Saturday 24 November 2012

Chapter 67. Comprising an unpacking and illuminating of the great Aaarrgh, and involving a serious discussion of certain hitherto-for unmentioned beings and topics.  

It must occur to anyone who has at all and in anyway invested even a small amount of time and energy in reflecting upon the real and objective nature of this mysterious cosmos within which we blunder about, frightening the living day lights out of one another and constructing preposterous notions as to how and why and what, that in this great and mysterious creation there surely must be other beings of a more or less higher, or at least 'other' level of existence, not all of whom are necessarily kindly disposed to the comings and goings and overall evolutionary conduct of that aspect of creation that has come to be called humanity. For myself, ever since I met the god Shiva in room 369 of the Imperial Hotel, New Delhi, India, I have had little doubt of the existence of such entities and in particular the sun demons that are called in India the Asuras. Indeed, anyone familiar with the works of such authors as Charles Williams, C.S.Lewis or even Shakespeare will no doubt recognise that I am not alone in my convictions. 

Without sounding over grandiose, it is difficult to covey that which I would wish to convey to you, dear reader, and so I must take the chance and hope you will garnt me some sort of licence in this matter. There are in my musical endeavours certain elements that have, by dint of sundry expeditions in the Himalayas, India and North West Spain, a particular, lets say, provenance. This provenance might, just possibly lend these elements a quality that may, so to speak, light them up in such a way as to attract the attention of let us call them 'others', not necessarily sympathetic to the potential effects brought about by these certain elements. 
Anyone who has read Hell will be familiar with the "Horrid Perhapses" that beset Dante when he is abandoned by Virgil. Of course it could have just been a Horrid Perhaps or an accident by which Seeds of the Sun ended up in Mono! By the time this ghastly anomaly had been discovered, Far and Forgot had been replicated, sealed and packed ready for delivery. This just could not be, and so dear reader, you will, I beg you excuse a yet further delay in the delivery of your copy. This horrible circumstance has also proven quite expensive, but there is no way I would allow such a thing to be released into the public domain to reek havoc with your most refined and delicate sensibilities. 

Light Love and Life

Francis xxx


   

Saturday 17 November 2012

Chapter 42. Which deals with much of what has gone before and details a most pleasant reunion.

It is always a source of some frustration when the world in general sees fit to play at leapfrog with ones plans and projections and urges its sappers forward to collapse the walls of certainty which one has diligently constructed with all the confidence of an Alexander or a Napoleon ( I always forget that last o). It is in the light of these imperious circumstances that I find myself once again apologising for the lateness of Far and Forgot and begging your, dear reader, indulgence for just a brief time more. 
Anyway........
Last Wednesday I spent a very pleasant indeed couple of hours in the company of my old compadre (if that is how it is spelled) Mr Martin Russell. Martin has given the great benefit of his considerable studio experience and valuable time to the polishing and burnishing the finished product that is Far and Forgot. I am really most grateful. So we met at a half past eleven beneath the clock at Waterloo station and from there repaired to the tea rooms at the Royal Festival Hall for Earl Grey and conversation. Seeing as how we had neither seen nor heard nothing of one another for over thirty years, this meeting was remarkable for its lack of self-consciousness or awkwardness. 
Inevitably the talk turned to reminiscences of the old days in The Enid, both of us sharing the same mix of pride and horror over what had occurred way back then. There was a lot of fun and a lot of trauma, but our conversation has left something of a need in me to say to anyone who bought the Birmingham Town Hall DVD and watched the interview with Robert Godfrey and heard his fabrication of how I came to leave The Enid, that that version was simply untrue, a lie in fact. Still, never mind, if you choose to believe that stuff, who am I to nay say your cherishment?
Over tea, Martin made what I think is a very good suggestion. Why not do a HD surround sound version of Far and Forgot with video footage of yours truly narrating the story, for Far and Forgot has a story, and of the various esteemed musicians playing their parts in the making of the album. What do you, dear listener, think of this notion? Is it something that you feel you might enjoy? I so hope you do.
Might I make a plea to everyone who has so graciously bought Far and Forgot? You see, it is a gestalt, a whole and thing of itself and whilst music has the mystical property of existing only in the present,( you cannot listen to a piece of music all at once and yet you have to have a conception of the whole in order to appreciate and understand the parts) could I ask that if at all possible you listen to the all of Far and Forgot in one go? Of course this may be neither possible nor desirable and I fully understand if you choose otherwise, but it is written as a sort of a journey; a story even if the threads and plots and characters of the story may not be immediately apparent or obvious. They are there, somewhere beneath the surface. Also please play it as loud as you possibly can without risking the displeasure of your immediates and proximals. Far be it from me to drag your patently sober reputations into the mire of local opprobrium. 
Great to see you again Martin, lets do tea again real soon, as they say in the colonies.
Lots of Love to all.
Francis xxx