Paris, May the 20th 2012
If you look at my record collecting life, you will be dead right to call me a junkie. Yes, i need my daily-heavy dose of records information (an interview there, a new reissue elsewhere and of course all the new auction on that famous website), and if you gave me right now some cash, in the next couple of hours you will find me starving but with some vinyls records under the arm, and a huge smile on my face. That's better than food !!
The frustration is part of the pleasure, it is impossible to own every record in the world, and for me it is even more difficult when you live in France not in the USA !!
Thanks to Mr Lundborg and his Acid Archives, i discover the private press concept a few years ago. And it has since change my life (my record collecting life, my dear Alexandra change my REAL life and i love her for that!!). That's when i discover all those great Lps : Zerfas, Anonymous, Cold Sun etc...
After exploring all those AA, Galactic Ramble or Archivist, it was time to go deeper and find what nobody has ever found, those still unknown vinyls masterpieces. That's why I need to thanks right now those great 21st century records hunter pioneers : Alexandre and Sebastien from France, and of course Brett the Alabama boy (read his magnificent words!) who dig deeper than anybody else, and found the magnificent unpolished 70's jewel that is the “Alone” Lp you're holding right now in your hands!!
A couple of months ago, Nick (from Anizitisi Records) told me he was reissuing the great
FELT Lp (if you haven't bought it yet dear reader, go right now to the Anazitisi website!!). It is one of the most famous albums in the record collecting circle and for two principals reasons : it is a great Lp (listen to the wonderful opening track “Look At The Sun”) and it prime singer-songwriter is a 17-years old boy named Myke Jackson.
When Nick told me about this reissue, I asked him if he may have consider doing also the Myke Jackson solo Lp from 1975 “Alone”... Nick didn't knew about that one and more strangely Myke Jackson (who prefer to be called Mychael John Thomas since 1988) never mentioned it!!
As you can guess right now, everything felt (pun intended) right in its place, and now “Alone” is not alone (pun again) anymore, you can cherish and adore it for the rest of your life.
“Alone” was really made alone (see interview of MJT for the full story behind it), except for one violin part on one track. Myke Jackson is alone but it's not a downer folk Lp!! In its versatility it reminds me of another great 70s private press record “False Ego” by Eddie Callahan. But I prefer Myke's voice, it is that great soulful voice that holds this album together (and of course also his great songwriting qualities).
This is an extraordinary Lp because it is like a dream for record collectors. This 9-songs Lp encompass all those great different kind of music the 70s has produced (folk, power pop, lounge-rock etc..), and still being coherent.
Here it is a track-by-track appreciation :
Side one opens with “In search of a home“, the greatest power pop song ever ? With it's crashing drums and those great guitar lines played by Myke. He is a great guitarist, never too flashy a la Hendrix, with some wonderful melodic lead guitar. “We've got a new love ” is what we all wished Emitt Rhodes (or Paul McCartney) could have been able to produced in 1975 but were incapable of doing. A pop piano-led song with the greatest guitar solo this side of George Harrison and beautiful psych-keyboards part. “A theme” is (again) the proof that Myke Jackson is one of the greatest unsung 70s guitarist. Four years down the line, he is still capable of a scorching solo like the ones he did with Felt. This track is superbly produced, because it melt this Felt-like track (with great double vocals) with a Rundgren keyboards part, everything embellished with harmony vocals that could have made the Nazz-chef proud. The first side closes with “Let me be a part of you” on a calm and meditative note. It is a soft acoustic number, but it goes somewhere else (all across the Atlantic) with that European-violin part, almost like a Klezmer song.
Side two opens with a guilty pleasure song, that until now only avid record collectors could listen to. A lounge-rock song named “Lost on a wave”. It reminds me of all those privately pressed lounge-rock Lps that I adore (Justen O'Brien & Jake ; The Kaplan Brothers and the second Philip Lewin Lp “Diamond Love & Other Realities”). But like everything on this Lp, Myke Jackson always add something more. Like some people said, sometimes “More is Less”, sometimes when you look at all those tiny parts that made an album you can stop yourself from thinking “it cannot work, it cannot work...”. But everyone once in a while, some people succeed in doing the impossible. Myke Jackson his one of those people (the other major example for me is the still relatively unknown ERIC (from Ohio) band, who has made an incredible eponymous Lp in 1970. Please!! Could someone reissue it!!). On this track MJ play some downer-keyboards part like only the McElroy Brothers could have played. “Cloudy days” (probably my favorite song on the Lp) is still the proof that when playing a simple piano + acoustic guitar sound, something is triggered in Myke's mind because he enhances the track with some European sound (see “Let me be a part of you”). Specially we can hear here an incredible Krautrock-like guitar (or it is a keyboard?), stolen (more probably a telepathic connection with our beloved german musicians) from the best songs of Harmonia and/or Neu!. Breathtaking!!
“I am a mockingbird”, without listening to the song when I read the title, I think of the british band from the 60s The Mockingbirds, led by the great songwriter Graham Gouldman (of 10cc fame). And in funny and twisty kind of way, when I listen to the song I think of Emiit Rhodes, McCartney and.... Graham Gouldman's (GG) solo stuff!! Myke seems also to acknowledge this GG-link by admitting that this is not really his song (singing the line “without a song I can call my own”). Did I mention the circus like chorus ? Now it is done!!
“My prayer” is frankly a heartbreaking song. No words can translate what I feel listening to this song. It sounds like an unheard jewel from the John Lennon archive (piano, double vocals, strings-like keyboards sound).
Myke Jackson has bookends the record with two of most beautiful power pop songs ever. This time it's “Wake the dawn”. In a perfect world every dawn will happen to the sound of Myke's music.
Thanks so much to Nick for letting me write with my heart and my french hands.
Thanks to Alexandre & Sebastien and all the inspired stuff they permit myself to discover.
And finally thanks to my beloved Alexandra who support my appetite for records.
Interview with Myke Jackson (known today as Mychael John Thomas), from 2012 :
When and why did you broke up with FELT (personal problems, disagreement regarding music, or maybe girls!!) ?
We liked girls!! No, no problems there. We all had genuine respect for each other in all areas. We were all great friends and had very similar taste in music.
We finally broke up in Fall 1971. I had spent eight months in jail (“reform school”) for possession of marijuana. It was maximum security, just one step short of prison…Not something I would want to experience again ever! The rest of the guys were still smoking, and I was just scared to be around it.
Was there some local bands that you like at the time ? What were their names ? Did you play with them ?
We moved in and out of several musician circles but never played with other bands professionally. It was mostly a jam session here and there; we all kind of wandered in and out of each others rehearsals.
You were so young around that time (17 years old in 1971),what did you do between FELT and "Alone" ?
I most played as a sideman musician for other bands. I went to Nashville and joined the musician’s union and hired myself out to whoever needed it.
Did you live at your parents house ? Or Alone (pun intended) ?
No, I got married at age 18 and my wife and I rented a house, then apartments as we moved around a lot in those years.
Did you record some demos between 71 and 75 ? If yes how did they sound ?
Yes. I continued to write for Bob Tubert’s publishing company, Lookout Music, and I was in the studio every six months or so.
Did you play alone or with other people ?
I did both. In 1972 Stan, Tommy and I got in the studio and recorded the original version of “Innocence.” Sometimes I just did demos with a voice and a guitar or piano.
Did you do gigs ?
Yes, in Alabama or elsewhere ? Mostly southeast United States, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and some in Kentucky.
What made you decide to record "Alone" in a private pressed way ? did you try to contact some label before doing it ?
Bob Tubert had hooked me up with a producer, Ed Seay, who was a Hollywood guy. We met a couple of times, and I started sending him songs on cassette. We talked by phone, and he would make suggestions. He put me with these three musicians, drummer, keys, and bass to start rehearsing for a solo album. The keyboard guy was Bobby Ogden, a Nashville session guy, who played some with Elvis. Anyway, we rehearsed a few times, but Ed start having trouble with funding the project. So I went back to work with a club band to make money. Bob and I kept talking with different labels and producers and just couldn’t generate any interest. So I borrowed some money from my uncle and started recording in a little studio in Huntsville.
Can you tell us a little about the "Alone" recording sessions and song selections? Maybe elaborate on the studio and instruments used, and what your inspiration was for the songs on the LP?
As I mentioned before, the songs had been pre-rehearsed. Ed’s funding fell through, and since I had already developed the material but had limited funds, I opted to play all the instruments myself. I had wanted to do that for some time anyway, so it was a good opportunity to do it.
The album was recorded in three sessions of two days each including the mixes. Since I didn’t have a lot of money every performance was first take, which explains a lot of the mistakes left on the album. I started each song, except “My Prayer” and “Let Me Be A Part of You” with a drum track. Then I usually added a rhythm guitar and sometimes a “scratch” vocal just for reference. I then added bass, then keyboards, and then I added the vocals or lead guitars depending on the track. I don’t really remember which ones were in which order…
They had a set of drums at the studio, Pearl I think, so I just used them. I borrowed a Fender Precession bass from a friend, as I didn’t own a bass at the time. I used an Alvarez classical acoustic guitar and a Gibson J-50 acoustic steel string guitar for rhythm and some lead parts. I used a Gibson ES335 with a Fender Twin Reverb amp and occasionally distortion pedals for all the electric rhythm and lead parts. I had an MXR distortion pedal and a “Fuzz Face” distortion. They didn’t have chorus at that time, so all the chorus sounding effects came from doubling parts, like guitars or vocals. I also played the bass through the Twin at low volume with a close mic…not sure what mic they used. And not sure about the vocal mic either, but it might have been an AKG. For keyboards they had a Steinway baby grand, a Mellotron, and an ARP synthesizer. I used all of those in various spots.
The songs were of a wide variety. I was searching for my “spiritual identity,” you might say, at that time. So the songs vacillated between love songs and soul searching musical poetry. I was very fond of Jon Anderson’s lyrics, because he usually wrote about God and the universe instead of his latest love fling, you know? So I was attempting to emulate that kind of depth in my writing…
Was the LP recorded as a demo tool to gain a record label contract, or did you consider this a finished product?
I don’t think I gave that much thought. I just did it, and then started playing it around for people. I sent some copies to Bob Tubert, who was still my publisher and mentor, and I sent some to my dad, who was a session player and had lots of contacts. I didn’t get much interest, because I was in Nashville, and it had not become a rock venue yet. And I didn’t think of it as demo or master; I just did the best music I could in the time I had, which was very little!! Everything on the album was first take.
The Beatles seem to be an obvious influence on your music at the time. Were there any other artists that were influential for you during these recording sessions?
Yea, all prog rock and jazz. I liked Hendrix, of course, but heavy English bands like Yes, ELP, King Crimson, Led Zepplin, ELO, and well anything that was progressive, English, and avante garde. I had really started to dig the jazz-rock fusion stuff like, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever. And of course I am a huge Beatle fan…about like now!!!
What was the reasoning for playing pretty much all of the instruments yourself on the LP? You're definitely proficient on them all, but it seems like this would be labor intensive. Was this an aesthetic choice or necessity?
It was cheaper to play it myself that to try to teach other musicians the material and pay them to play…so definitely necessity. And thank you for the compliment, but I was “winging it” through most of the album. I did hang out at a music store every Saturday for a month before the sessions where they let me practice my drum parts. They were really cool about it. That was in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where I had a “house gig.” So I was shuttling back and forth to record in Huntsville, which was 180 miles one way.
These songs seem to have a different direction than the Felt LP, lyrically and musically. Did you want to go for a different sound?
Well I didn’t have other musicians to bounce off of. But I think an artist is always exploring the possibilities and looking for that unique sound. So maybe we’re always changing…I know that’s how it’s been for me. I’m not sure I’ve ever defined myself as an artist, because I have such a broad interest in musical styles…every project has it’s own life, you know?
On "Cloudy Days" i can hear a krautrock guitar (keyboard ?) sound, did you know about Krautrock bands at the time (like Cluster, Harmonia or Neu!)
I don’t even know what krautrock is!! I remember using a “Fuzz Face” distortion pedal with lots of reverb, and I doubled the part. And I did all my electric guitars through a Fender Twin Reverb amp cranked up really loud. (I just now looked up krautrock guitar on Google…interesting…a new definition for what we’ve been doing for 40 years!!)
Were any of these songs in correlation with a Felt follow-up LP, or were these completely written from a solo perspective?
Completely solo. Although, the influence of Mike, Stan, and Tommy was always, and still is with me. I’m sure all the guys will hear their licks somewhere in there. I was just blessed to have such great influences in the musicians I worked with.
Do any unreleased or demo song recordings from these sessions exist?
No. Everything we recorded was on the album. Anything I might have considered had already been eliminated before we went into the studio. I pretty much recorded the album in my head before the tape rolled…I think they call that “pre-production” now…I called it “budgeting your money”!!
Is there a lyrical thread between all the songs ? Did you name the Lp "Alone" because you played alone or because you've FELT Alone ?
Both, actually. The obvious was I played everything. But I was also feeling a little alone professionally. I couldn’t seem to find any other musicians with that same sense of vision. Looking back on it I should have probably gone to England or Europe somewhere. They always seemed to share my mindset as an artist. I would have probably fit right in and found other like minded musicians to create with. But we all see better in hindsight…don’t we?
On the personal side I was having a lot of trouble in the marriage. We were very young when we married, and by age 22 and 23 we had just grown in different directions. We divorced less than a year after I did that album…
Can you explain us everything behind the cover artwork ?
My father in law had this old truck that I just loved. So I liked the idea of the really rustic old thing in the middle of this techno rock album. I did the cover in water color and glued the picture into the center. It was originally a beautiful sky colored background. When they printed it to paper the ink darkened very badly. I was really disappointed with it. In fact, I’ve thought about repainting it for the re-release, so fans could see the original concept that I saw in my mind and on paper…It’s kind of funny really. The cover came out like my life during that period-very dark and stormy looking…
How many copies has been pressed ? Where did you sold it ? Gigs, music shops ?
I pressed 1000 copies. I sold them to people on my gigs with other bands. I put a few in local record shops and sent some others to my publisher, my dad, and some other folks I knew in the business. I got some good reviews but no label offers. It’s interesting to note that Cliff Williamson, my future producer, got a copy. He told me later he thought it was good, but I wasn’t there yet as an artist. My dad, who was a country musician, sent it to Willie Nelson, who told my dad I was a “genius.” I never liked that word applied to me, but at least I got the musical respect of my dad…He was a perfectionist and very hard to impress. But he had also played on one track, “Let Me Be A Part Of You.”
After the recording (or during the recording) did you play those songs live ? Always alone, or at least with the person who played violin on the record ? None of the music from Alone was ever performed live. I wanted to, but I never had the right situation or musicians. Plus, at that time I was always working for someone else.
Again, like after the Felt Lp, you didn't record for an other 4 years, what happened between "Alone" and the Mychael Lp ? Why the change in music ? Why the change in the name, already because of The Michael Jackson ?
In late 1975 when I realized that album wasn’t going anywhere and my marriage was getting worse every day, I started looking for a change. Mike Neel was playing in a 1950s style band, and they came through Huntsville. He invited me to hear them play, and I was just knocked out with their professionalism. And the crown went crazy. So I told him if he ever needed a guitarist to call me. About six months later he called me one night and said, “Can you fly to Jacksonville and do a show with us?” I said, “Sure!” So I flew down the next day. I joined the band that night and worked with them on the road for two years.
During that time I met Cliff Williamson through Jesse Gamble, our Elvis impersonator, and started going to Nashville to do song demos for Tree Publishing. I had written this country song that they got really hot on, so the thought I was going to be the next great country songwriter. On one of my trips I recorded a rock song called “Crossfire” that Cliff just flipped over. He told me if I was in Nashville he thought he could get me a record deal. So I quit the 50s band and moved to Nashville and started recording what would become the Neon Dreams album, which was released on RCA Free Flight Records.
I had been plagued with bad jokes about the name, so when we released the album I got the idea to record as simply Mychael. The music itself changed I guess because I was around different musicians and songwriters. And for the first time I had a free creative environment where I could write and record my music any day of the week. So what developed was a new artistic approach that was not dictated by a “band consciousness” thing. I felt that I finally became myself as an artist. Not that any of our band efforts were bad, I just explored some new territory. One thing in particular was “The Life Sonata (A Composition For Rock Guitar Orchestra)…I was really proud of that one. It was the real birth of Guitorchestra ™, my dream since childhood…
Did you follow your ex-Felt comrades musical careers (Stan Lee with The Dickies, etc...) ? Why did you reconnect with Tommy for the Mychael Lp ? Well first off, our Stan Lee has never played with The Dickies; I don’t know where that came from. But yes, we all did other things after FELT. I mean, we were musicians, artists…We were meant to be creative in any setting in which we found ourselves, whether together as FELT or any other group. And when I started getting close to a deal with Neon Dreams I called Tommy to come play on several of the tracks for the album because I always loved his style. And his style just fit those songs perfectly. Plus, I wanted to play with one of my best friends and favorite musicians, Tommy Gilstrap. Just being around him made me creative, and I wanted him on board. We rehearsed the band and got ready for the tour, but I think Tommy’s heart just wasn’t in the Nashville scene. So he went back to Huntsville, and I didn’t really see him again till 1988. He had been in a really bad car wreck. I visited him at the hospital and prayed for him a lot. When he got out he relocated to Florida I think…I didn’t see him again until our high school reunion in the summer of 2011. I also saw Stan there, and we started discussing a FELT reunion.
An finally, if you want to add anything, or answer a question we haven't ask you yet, feel free to tell us anything you want or need to say. I have said in other interviews lately how grateful we are for the interest and wonderful support from our fans. They are few, but they are of the highest quality. And I know I speak for the rest of the guys in saying how great it is to play with these awesome musicians again and make music together we love. Thanks to God, families, friends and fans for making it happen for us…Old Guys Can Still Rock n Roll! : ) MJT
And if you’d like to hear FELT II Psychedelic Memoirs go to:
http://felt2.bandcamp.com It’s available for download, and we’ll be offering a physical CD too very soon.