python's Life of Brian passed through to a seagull named Chris.
- January - There is no special meaning to this song other than it is pure music and vocal harmonies - it's like a grand finale! It was however, originally written and played by a band that John knew back in the late 80s.
