Nicely Out Of Tune

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Scarecrow Song (Full Version with ending) Time:4.02 all original versions fade out around 3.20 or 3.50 By the last verse, however, the writer has moved his focus from the personal to the universal, mankind best served by compassion and communal respect: Then when things were happening, around about ten to four/There was a screeching of brakes, dogs barking outside, and a hammering on the door/Then the voice of officialdom, saying ‘Open in the name of the law’/But we just kept on holding hands, and singing this song some more.’ Side two has a completely different version of ‘We Can Swing Together’, although approx. two minutes shorter and ‘Alan In The River with Flowers’ is renamed ‘Float Me Down the River’. However, ‘We Can Swing Together’ deserves to get some extra space for a more detailed description: She gazed with loving beauty like a mother to a son/Like living, dying, seeing, being all rolled into one/Then all at once I heard some music playing in my bones/The same old song I’d heard for years/Reminding me of home.’

Seemingly inspired by The Beatles ‘ Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds‘ (although lyrically less abstract), ‘ Alan in the River with Flowers‘ prompts an excellent ensemble performance, delicate reading of the verses by Hull nicely offset with searing harmonies in the chorus. The version on the original single which was released when Nicely Out Of Tune first came out and flopped (in pic sleeve - run off groove A1U) is a shortened version of the UK album version (bones). When Meet Me On The Corner was a hit in 1972 Lady Eleanor was rereleased as A2U (some copies in pic sleeve, most without). This is the full length version and is the same as appears on the US Nicely Out Of Tune LP (bone). There was a 3rd UK version (A3U). This is the same shortened version as A1U. Some versions of A2U have ‘(From the L.P. CAS. 1025 - “Nicely Out Of Tune”)’ on the label A side even though that particular version is different from the album. The 4 prong version is the same as the solid centre (A2U). There are 2 versions of Lady Eleanor with regards to the lyrics. One has “… some music in my bone.” and the other “… some music playing in my bones.” In addition some versions have the intro cut and others are full length. Both "bones" & "bone" versions exist cut and full length. Cut versions are around 3:30, full length around 4:10. They sound like very slightly different mixes.Simon Cowe’s Uncle Sam is the album’s obligatory anti-war song, expressing the insecurities felt by a young generation faced with the likelihood of military conscription before we get to the album’s happiest song – and possibly one of the most carefree songs ever written – Rab Noakes’s Together Forever. Together Forever is a song that I continue to love, and I’ve often placed myself in the place of the carefree couple, sitting at the front of the bus, sitting on a park bench, or trying to hitch a ride, and just watching the world go by in front of their eyes, without feeling compelled to rush along with it. It’s just timeless and so joyful. Melodically serene and lyrically sublime, he develops the oration from climatic conditions to the human condition, asking questions of us as individuals and society as a whole in pondering the plight of those who are vulnerable and oppressed. As the Americans seemed to get the British version on CD, I presume that this extraordinary version will only ever be released on vinyl! That is a great shame as I prefer this one to the UK release. In the end there is a court appearance and verdict handed down by the judge who hears the case (‘ I have to send you all to jail for doing this terrible thing‘), the bonhomie and sing along nature of the piece ensuring it was a song they rarely failed to perform onstage.

I remember what the old man said on his little wooden stand/As he spoke very quietly with a waving of his hand/Every pigeon to its own hole, but what he seemed to say/I know I should go looking for, a better place to stay.’ Reinhard Groll: Ray, on the rear side of the album cover of the original Charisma album, and only there, one can find a "Thanks to..." section. First named is Ian, Si's younger brother and Lindisfarne's roadie until the disband in 73. Then there is the "Hull family", Alan's wife Pat and their daughters Rosamund, Francesca and Berenice. Coming from the pre-LF time still under the name of "Brethren" and "Downtown Faction" are Jeff Sadler and Richard Squirrel. Long time friend and Alan's partner in Hazy Music: Barbara Hayes. David Wood as the Engineer and Uncle Tony might be noone else than John Anthony. But who is: "Charlie, Kath, Barbara, Anna, Julia, Joe Robertson, Drummond, Mr. Bolton and Spectrum?" For myself, I was never quite the same after Fog On The Tyne. I still liked a bit of bombast – I still do – but Fog On The Tyne opened my eyes to the pleasure that can be derived from softer, acoustic music that has sheer enjoyment as its main objective and, when just a few months after my Fog On The Tyne epiphany, my bass guitar tutor got me to listen to Ashley Hutchings‘ Morris On, an album that truly and permanently shifted my musical axis, he was pushing at a door that was already half-open. All thanks to Fog On The Tyne.If the end of side one showed Hull at his most passionate in the cause of human kindness, the second side begins with him in the role of witty storyteller – ‘ We Can Swing Together‘ an amusing account of a social gathering, party held by a group of hippies perhaps a better description, that is broken up by the local constabulary. Long before Lindisfarne made their first album we had a collective interest in things visual and often fantasised about what our sleeve would be like when we eventually made our first album. It was always when and never if. Confident little gits we were. It was overdue recognition for a record that had revealed Lindisfarne as a coming, if short term, early 70s force – and Hull as songwriter of exceptional vitality. Didn’t think there could be more..." – Lindisfarne sang on the hypnotic and ethereal "Lady Eleanor" Turns out there is... And if you pass me on the side/Why don’t you stop and let me ride/You just had a better deal my son/Walking down the road to kingdom come.’

Inspired by ‘ The Fall of the House of Usher’ (a 19th Century short story by Edgar Allan Poe), Hull captures the supernatural aspect of the tale, his interpretation of events set on a platform incorporating electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, but added to on this occasion by some ominous, yet atmospheric organ work. The guitar/mandolin framework would go on to serve many Lindisfarne songs, producer John Anthony, as he does throughout the record, steering clear of otherwise unnecessary embellishments in allowing the words and melody to speak for themselves:Throughout a career as member of Lindisfarne and solo artist – that ended with his death at the relatively young age of 50 in November 1995 – Hull was committed to social justice and always a champion of the underprivileged. The final verse of this outstanding folk ballad is not only an extraordinary piece of literation, but manifesto for the next twenty five years. When winter’s shadowy fingers/First pursue you down the street/And your boots no longer lie/About the cold around your feet/Do you spare a thought for summer whose passage is complete?/Whose memories lie in ruins/And whose ruins lie in heat?/When winter/Comes howling in.’ Yet when the follow-up ‘ Fog on the Tyne‘ appeared the following year, it not only topped the UK album listings for a month but also brought attention to its predecessor, ‘ Nicely Out of Tune‘ belatedly reaching the Top Ten early in 1972. Fog On The Tyne was phenomenally successful. it made number one in the UK albums chart and, although released in late 1971, it became the UK’s biggest selling album of 1972. For a short while, Lindisfarne were the biggest thing going and Fog On The Tyne was popular across a wide demographic, not just with those of us who aspired to be hippies. It couldn’t last, and it didn’t. The follow up album, 1972’s Dingly Dell failed to capitalise on the success of Fog on the Tyne, although, personally, it’s an album I’ve always enjoyed. The critical reception was muted in comparison to the euphoria heaped upon Fog on the Tyne and the two singles extracted from the album, All Fall Down and Court In The Act both performed poorly. In early 1973, the original line-up of Lindisfarne sundered and, whilst the band have continued to exist, albeit sometimes sporadically, and for many years were almost sacred property in their home city of Newcastle, they never managed to recreate the magic of Fog On The Tyne – so let’s leave the story there and celebrate a fantastic, memorable, influential and culture-defining album.