The first and arguably most popular LP by the Colorblind James Experience was a veritable patchwork of recordings from different studios, in different states, with different line-ups.
Why'd the Boy Throw the Clock Out the Window? was Chuck's last recording project at Peter Miller Studios before he and Jan moved back east to Rochester, NY. First Day of Spring and Considering a Move to Memphis were used from the Dwight Glodell sessions. The remaining tracks, The German Girls, A Different Bob, Walking My Camel Home, Gravel Road, Fledgling Circus, Dance Critters and Great Northwest were all recorded at Dave Anderson's Saxon Studios.
Throughout the 80's, Saxon Studios was the recording studio for the burgeoning underground scene in Rochester. Far from being the first group to work there, the roster of bands that had walked up the stairs to Dave's attic-top studio included The Ferrets, Lotus STP, The Projectiles, The Chincillas, The Locusts, The Rumbles, Absolute Grey, The Raunchettes, The Young Idea, Static Cling, and The Fadeaways. Saxon Studios, to this day, remains very active and for the curious, the website is worth perusing.
On Dance Critters , you can hear Dave's dog bark during one of the chorus'. It either wanted in..or out. During the opening chorus of Fledgling Circus, the audible squeaks are from the drummer's throne Chuck was gently rocking on. The German Girls originally featured G. Elwyn Meixner on lead vocal. After he quit the band, Chuck went in a sang a new vocal track. G. Elwyn's guitar tracks were left intact however.
Although a version of Dance Critters had been recorded at Dwight Glodell's, it was in fact redone at Dave Anderson's. The sound of the Dwight Glodell recording was superior, but for some reason Chuck felt the performance itself wasn't quite right.
Friday, December 30, 2005
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The next lineup of CbJE also recorded at Saxon in '87, making a 45 for Jim Huey's AFM Records with "Sophisticated" as the A side, backed with Phil's great instrumental, "Havoc Theme." The single was released locally in Rochester, and these songs later made their way onto the Fundamental Records cd release of the first album as "bonus tracks." I like the songs and the recording isn't bad, but would say that they didn't really fit in on that first album release; the newer band's sound had changed too much. Also, John Ebert, Ken Frank and I had not been in the band too long, and our sound was still coming into focus.
We (along with many other bands back then) were in a strange limbo back then, as recording formats were in such flux. 45's were still considered important for "breaking" a group, LPs were still going strong, and CDs were largely an unknown commodity, but seemed to be important. And cassettes were still a strong format, so until we made 'Solid! Behind the Times,' everything was issued on three formats, an expensive and irritating necessity.
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