Genre: folk
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Title: You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here
Company: Paramount
Catalog: PAS-6015
Year: 1971
Country/State: UK
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG
Comments: minor ring and edge wear; small cut out notch along bottom edge; gatefold sleeve; US pressing
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4695
Price: $20.00
Cost: $66.00
For me, 1971's "You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here" stands as Ralph McTell's most consistent and enjoyable album. Produced by Gus Dudgeon and backed by most of the band HUB, including guitarists Davy Johnston and Caleb Quaye, and drummer Roger Pope (they would shortly become Elton John's backing band), it's a folk album, but benefits from a more mainstream sound and even some occasional rock touches (check out Quaye's blazing electric guitar solo on the heartbreaking 'Old Brown Dog'). McTell's voice has seldom sounded as good and virtually every one of the songs is catchy enough to warrant repeated spins. Highlights include 'First and Last Man' and the London Symphony Orchestra backed 'Pick Up a Gun'. Interestingly, I've seen a couple of reviews that call it a concept piece. While there are plenty of autobiographical pieces (see McTell's own comments below), that's probably a real stretch. For you trivia buffs, this is a US pressing that supposedly replaced 'Streets of London' with 'Chalkdust'. For some reason this copy doesn't.
"You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Genesis 1 Verse 20 (Ralph McTell) - 4:27
2.) First and Last Man (Ralph McTell) - 3:39
3.) In Some Way I Loved You (Ralph McTell) - 2:54
4.) Lay Your Money Down (Ralph McTell) - 2:47
5.) Old Brown Dog (Ralph McTell) - 4:20
6.) Pick Up a Gun (Ralph McTell) - 4:21
(side
2)
1.) You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here (Ralph McTell) - 3:17
2.) Streets of London (Ralph McTell) - 3:21
3.) The Ballad of Dancing Doreen (Ralph McTell) - 3:10
4.) Claudia (Ralph McTell) - 3:40
5.) The Ferryman (Ralph McTell) - 7:04
McTell has a really nice website at:
http://www.ralphmctell.co.uk/index.php
I'll probably get slapped with a restraining order, but I've cribbed his comments on the album. I've gone ahead and corrected a couple of typos and reorganized the comments to fit the album song chronology.
"Between this album and the last, my life had changed rapidly in terms of how I was perceived or how I thought I was perceived. I was now managed by the legendary Jo Lustig, a hard but totally loyal New Yorker who was managing Pentangle and had worked for Nat King Cole and (inadvertently) for the mafia. Jo had big plans for me but we did not always see eye to eye. I filled a vacant night for him at the Royal festival hall and we all were surprised by how many people came. Jo made his pitch for me on the same night and after consulting at length with my brother Bruce I signed up with him.
The song 'Streets of London' was picking up cover versions everywhere and
the huge record company Paramount had negotiated my contract from
Transatlantic Records and a re mix of various tracks was released as an LP
called “Revisited.” I was oblivious as to what was going on but it
became clear that this whole exercise was a bit of a smoke screen to get
hold of “that” song for the USA.
It was proposed that I embark on my most ambitious album production to date
with dear Gus Dudgeon once again at the helm. I was annoyed at the prospect
of having to re record “Streets” again but in so doing I met Danny
Thompson who has been a life long friend.
In the intervening years Gus’s reputation had grown and he was a brilliant
talent spotter of musicians. He had assembled a mega cast of players for
this enterprise and I cannot imagine the studio bills if it were to be done
today. Musicians included Rick Wakeman, Roger Pope, Davey Johnson, Caleb
Quaye, and the entire LSO!
My young family and I were still living in a council flat in the back end of Croydon and I was meeting acclaimed musicians and big record company people. My friend’s lives had not changed much and I was adrift on a sea of self-doubt and questioning that gave rise to many of the songs on the new album. especially the title track. (Dear old Jo thought I had written it for him and thanked me with tears running down his face, I had to gently explain that I had not.)
I had decided to get a piano and spent hours noodling away with a simple
accompanying technique that I had learned from my friend Gary Petersen. I
have always thought that the blues were my teachers but as has been pointed
out to me by musical friends, I am more influenced by hymn tunes than almost
anything else when it comes to the keyboard. I suppose the prime examples
would be Old
Brown Dog and You
Well Meaning Brought Me Here. Pick
up a Gun also came about through the piano.
In spite of recording most of the album at the state of the art studios
Trident at St Anne’s Ct in Soho, Gus still wanted me to do live vocals. In
the end we compromised with me giving guide vocals and then repairing both
guitar and vocal parts afterwards. Gus was developing his style of totally
immaculate tight perfect multi tracks to give him maximum mixing potential.
The only trouble was that he had me and I am a specialist in the rattle and
hum department. I began to get pissed off with this search for perfection as
it often meant that because the vocal was going on later, the musicians
would not know what the song was about and the feel might not be there.
Somehow it worked out but not before some tantrums and hurling of the cans
(headphones) at the control room glass partition had occurred from me.
Genesis 1 v20 was recorded with just two guitars and Mike Hugg brought in his Moog Synthesiser on which I played the solo.
However the number that seemed to be the most popular on this record was First and Last Man. Gus and his wife Shelia were the backing singers and Gus got me to play my old harmonium as well. We used that instrument on Lay your Money Down as well. I played all the instruments on that little piece and had a lot of fun doing it.
Old
Brown Dog featured a blinding solo from the genius of Caleb Quaye and it
was on his solo at the end of the song that I believe a Leslie cabinet was
used for the first time. This device is what gives a Hammond organ its
distinctive sound. It just happened to be in the control room and with the
help of Robin Cable the studio engineer it was rigged to receive the signal
from the guitar. Caleb was knocked out and the solo went on for minutes. If
you listen carefully you can hear an edit after the second chorus. Caleb,
Davey Johnson and Roger Pope the drummer went on to become the backing
musicians to a certain up and coming piano player called Elton John. It was
Gus who brought them together and introduced Ray Cooper – who played on In
Some Way I Loved You – to Elton too.
I had been rehearsing for months with a bass player called Steve Bonnett and we recorded Chalkdust together with me overdubbing piano later. This was the song that was substituted for Streets of London on the releases elsewhere in the world. Paramount released an album with just that song on it and wrote on the cover something about being so excited about my new album they could not wait for the rest of the songs to be recorded. I think it may have turned as many people off as it turned on to the album.
Tony
Visconti was called in to arrange the
Ballad of Dancing Doreen
but the principal arranger on this record was Robert Kirby. Robert was a
school friend of Nick Drake and had done the arrangements on Nick’s
albums. His string parts were absolutely gorgeous to my ear and he was such
a terrific man. What I did not know was that Gus had persuaded the record
Company to let him use the London Symphony orchestra to play his parts.
These were done at Air Studios and the entire orchestra plus the Garibaldi
Brass Ensemble an eight-piece choir and a harpist that was dressed as a
teddy boy were pressed into Studio One for the recordings.
Robert
conducted and I sat speechless in the control room overwhelmed by the
majesty of the sound. The orchestra could not hear the part I was playing as
they were following the conductor’s baton. After each take they all tried
to get into the control room to listen.
The
clock was ticking as it came to the last song: The
Ferryman. It is a long number and it necessitated bringing a speaker out
into the room with just my guitar and voice on it for the orchestra to pay
to. The first take broke down as the clock moved to one o’clock. This
meant the entire orchestra would be on overtime, which would have pushed the
budget well over the limit. However they volunteered to do it at no extra
charge and got it in one take. I always remember the clock at 1.20pm when
they all trooped in to listen to the take. I thought it the most exciting
thing I had ever recorded. Everything went down live – including the
Teddy-boy harpist and the choir.
A few months after the release of the record the label was bought out by the Gulf and Western Conglomerate and the artist Melanie (who had also recently signed to the company) and I were lost in a sea of bureaucracy. But by this time I was on tour in the states and more confused than ever about where I was going."