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MAXEL TOFT28 (Wilson)
2016-2017 This is a purge album and a departure from the more "folk" centered recordings. I wanted to get rid of some licks and lyrics. Usually I would record a scratch track of vocals/guitar/banjo and then do the drums and work my way back to do vocals last. But this time I decided to do the drums last (except for a couple of loud electric guitar parts). There is three-finger style banjo, clawhammer banjo, strummed banjo, strummed guitar, finger picking, electric guitar, distortion, and feedback all from one guy. And I am sure that it would sound better if I didn't mix this all by myself. And I did not get it mastered. Offshore Excursion is a purge of a boring banjo lick (in D), an unused lyric, and an unused drum beat. However, it is a perfect opener and ends up preparing you for the rest of the album. Therapy is an open G clawhammer banjo lick that I liked almost enough to be an instrumental but I paired with some words I thought I'd never use. It was fun to add bass and drums. Shadow is another silly set of lyrics I though I would never use but seems to work with this music. It also features an unused drum beat. Wits End is a guitar lick I thought I would never use paired with words I thought I would never use. And then I had another unused lick that seemed to sort of be in the same key so it solved the problem of the lyrics at the end that don't follow the same pattern. Radio Ready Love is an embarrassing lyric parody. But I also was able to get rid of this banjo lick plus an unused drum beat and make everyone uncomfortable. Somewheres is yet another forced banjo lyric pairing. I had originally imagined these lyrics with a more down and out "country" feel but this style made it worth it. I used a backyard (basic) banjo for this to get a different sound on purpose. It may also feature another unused drum beat but what would it matter anyway. Complaint is the only song with new lyrics to an old guitar lick. I was sick of this guitar tune going unused for so long and then I had this lyric idea that I wrote around it. Gone. Assembly Line is a collection of unused licks that I gave up trying to add words. I just took all the ones that were in E or E-minor and put them together. Besides that the tunes were so old they didn't really fit my style anymore and I needed to get rid of them. It had been a long time since I used feedback so that was fun. However, I was self-conscious of the loud noises coming from our house so I didn't do too many takes. Legal F is song in the style of Local H (see Pirate Garrghl for a Local H parody). It probably should have gone in my Clarence collection of non-Maxel Toft songs but then you wouldn't have gotten this last flavor all in one album. |