Imam?

Ian S.

Cemental Health Records EEG14

All tracks written by Ian Shuttleworth, © control Anal Memoranda, 
except Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts Bob Dylan, Ram’s Horn Music.

Recorded December 1983–April 1984 and mastered April 1984 
at Ghetto and the Winter Headquarters. 
Produced, engineered and mastered by Ian Shuttleworth, assisted by Iain Walker, 
except where noted elsewhere. 
Digitally remastered November 2004.

Thanks to Ian for knobs and Eoin for thumps (a rare treat), 
and again to the ever-increasing ranks of the toxic toxophilists.
Who broke my art?  You did, you did...

Cover: The Fool (Key 0) and Force (Key XI) (inverted) from the Tarot of Marseille.

This title (P) 1984, 2004 Cemental Health Records.

NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND
Another year, another mental instability...  The interval between Another Day, Another Dolour (EEG09) and this has been taken up with continental and transatlantic junketing, fraternising with blind oarsmen, several unrequited loves, and worry.  An uncertain proportion of which manifests itself herein.
Ardent followers of the Shuttleworth musical odyssey will notice that this artefact includes an unusually large amount of guitar work; in other words, the lad’s discovered a few more open tunings.  Comment might also be aroused by the number of titles, to wit, five.  Its all done with mirrors, really.  The long-awaited thirty-minute treatment of interpersonal barrenness turns out in fact to be half a dozen pieces seguéd.  It also, by the way, includes three tunes and a lyric originally intended for the Tube-Steel Elephants collection.  Their inclusion here is by way of, hopefully, laying a few ghosts for good and all.  God only knows what I’ll do for the next album, though.

The Shuttleworth arsenal on this outing comprised electric guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer, percussion, tapes and autonomous larynx.  It was kindly augmented to the extent of another synth and various devices by Iain Walker, who moreover  occasionally utters.  Also appearing are John Catherwood (bodhran and fife on Imam?), Eoin Patterson (drums and percussion on Key Zero; for this relief, much thanks) and Mark Gilliland (guitar on the demo of Stung).

What are we gonna do now?  What are we gonna do now?  What are we gonna do now?...
 
 

TRACK LISTING

ORIGINAL
  • Concussion (7:57): It can be quite worrying when your best work seems to consist entirely of pisstakes.  Everything on here, from the cobbler’s last to the quarter-tone-flat guitar break, was painstakingly mapped out in advance to sound mucho Mancunian.  Rob very upset.
  • Imam? (6:41): This track and album are named in honour of Mr Munro Price of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, whose vocal phenomena were to have graced them.  Unfortunately I couldn’t get it together in time, so you’ll have to settle for the dubious assortment offered up in his stead.
  • Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts (8:55): Dylan’s supreme narrative work, which has occupied a special place in my affections for some time now.  If this encourages just one person to investigate the superb Blood On The Tracks album, then I’ll emerge with a great deal of egg on my face.
  • Almost In Shape (4:09): Sounds deceptively upful; in essence a nod to the hoary old myth of universal unbelonging.  Actually, I’m very fond of the building with the blue reflective windows.  Another song which absolutely refused to let itself be recorded so as to give the overall sound I’d intended.
  • Key Zero (i): theme (6:57): The beginning – concise statement of theme, introduction of leitmotiv and amidst all the 1979ery another Julian Cope brass line.
  • Key Zero (ii): Stung (3:14): How an original guitar riff by Mark Gilliland could end up sounding like Devo after a night on the tiles I can’t conceive.  Don’t stand...
  • Key Zero (iii): version (4:16): A thoroughly unpleasant episode, relieved only when a fleet of ice-cream vans attack Darth Vader’s Death Star.  Formerly contained the word “Jah” 44 times.
  • Key Zero (iv): spoken (5:22): A 1982 re-recording of Out Of The Bottle from the Lovemaking curio (EEG01) topped with an ill-advised attempt to sound like Howard Devoto on Magazine B-side The Book.
  • Key Zero (v): palinode (4:03): Any song that begins by quoting The Hunting Of The Snark and ends with Equus must have something going for it.  Writ-servers, probably.
  • Key Zero (vi): coda (4:48): In which I.S. pokes his left shoulder out the neckhole of his black T-shirt and sprains something.
 BONUS
  • Stung [1981 demo] (1:34)
  • Imam? part ii [instrumental version] (4:45)