"Artichoke Heart": A long time ago, this guy said to me: "My heart is like an artichoke" - i.e. the many leaves reaching out to different women.
"Calming in the Wild" was written during a time when I was performing in a traditional Ethiopian band. At the same time, I was hearing American blues singers regularly at a folk club, and I have been a folk singer from a very early age. The blues are a distinct influence in this song, and the Ethiopian influence appears in the melismatic nature of the melody and the singing.
"Another Night Come" , like "Calming In The Wild", is influenced by my "Ethiopian days", containing Ethiopian vocal mannerisms, while its melody was composed over a blues rhythmic riff.
All three songs were recorded during the years when I was deeply immersed in jazz, whose influence can also be heard.
Three superb jazz musicians play on these tracks: the lovely sensitive pianist is Phil Peskett; the wonderful bass player is Mark Hodgeson, while Paul Clarvis, equally lovely and wonderful, is on drums. I am on acoustic guitar and vocals - which I hope you will also find lovely and wonderful!.
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