Nothing May Come of It
The idea of producing a CD of some of the most familiar of Joan Ure’s songs has been around for a long time. I did work on more than twelve songs but these were the most often performed and the ones which, under different titles, have appeared on my web sites.
Those other versions and the accompanying information about Joan Ure have been taken down from the sites until after this latest revised and remastered one has been released.
The main difference this time is that the songs are being made available on a CD. For me this is a major and important difference. It may only be in my head and I obviously cannot be certain but it feels like something that Joan Ure would like to have happened. It was an idea that needed to be realized, a promise that had been waiting to be kept.
As the idea was taking shape the thoughts about what would be on the CD cover were never far away. Of the photographs I had of Joan and those I had seen none had much appeal. This was in part because of their quality. But in searching my own documents and those online I was immediately taken over by the one I subsequently chose to use. And again I may be wrong about this but in all I did in preparing for the CD I ran it past Joan - trying to think through what her response would be. I doubt I got it right, particularly in relation to the text but I am more confident about the image.
About the text. I rarely got the emphases right when working on, recording or performing the songs. But I was usually very kindly guided in what changes were needed.
I have a fond memory of performing to a small audience in Kilquhanity School. One of the songs I sang was Nothing to Sing About. Joan was in the the front row listening intently and after the first few lines she left her seat and rushed towards me to explain which words had needed a special emphasis. I began the song again with the changes she had described and she smiled and returned to her seat as the audience looked on with a mixture of surprise and enjoyment.
But back to the image, to the photograph. I soon found out it was not readily available to be used. It took a while but I eventually discovered that it was copyrighted by Mirrorpix and there would be a fee if I wanted to use it. And I did. By this stage it was the one and only photograph I wanted to use. I was unwilling to consider any other. I was convinced Joan would like it. The photograph was what the CD needed. Even if no one liked the songs they would be out there tucked up neatly in a CD cover with Joan Ure looking like I remembered her- and hopefully looking close to how she would like to be remembered.
With some helpful assistance from two members of the Mirrorpix staff I was able to get the permission I needed to use the photograph and with this in place I was able to begin focusing on the tracks. There were difficulties in deciding the order and after several false starts and the recoding of two of the lyrics as spoken word tracks the selection began to take shape. With some regret the quality of the song versions was not good enough to have included them.This may have been a mistake.
A further important consideration was whether to include the acoustic or the arranged version of Stay With it Baby. Again I tried to consider what Joan’s preference might be. My thinking was that she had always enjoyed the process of moving from the written word to having it recorded and then performed. And the arranged version was one more stage, a progression on the words being professionally worked on, and perhaps in better shape for being presented to a possibly wider audience. From my experience I think it’s fair to say that most listeners have a preference for the arranged songs rather than the simple acoustic versions. Not everyone of course - but mostly.
The song was also important because I felt it came from the depth of her understanding about hanging on in there when times are hard. It was chosen to be the concluding track of the twelve.
I may want to say more about all that was required to get to the final product but as I write this the CDs are in Cambuslang en route to Tiree. For personal and sentimental reasons it is an additional blessing that they stopped off there for a while. But the big hope now is that they will at least look like something Joan would have approved of. And that some who are not yet familiar with her words and her very special and particular way of responding to the world soon will be.
