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RECORDING SESSIONS

This page lists VPO recording sessions. It does not explain how to record. See also recording vocals on a computer.
VPO vocal recording sessions, latest first. These normally include a lot of editing, plus often some mixing and sometimes additional orchestration, followed by "bouncing" the master to a single output file. For the ones made publicly available this would include converting them into MP3 format (which the software would do at the same time). If the session is recent, you should find the file posted elsewhere (click the Songs button at the top of this page).


5/7/20 - Such a shame, additional guitar.  10 takes. There were three guitar parts, though only guitar 3 had takes from this session on it - the others were made using loops (mostly mine). This was the last recording session for At the movies.
27/6/20 - On the line, additional guitar. 29 takes, resulting in three guitar tracks (3, 4 and 5 as they're labelled on the master), although two of these only appear in the outro. In addition there were two further guitar tracks made from loops. Guitar 3 made from the additional guitar takes is a real mash-up, with bits of all sorts of takes, sometimes long segments, sometimes very short.
21/6/20 - Remember me, additional guitar. 58 takes, recorded in bits, a bar or two at a time. Most of it was on a track with echo on it, with the odd bit on a no-echo guitar track.
14/6/20 - Gone, additional guitar. 18 takes, resulting in one guitar track made from takes 4, 12 and 18.
27/10/19 - Not yet, backing vocal, recorded while Ellen was having a nap the day she came out of hospital. 18 takes, resulting in two backing vocals: the first from takes 23, 29, 20 and 14; the second from takes 25, 27 and 17 (this is numbering the two sessions together). This was the last vocal recording session for At the movies though there were four later guitar-only recording sessions.
26/10/19 - Not yet, mainvocal, recorded while Ellen was in hospital. 11 takes. The resulting vocal was constructed from takes 7, 9, 10 and 11.
19/10/19 - Gone, main vocal and one backing vocal. 12 takes. The main vocal is take 5; the backing vocal is take 6 initially, switching to take 12. Worth dying for, main vocal and one backing vocal. 11 takes. Main vocal is take 5. Backing vocal is takes 7, 8 and 11.
2/10/19 - On the line, main vocal and three backing vocals. Ellen was at Vancouver airport about to catch the flight back from Canada. 28 takes.; take 5 was used for the main vocal. The backing vocals were an assortment of takes; in places pre-recorded vocal loops were incorporated.
1/10/19 - Lying liars, main vocal and one backing vocal.
30/9/19 - Such a shame, main vocal and four backing vocals. 19 takes. The main vocal is from takes 11 and 10. Vocal backing 1 is from takes 17, 19 and 12. Vocal backing 2, which only appears near the end, is from take 15. Vocal backing 3 is from take 16.
29/9/19 - The joke, main vocal and one backing vocal. Ellen was still in Canada. 16 takes. Main vocal is take 8. Backing vocal is takes 16 and 12.
28/9/19 - Circle of death, main vocal and two backing vocals. 34 takes in total, though the last of these was a small segment of alternate lyric that wasn't in fact used. The main vocal was take 18 at the beginning, switching to take 20 after a while.
27/9/19 - On the wire, main and backing vocal. This was a Friday, but I was still too poorly for chess. Ellen was still in Canada. 19 takes; main vocal is take 12 as counted by Logic though I've numbered it 9; backing vocal, which is confined to the outro, is made from takes 14, 16 and 19.
26/9/19 - Remember me, main and backing vocal. I was still getting over a cold; Ellen was still in Canada. 12 takes. The main vocal is mostly take 10 with bits of take 8; the backing vocal is takes 11 and 12.
25/9/19 - Sunday (when it's gone), main vocal and two backing vocals, the main vocal before dinner and the backing vocals after it. Ellen was still in Canada. I was getting over a horrid cold. 27 takes. Main vocal is take 9. Vocal backing 1 was assembled from a lot of different takes. Vocal backing 2 only appears briefly and is from takes 25 and 26.
24/9/19 - Yesterdays (keep chasing me around), after dinner. I was still recovering from a horrid cold, and Ellen was in Canada. We'd spoken via Skype, and she'd suggested I record, so I did. 22 takes, main vocal and four backing vocals (though much of the backing vocal only appears in the outro). Main backing vocal is take 8 initially, switching to take 12 at the middle 8; backing 1 is take 19 except for the outro which is take 20; backing 2 is take 21 except for a very short segment of take 19; backing 3 is almost all take 22 except for short clips of take 19 and a very short blip of take 8; backing 4 is made of short segments of take 19 played backwards with heavy effects. This was the first recording session for At the movies.

15/6/19 - guitar-only session (MRT7), aimed at recording guitar loops for use in At the movies. There appear to have been 36 takes, though these were hacked around a lot to produce (eventually) 92 individual loops available on Logic.

20/10/18 - I believe (in you), The Lighthouse, The (other) wild child, Rocket, (Just my) suspicious mind, We can't talk - additional backing vocals (while Ellen was at an adoption event).
1/7/18 - Against the light - additional backing vocals. Another 11 takes. The cheerful wee song - additional backing vocals, another 12 takes. Everybody's talking - additional backing vocals. Another 4 takes. I believe in you - the remainder of the backing vocals. I considered adding further vocals to What you could have done but decided to leave it as it was.
30/6/18 - You hurt me - 11 takes for the main vocal and another 7 for the backing vocals. I believe (in you) - most of the vocals.
24/6/18 - What you could have done - additional guitar.
17/6/18 - What you could have done - while Ellen was having an extended nap upstairs.
16/6/18 - The Lighthouse - guitar-only session.
12/6/18 - The Lighthouse - guitar-only session.
11/6/18 - The Lighthouse - guitar-only session.
10/6/18 - The sorry song - guitar-only session (middle 8).
6/6/18 - The sorry song - guitar-only session - outro.
3/6/18 - The sorry song - vocals
29/4/18 - Against the light - 5 takes for the main vocal, another 3 for the backing vocal. We can't talk - 5 takes for main vocal. Backing vocal was assembled from main vocal plus effects.
15/4/18 - We can't talk - guitar-only session.
23/3/18 - The (other) wild child - 7 takes for the main vocal, another 4 for the middle 8.
18/3/19 - Failure - 6 takes for the main vocal, 4 for backing vocals and another 3 for spoken vocals.
17/3/18 - Failure - guitar-only session. Guitar parts 4 and 5.
12/3/18 - The Lighthouse - 8 takes, all for the main vocal (while using leave up).
11/3/18 - (Just my) suspicious mind - 10 takes, of which 3 were for the outro.
5/3/18 - Rocket, Thoughts of home - between about 2pm and 4pm.
12/2/18 - The cheerful wee song - during a day on leave using leaver up, as it happened the same day Mum was discharged from hospital and went to Milward House. 8 takes for the main vocal, another 4 for the backing vocal. Everybody's talking - while Ellen was visiting Mum at Milward House.
8/12/17 - What I ponder on, while Ellen was having a meal out with some bikers. 10 takes for main vocal, another 5 for backing vocal.
11/11/17 - Mindless violence - 17 takes, though only three were straight-through takes of the main vocal. Some were abortive for technical reasons or were short sections re-recorded for technical reasons.

16/10/17 - guitar-only session (loops - MRT6). Apparently 147 loops.
28/10/17 - guitar-only session (loops - MRT5). Apparently 136 loops.
9/7/17 - guitar-only session (loops - MRT4). Apparently 49 loops.

16/7/16 - Don't you worry 'bout me, finishing around 11am, while Ellen was off on her motorbike going to a club breakfast. Key: Bb. Takes: 6, all for the main vocal. I thought about a backing vocal, but it didn't feel right, especially as the whole point was that the character was alone - it would have been too much like I'm all alone by Monty Python.
10/7/16 - Let your hair down, apparently around lunchtime. Takes:22, of which about 8 were for the main vocal.
12/6/16 - Messin' round, in the afternoon, while Ellen was gardening. Takes: 9 for the lead vocal and the other 4 for the backing vocal.
19/5/16 - Wednesday kinda guy (on an early finish), session finishing around 6:30pm. Key: Eb. Takes: 17, of which 8 were for the lead vocal.
17/4/16 - Thomas Island, apparently early evening. Key: C.  Takes: 26, apparently around half of them for the backing vocal. C'est La Vie (that's bloody life). Key: A. Takes: 32, of which 12 were for the main vocal.
16/4/16 - I couldn't say. Key: E. Takes: 5, plus one test and two abortive.
11/4/16 - Ballad of Clint and Joe, following early finish, before dinner. Ellen was drowsing. Key: F#. Takes: 11, of which about 6 were for the main vocal.
3/4/16 - I dreamed (I'd say I love you), despite a window catch breaking, the neighbour planing in his back garden and a thunderstorm. Takes: 21, of which 9 were for the main vocal.
30/3/16 - What's goin' down. Key: Eb.  Takes: 12, of which 6 were for the lead vocal.
13/3/16 - One too many mornings. Key: G#. Takes: 23, of which around 11 were for the main vocal.
10/3/16 - Be careful (what you wish for) , from around 4:30pm, finishing around two hours later. Key: C#. Takes: 8 for the main vocal, though one was abortive for technical reasons. 14 for the backing vocal.
28/2/16 - The (other) guitar man. Key: D. Takes: 21, of which 5 were for the main vocal.
21/2/16 - Back to Boston, while Ellen was typing. Total 23 takes of which 7 were for the main vocal (which is mostly take 7 with odd bits of take 6).
16/2/16 - Clarkson River. Key: F. Takes: 20, of which 5 were for the main vocal (which consisted almost entirely of take 5).  The guitar is me. The banjo isn't.
10/2/16 - (I'm only) killing time. First vocal recording session for Way out west. Key: G. Takes: 10, of which 6 were for the main vocal (for which I used take 6).  One of the two guitars is performed by me; the other is symthesised.

6/1/16 - guitar-only session, quite a short one actually, I think about three quarters of an hour. This time I used a recording app on the mobile and basically bashed about to see what came. I got 56 loops although Logic for some reason only took 54 of them. From all three sessions put together it now has 272 Taylor guitar recordings.
8/11/15 - guitar-only session, largely finger picking with a bit of strumming thrown in. A lot more chords were used than the previous session. This one yielded 156 loops.
16/10/15 - guitar -only session. This was the first recording session with the new Taylor acoustic guitar. Ten sets of loops resulted from it, almost all strumming patterns of various types, mostly fairly basic as recording to a click track and staying in sync with it turned out to be extremely difficult.  This was a Friday, and I was actually off sick that day with flu. I subsequently edited the recordings to produce 88 loops.

19/10/14 - My father's boat [re-record]. Additional backing vocals for Round and round.
12/10/14 - Queer as folk. This was the last recording session of new material for Times past. It was a deliberately sarcastic parody of an evening during a cruise up the Douro in Portugal. The clapping was a bit of a nightmare to edit and took ages. Key: C major.  Chords: going up down C, F and G.  No minors. Takes: 5 for the lead vocal and another 6 for the backing vocals.
5/10/14 - Round and round.  F major.  Chord progression (verses): originally I-V-I-IV-V i.e. F-C-F-Bb-C. Later I-V-I-IV, I-V-I-IV, I-V-I-IV-V.  There aren't actually that many chord changes in the chorus.  29 takes of which only the first ten were for the lead vocal. Some technical problems towards the end of the session.
28/9/14 - I'm done. 13 takes for the main vocal and another 8 for the backing vocal.  This is nominally scored as B minor.  The chord sequence is a bit complicated. The first two sections are mostly minors and the odd diminished but in section 3 it switches to mostly majors.
21/9/14 - Security briefing.  Doing the initial edit was a nightmare. It was nearly 6 by the time I wrapped. Takes: 12 for the main vocal and another 8 for the backing. B major.  Sections 1, 3, 6, the intro and the outro are alternating B and E.  Sections 2, 4 and 7 are mostly alternating F# and Db with odd bits of B thrown in.  Section 5 is mostly B and Db with odd bits of F# thrown in.
31/8/14 - You know. This was the first recording session in which I used software monitoring in low latency mode to be able to hear through the headphones what I was singing as I was recording it, without the offputting lag that would have been present otherwise. Key: A. Takes: 11 for the lead vocal, another 9 for the backing vocal.  Chords: (verses) A-D-E-A (middle 8) C#m - F#m - C#m - F#m - Bm (this at any rate was how I actually wrote the chord sequence, though the software may have done something else with the loops). Two of the three guitar tracks are me (from the fourth guitar-only recording session); the other consists of professional loops (which I bought) which will have been recorded by a session musician.
25/8/14 - Moments. Key: C#. Takes: 9 for the lead vocal and apparently 13 for backing vocals making 22 in all.  This was orchestrated very quickly, in only three sessions.  The chord sequence is complicated. It's largely Db and Ab, especially in the middle section, though it also uses Bb m and F#. One of the guitars is me. The other is synthesised.
17/8/14 - Let's go for a drink.  Key: C. Takes: 7 for the main vocal and another 15 for the backing vocals.  Chords (intro): all C; (verse): C-G-C-F-C; (chorus): G-C-G-C; (middle 8): C all the way through;  (outro): alternating C and G. The guitar is all me.
10/8/14 - Was that it? Key: E. Takes: 12 for the lead vocal, another 4 for the backing vocals.  Chords: in theory the verses were all in E, although I was following the chords in the guitar loop.  The choruses were alternating E and B. The middle 8 was scored as mostly D# diminished and B, with bits of C# minor, G# minor and E.  I have to say I did hugely enjoy this session, though getting the middle 8 right took a bit of doing.
9/8/14 - guitar-only recording session. 41 loops in various chords. Processing this lot took a long time. The loops weren't bounced until 13th August.
6/8/14 - guitar-only recording session. 15 loops mostly based on E major.  Doing this and processing them so that they were avaialble on Logic took all evening.
2/8/14 - Nearly. Key: A. Takes: 9 for the main vocal, another 2 for the backing vocals.  Chords: intro, sections 1, 3, 6, alternating Bb and Eb.; sections 2 & 4, mostly F and Eb with a little bit of C; section 5, Gm - Eb - Gm - Dm - A dim - Gm - A dim - Bb - Gm - Eb - Gm - Dm - A dim - Gm - A dim - Bb; outro Eb.
20/7/14 - Riot act.  Key: F#. Takes: 19 altogether for the backing vocals, another 18 for the main vocals.  Chords: some of the sections are Eb m - F dim - Eb m - Db, though later in the song there is a very similar section subtly altered to alternating F# and Db. The middle 8 (section 5) and outro are F# - B - Db - F# (repeated twice).  The other sections are F# - B - F# - Db.
6/7/14 - X1 (or,  enjoy the show).  Key: B. Takes,: 31 altogether, of which the first 13 were for the main vocal. Chords: for the first three sections and sections 5, 7 and 8, alternating E and B, though with an E suspended 4th thrown in during section 7.  Sections 4 and 6, F# - B - Db - F#.  Outro, E then F# alternating with B.
24/6/14 - guitar-only recording session which produced 21 loops mostly based on F# i.e. same fingering as E but with a capo on the second fret. These loops worked out better as I did a better job recording and editing them.
22/6/14 - Carolling (or, good old dad). Recorded while Ellen was typing downstairs. Takes: 5 for the main vocal and another 15 for backing vocals. Key: D.  Chords: verses alternating D and G, with A, Fm and E turning up near the end of each verse. Choruses: D, A, E.
7/6/14 - If I died. Recorded just after my front door had been very expensively repaired (ouch).  Takes: 15 for all vocals, though I got the main vocal quite quickly (I used mostly take 6 with bits of take 5). Key: G.  Chords: shedloads of minors in the intro / middle 8.  Alternating G and C for most of the verses, though ending D - F#m - D - Db. Chorus and outro: nominally all A.
1/6/14 -  Sodding horses.  This only started sounding right well into the session, while I was working on the backing vocals. Key: A.  Takes: 32 including all backing vocals and one test recording at the beginning.  Chords: verses mostly alternating A and E with some D and a dash of C# diminished near the ends. Middle 8: mostly minor chords - F#, C#, F# again, B, then going back into A major at the end.
 
10/3/14 - guitar-only recording session. 20 loops based on E major & variants. This turned out to be a bit of a nightmare while I worked out how to do it.

8/9/13 - The stuff of dreams. Based on a well known adventure character. I forgot to log this at the time, but the date on the file containing the first take shows it must have been then. There appear to have been 14 takes.
16/8/13 - Firm understanding.  Very loosely based on a book by Mario Puzo (the idea that is, not the lyrics).  Key: D. 20 takes for everything including backing vocals. The middle 8 was recorded separately to the verses and choruses, and I had to slow the whole thing down from 120 to 110 in order to be physically able to deliver the lyrics which are rather rapid fire.  Chords: D and A in the verses, G and D in the choruses, A, D and G in the middle 8. The outro is all D.
11/8/13 - Guess who. I'll leave guessing who this is describing as an exercise for the reader. I considered an impersonation but rejected it as I didn't want to do a bad song about bad songs. It was an absolute nightmare to mix. 13 takes, although only the first 7 were for the lead vocal. Key: C major (which I intended to be a slightly cheeky insult).  Chords: mostly just alternating C and G (another insult) though the middle 8 has a few bars of F thrown in.
3/8/13 - I wouldn't know. This was a difficult song to record as there were a lot of minor chords which made parts of it technically awkward. The lead vocal ended up being assembled from two takes (5 and 14), and one of the four backing vocals had a lot of pitch correction done on it. Takes: 30 altogether, which included the backing vocal which was mostly recorded in bits. Key: A major.  Chords: the first part of each verse was alternating A and C#m. The second part was mostly E with two bars of B#m.  The last part of the actual song was mostly A and D with bits of  F#m and Bm. The outro was initially alternating A and E though after a time it switched to alternating A and D.
21/7/13 - The twitty song. This was a bit of a nightmare to mix. The backing vocals are very subtle but they are there. They may sound effortless now, but it took a lot of painstaking editing to get them completely synchronised. I was surprised how well I was able to deliver the lead vocal, and how quickly I got it (7 takes).  Key: F major, although the pitch corrector had some funny ideas about what F major consisted of (which I corrected manually).  Takes: 25 altogether though this did include the backing vocal which was recorded in bits. Chords: the verses are all in F except for a section of Bb. The choruses are alternating C and F.
14/7/13 - Drop dead.  This is something close to heavy metal and in that sense was probably the most extreme song I've recorded.  Key: G# (or if you prefer Ab).  Takes: 28 altogether for all the vocals, although the backing vocal was done in bits and a lot of the takes were for that.  The last take for the main vocal was take 11 which was the one I used. Chords: this was actually much more complicated than it sounds and used four patterns altogether. I'm not going to go through the whole lot - suffice to say that a lot of it was alternating Db and Ab, with precisely one bar of Bbm (see if you can spot it).
30/6/13 - Fraulein Fi. This was I think the fastest tempo song I've ever done - 170 - and required a lot of physical exersion to get the lyrics out that fast.  I was streaming with sweat recording it. Perhaps you didn't want to know that.  Key: Eb.  Takes: only 13 actually, for the whole lot including the backing vocals. I knew what I wanted to do basically, and did it. Chord sequence: the verse is various versions of Eb (including suspended 4th for example) and Bb.  The chorus is mostly alternating Eb and Bb with the odd Ab thrown in and at one point two bars of Cm either side of Fm. The middle 8 is Ab suspended second and Bb, finishing with Eb i.e. the root chord. This song is entirely orchestrated and doesn't use any audio loops anywhere (apart from percussion).
25/6/13 - Ain't it always.  This was an evening session which was very unusual, and yes it did take all evening. I got back ache with all the standing up.  Key: C#. Takes: 22 for all the vocals. Chord sequence: Db-F#-Ab-F#-Db-F#-Ab-F#-Db (flogging the root chord of course, that's the verse) Fm-Db-Ab-Db (chorus)  Db-F#-Ab-F#-Db-F#-Ab-F#-Db-F#-Ab-F#Ab-Db (finishing with the root chord of course, that's the middle 8).
16/6/13 - Lord. This was only the second song recorded against a deadline. I did get it all recorded, just about, though with fewer takes than usual. I had to do a lot of remixing later and also decided to add another backing track (though probably inaudible in the finished version). Key: Bb.  Takes: 18 altogether for all the vocals except one vocal track made from pre-recorded audio loops. Chord sequence: verses alternating Bb and F.  Chorus mostly Bb and F with the odd bit of Eb thrown in.  Middle 8 and outro alternating Gm and Dm.
9/6/13 - Cotton fields. This was a somewhat difficult session. The song was orchestrated very fast, in four sessions, and it wasn't until I came to record it that I found out the hard way that it had stressing problems. I had to make running repairs to both the lyric and the orchestration, and as a result recording all the vocals including the backing took 31 takes.  The chord sequence was intended to be in F major, but the software wasn't told this as was apparently under the impression that it was in C major, so any musicians among you may have fun working out which one you think it was actually in. Chords (verse) C-F-C-G-C-F-C-F (chorus) G and C alternating, all of which does suspiciously look like C rather than F.
2/6/13 - Numpty of the year. I enjoyed recording this one a lot, though because the lyric is rapid-fire it was very difficult to get expressiveness into it.  It's really quite basic in it's construction, but it sounds great because all the elements are co-ordinated and work together - it has great cohesion. I spent some while on the backing, and did more with it than I would usually do. Key: G major. Chords: verse G-C-G-D-G (and you can see a clear pattern in that just looking at it), middle 8 D-C-G. Takes: 12 altogether for all the vocals including the backing.  Of those, the first seven were for the main vocal.
19/5/13 - When you've got to go. I liked the idea of this as I don't think it's been done before. The closest comparison seems to be Strephan's a member of Parliament, from Gilbert & Sullivan's Iolanthe (19th century).  Key: E major. Chords: this is actually quite complicated. E-C#m-E-A-B-G#m-B-E for the verse for example. The alternating chords in the chorus are B and E. Takes: 9 for the main vocal and another 2 for the backing vocals (which I got very quickly as I knew what I wanted).
12/05/13 - Fry's Turkish delight. Key: C major.  Chords: basically C-F-C-G-C, with the chorus G-C and the middle 8 Em-Am-Dm-Em. Takes: 8 for the main vocal. Another 8 for backing vocals.
27/4/13 - Pebbles in a jar. This was another one I felt very good about. I knew just what to do with it, although I was expecting it to be an emotional session and it really wasn't. Takes: 10 for the main vocal.; 7 altogether for the various backing vocals. . Key: B major. Chords: B-F#-B-F#-G#m-Ebm-F#-E for the verse. Alternating B and E (with variations) for the chorus. B-F# for the middle 8.
20/4/13 - Smokey River. I really enjoyed this one; it felt just right and I felt great doing it. Takes: 10 for the main vocal, a total of 8 for all the backing vocals including the spoken vocal. Key: A major.  Chords: A-E-A-D-E-A-E (these being the three usual chords for A major).  I tried to model the structure of this including the chord sequence on archetypal blues so it should be there or thereabouts.
14/4/13 - Gordy baby. This was the first recording session for Out of character. Takes: 12 for  the main vocal,  3 for the backing vocal, only one for the spoken vocal. Key: D major. Chords: it's basically D-G-D-A-F#m for the verses. The choruses are nominally all D except in so far as the audio clip may have included chord changes.

14/7/12 - Read the manual. This was the last recording session for That's odd.  I had problems with the bass part which had got mangled and took ages to sort out. Fortunately the vocal glitches of the previous session weren't repeated.  Takes: 8 for the main vocal.  A total of 18 for the backing vocals, although these were partial rather than all the way through.  3 for the spoken vocals. Key: D major. Chords: verses were scored D-A-D-A-G-A-G-F# dim.  The middle section stayed in F# dim though as usual with audio loops what the machine did to fit them to the chord sequence and whether there were chord changes inside the loops was beyond my ken.
8/7/12 - One day you'll understand. This was a very emotional recording session though it was frustratingly marred by technical problems with the backing vocal. I think it has to appear last on the CD because there's no way I could follow it.  Takes: 9 for the main vocal; 16 in total for the backing vocal, though they were partial rather than all the way through. Used: mostly 9 with parts of 8 for the main vocal; 10, 13 and 16 for the backing vocal.  Key: B major. Chords: the verses are alternating E and F# with bits of B now and again. The short trailers between verses are Eb minor, C# minor, Eb minor, G# minor.  The short outro is in B which is where the last verse finished.
29/6/12 - The Englebert Humperdinckness of it all. This is another song that is not about Englebert Humperdinck.  Takes: 6 for the main vocal, and I make it 29 altogether for various backing vocals. Used: 6 for the main vocal (apart from about 2 bars of 5) and the last version of each section of backing vocal (apart from one where I did a destructive edit and it didn't work out... which left me using the one before that). Key: F major, although this was after it was bumped 3 semitones to keep it within my range. Chords: as they appear on the machine, the verses are F and C with bits of Bb. The verses are F and C with a bit of E. The middle 8 is Dm and Am with bits of Eb, until the end of the choruses where it goes to Bb and then switches back to F.
23/6/12 - Englebert Humperdinck (or not). I would like to stress at this point that this is *not* a song about Englebert Humperdinck, and that the lyric was written years before he narrowly avoided coming last in the Eurovision song contest. Takes: 7 for the lead vocal (which I really didn't have a lot of trouble with). The backing vocal was recorded in bits as it was harder. There were a total of 15 takes, but each one only for a part of the running time. Used: 7 for the main vocal, and the last recorded for each section of the backing. Keys: scored as B major. Chords: the first section that repeats towards the end is scored F#-B-F#-B-F#-Db-Eb m.  The second section, the pattern of which is used only once, is scored Eb m - Bb m - Eb m - Bb m - Db - F#. The third section, which occurs again at the end, is scored Eb m (for the long intro) - G#m - Bb m - G# m - Bb m, after which of course it goes into F# for the start of the fourth section.
16/6/12 - The elephant. This had a deadline as I had something else coming up at 3pm that couldn't wait. I had a little trouble with the backing which ended up as a composite, otherwise it was fine. Takes: 11 for the main vocal and another 12 for the backing (although take 12 was only partial). Used: 9 all the way through for the main vocal; a composite of  10, 7, 8, 9 and 12 for the backing vocal. Keys: this was scored as A major though I had my suspicions that some of it had transmogrified into Eb major. Chords: 1st and 5th sections A and E alternating; 2nd, D and A alternating; 3rd, F#m, C#m, B#m and finally E; 4th,  A and E.
9/6/12 - Contemplating the void. This was tricky to get right as it's rather irregular and veers around all over the place.  I decided not to do a backing vocal as such, though I did pinch bits of main vocal and add effects to them. Takes: 16. Used: 15. Key: E major. Chords: mostly E, B and the odd bit of A, although there are also longish sections of minor chords, especially C#m and F#m.
3/6/12 - The $15m duck.  I seemed to have less trouble with this one, though I did spend some while working away at it. Takes: 12 for the main vocal, three for the first backing vocal and only one for the second (spoken) backing vocal. Used: the last in each case.  Key: Ab major. Chords: this is mostly Ab, with stretches of Db and Eb and odd bits of F minor.
26/5/12 - Answers on a postcard. Three hours due to a lot of vocal edits. Takes: 10 for the main vocal and another 3 for the backing. Used: the last one in each case, though with a small amount of take 7 at the end of the main vocal. Key: apparently C major with G# as an accidental. Chords: mostly C and F with bits of G and even the odd bit of E minor.
19/5/12 - Every minute. This took nearly three hours.  Takes: 14 for the main vocal, 3 for the backing vocal. Used: the last one in both cases, right through. Key: D major, all the way through.  Chords: verses alternating between G and D; choruses various, more A than anything else though with a bit of  B minor thrown in; middle 8 A-D-A-E then E-D-A-E.
13/5/12 - Bananas. Takes: 8 for the main vocal, 5 for the main (harmony) backing vocal,  3 for the spoken backing. Used: the last one in each case, right through.  Key: Eb major, all the way through.  Chords: this is basically swapping back and forth between Eb and Bb except for a couple of stretches of Ab.
6/5/12 - Stick insect blues.  Takes: 8 for the main vocal, 3 for the backing vocal and just 1 for the sermon at the end. Used: mostly 8 with some 7 for the main vocal, 3 for the backing and the one and only for the sermon. Key: B major, all the way through.  Chords: Lots of B and E with the odd F#, although the middle verse is all minor chords - Eb, C# and G#.
22/4/12 - Er.  Takes: 13 for the main vocal and believe it or not 16 for the backing vocal, which I did struggle with for some while. Used: in both cases the last one, all the way through. Key: A# Blues, all the way through. That is, the chord sequence was written with that, apart from a few bars near the end. Chords: there appear to be large amounts of B flat minor and D flat, and a certain amount of A flat at the end.
15/4/12 - Funny.  It took more than three hours altogether to get this. Takes: 15 for the main vocal; another 7 for the backing vocal; and two for the jokes at the end (yes, that really is me, pitch shifted to make it sound like a particularly annoying but you understand purely hypothetical comedian). Used: 14 and 15 for the main vocal, 7 all the way through for the backing, 2 for the jokes.  The laughter is of course canned, but it does show you what you can do to make it sound as if something is funny when it isn't.
8/4/12 (Easter Sunday) - Yoghurt as meditation. This was harder work than it sounded due to all the sudden key changes.  Takes: 15 for the main vocal and another 7 for the backing vocal. Used: mostly 15 for the main vocal with bits of 14; 7 all the way through for the backing vocal. Keys: the Indian key Bhairav, all the way through.  Chords: there's a lot of Db in this with variations of C, F or E in places.
6/4/12 (Good Friday) - What it feels like. This felt like awfully hard (and very hot!) work for a time, but got easier as it went on, and as so often I was quite relaxed by the end.  The wording of the backing vocal in the chorus was written just after breakfast that morning. Keys: the chord sequence was written in a jazz key called D Super Locrian (also called the altered dominant scale or the altered scale). The choruses were written in plain vanilla B major. Chords: a lot of the verses were either F diminished or some version of B, B flat or B minor; the choruses alternated between F sharp and B.
30/3/12 - Arabian circles.  Takes (not counting test recordings etc.): 8 for the main vocal and another 6 for the backing. Used: 8 for the main vocal, all the way through; mostly 6 (with bits of 5 here and there) for the backing vocal. Keys: 1st and 3rd sections were written in the Indian key Kafi (which however rather mundanely seems to amount to Bb major); middle section was written in the Indian key Todi (Db major). Chords: 1st and third sections, mostly variations on F and Bb with the odd Gm thrown in; middle section, variations on Ab and Eb.

20/8/11 - Steam. Location recording of steam train at the Bluebell Line from Sheffield Park going towards Horsted Keynes. The original recording was well over half an hour of which I will be using no more than 12 minutes.
13/8/11 - Now. Last recording of vocals for new material for Mortality. This one was hard work as the lyric rattles through at some speed. Takes: 10 for the main vocal, another two for the backing vocal. Used: 10 all the way through for the main vocal, 2 all the way through for the backing. Keys: it's scored in F all the way through, but some of it looks a bit strange. Chords: all variations of F major.
29/7/11 - Baldalay. I have to say I did enjoy this one.  Takes:  7 for the main vocal (including a microphone test) and another 6 for the backing vocal (plus a seventh for the spoken part at the end). Used: 7 all the way through for the main vocal, though it was hacked around quite a lot in places; 6 all the way through except the spoken part which was 7 for the backing.  Keys: A minor all the way through.  Chords: mostly alternating either between A minor and D minor (with the odd E minor thrown in), or between C and G (with quite a few of them being power chords).
23/7/11 - Farewell. At times a very emotional session, and I did use quite a lot of that. Takes: 13, which included a microphone test and at least one abortive one. Used: mostly 7 with 13 in places. Keys: D major, all the way through. Chord sequence: mostly alternating between variations of D and A (listen to the guitar for example), with the odd B minor and E minor thrown in.
16/7/11 - Lifetime.  Takes: 14 for the main vocal and another 8 for the backing vocal. Used: 14 almost all the way through for the main vocal, with a short piece of 12; a mix of 7 and 8 for the backing vocal. Keys: mostly Db although the middle 8 is in the obscure key C Mixolydian. Chord sequence: again complicated; starts Db - Db - Ab/Eb - Db - Ab/C - Bb m - Eb m/Bb - Bb m - Ab - Bb m - Ab - Db - Ab - Db - Ab/C - Db/F - Ab/Eb - Db.
9/7/11 - Time passing backwards. Had problems with the chorus so I had to rewrite part of it. There are an awful lot of lyrics delivered very fast so getting the rhythm right was critical. Takes: 21 for the main vocal, including one test recording and one abortive; another  7 for the backing vocal although this did include three different backings. Used: 21 on the main vocal, all the way through; 2, 4 and 7 as backing vocals. Keys: verses in Bb, choruses and outro in C, middle 8 in G. Chord sequence: this is very complicated as almost every bar has a different chord and there are 82 bars.  To give you a flavour, it stars (verse 1): Bb / Dm/A / Bb / Dm/A / Gm/Bb / Cm / Bb / F/A / Dm/A / Gm/B / Cm / Gm/B / D/A / Gm/Bb / C / Bb / Dm/A.  There are various C chords in the chorus and various G chords in the middle 8. C and G chords are mised in the verse 2 trailer and in the outro.
2/7/11 - Ghosts.  I had problems doing the initial edit on this until I realised that the pitch corrector was mucking it up. The reason eventually turned out to be that it had been told to correct for C major when it was actually in Eb major. Takes: 13 for the main vocal, another 8 for the backing although the chorus backing was recorded separately. Used: mostly 13 with bits of 12 for the main vocal; 7 (last verse) and 8 (choruses) for the backing vocal. Keys: yes, let's hear it for Eb major, although I don't know quite what happened about the key symbol on the score view which looked suspiciously like C major to me... however...
25/6/11 - Killing time. This was hit by technical gremlins which is always frustrating, but I got going eventually.  Takes: 19 altogether for the main vocal, and another 7 altogether for the backing which included some whistling. Sadly the good whistling on the finished track isn't me (I was never an accomplished whistler).  Used: mostly 18 for the main vocal, with bits of 19 due to a very late lyric change and to fix one mistake; 3 all the way through for the backing except for the whistling which is take 7 (although I may take it off and it's barely audible anyway). Keys: this is scored at the moment as a mixture of C#, F and Ab, mostly F, although Logic Express is obviously not convinced.  Chord sequence: Db-C-F-Db-C-F.
18/6/11 - Say goodbye. At the risk of being smug, to me this just sounds fantastic, the mix of western an exotic instruments creates a tremendous sound, I love listening to this one. Takes: seven for the main vocal, including one microphone test; plus another five for the backing. Used: 7 all the way through for the main vocal, and 5 all the way through for the backing. Keys: this is scored as Ab all the way through, although there does appear to be the odd accidental in the middle 8. Chord sequence: Ab-Eb-Ab-Eb-Ab 5.
12/6/11 - Intimations of mortality.  Takes: 14 including one test for the main vocal; another 4 for the backing. This was hard to get the hang of due to the variations in the stressing patterns in different parts of the vocal. Used: 14 all the way through for the main vocal; 4 all the way through for the backing. Keys: there are a lot of key changes in this one. The sequence goes: G-A-C-A in the first section; mostly E with bits of A in the second; E all the way through the third; E and then B in the four; and B in the outro.  Chords: again a lot of chord changes. The sequence is: D-E-C-E-B-E-B-E-F#. Angel in the sky. This is a commercial project for which I was asked to compose and do a piano-only demo of someone else's lyric. I have reported separately to the person who requested it.
5/6/11 - I guess I changed my mind.  Takes: 13 for the main vocal, although as usual this includes some tests and abortive takes. One reason it took a while was that I found out the hard way while recording that there were problems with how I'd written the vocal that I had to sort out during the session.  Another three takes for the backing. Used: mostly 13 on the main vocal though with a couple of bits of 10; 3 all the way through on the backing vocal though I can see some or all of this coming out during the edit.  Keys: verses are in F major; the middle 8 starts in C major and then switches to B major.  Chords: this is almost all F, though with a short stretch in F# in the middle 8.
28/5/11 - The sailor.  Though I say it myself, this is a really beautiful song, though the backing took a lot of work. Takes: 11 for the main vocal, which included I believe three or so that were tests or abortive (I forgot to switch the microphone on); another six for the backing vocal. Used: 11 on the main vocal, except for one short clip of 8; 6 all the way through on the backing vocal. Keys: F sharp major, all the way through. This one doesn't use a chord sequence - it just whallops straight through in F major, going up and down it in places.
22/5/11 - Sin at speed. Although this was about life and morality, the temptation to include in jokes about work proved irresistable. Takes: 9 for the main vocal, although this included two test recordings; and one only for the backing, although I later divided this in half for effects and mixing purposes. Used: 9 all the way through, plus the only backing vocal take. Keys: this is mostly E major, though there are periods of Eb major at the end of the verses. Chord sequence: the intro is E; the middle 8 is E-Eb-E; the verses go E-D-C-F-D, and then back into E again at the beginning of the next section.
15/5/11 - Catholic shame. Takes: 11 with the Ross microphone for the main vocal, including two tests; plus apparently one with the built-in mic, that wasn't used. A further five with the Yoga for the backing vocal. Used: 11 (all the way through) for the main vocal, and 5 (all the way through) for the backing, although part of backing take 5 had to be duplicated as I missed my cue coming in part way through. Keys: verses are D major, choruses are C major, middle 8 is F major (although Logic Express is a bit sniffy about this).  This one also contains a chord sequence (A-C-F-A-C).
2/5/11 (May Day) - Old; as for the previous one, orchestration completed before lunch, completed after lunch. I was all set to pack away when I realised I'd forgotten the backing vocal. Takes: for the main vocal believe it or not 19, although one was purely a microphone test. For the backing vocal, 4 including a microphone test. Used: main vocal take 19 all the way through, backing vocal take 4 all the way through. The muttering at the end was ad-libbed at the end of recording take 4, and then partially muted using a region gain setting. Keys: I've written this up as seven verses although you could argue that the five line verses could be described as choruses. If you take it as seven verses, then verses 3 and 6 are in C major, and the rest of it is in B major. This was done using chord changes. This is the first time I have ever intentionally done a chord sequence (B-C-B-C-B).
29/4/11 (Royal Wedding day) - Memories are gold. Yes, this is what I did to avoid *that* wedding - I completed the orchestration in the morning, had lunch out and then recorded it in the afternoon. Takes: 10 of the main vocal (plus one test recording at the beginning, and one abortive because it didn't do what I expected); then three of the backing vocal. Used: 10 of the main vocal, all the way through; and 3 of the backing vocal, all the way through. Keys: F# major, apart from the first half of the middle eight which when I analysed it I was surprised to find appeared to be in F# minor. I believe this is the first time I've ever switched between major and minor of the same key in the same piece.
22/4/11 (Good Friday) - Dig those crazy climate change email blues. Takes: 16 for the main vocal, although the first eight appear to have been abortive for technical reasons.; two for the backing; and believe it or not two for the muttering. Used: almost all 13 on the main vocal with a small piece of 14 towards the end; and the second takes on the backing vocal and the muttering. Keys: mostly F# major with short sections of Bb minor at intervals.

5/12/10 - Farewell words. Takes: 11 for the main vocal, then another 6 for the backing vocal. Used: for the main vocal, mostly 11, with small bits of 9 and 10 here and there; for the backing vocal, 6, except for a few small bits of 5. Keys: Bb major (or as Logic Express insists on calling it, A# major). That should be it for Abstracts, unless I need to re-record one of them.
28/11/10 - Don't blame me.  Takes: 10. Used: 10, except for odd very short bits of 9 here and there. Keys: E major, all the way through. I did quite a long initial edit on this.
21/11/10 - Your own way, just, after being up until one in the morning the night before finishing it.  Takes: 15, although as per usual this does include some that were abortive. Used: 15, all the way through. Keys: C major, all the way through. The bit of this I had in my head to begin with turned out to be in C major in three beat bars, so I just stuck to that.
14/11/10 - Do you?. Takes:16, although some of these were abortive due to technical problems. Used: mostly 16 except for one phrase at the end which was from take 14. Keys: there are suggestions of key changes at intervals during this; however ignoring that you could say A major with G and A# as accidentals.  Eastern mist (harmonic vocals). These were Indian style backing vocals. Takes: 5. Used: both 4 and 5, all the way through. Keys: D major, all the way through.
5/9/10 - Bittersweet. Takes:  17 plus the 'lost' take 15. Used: 17, all the way through. Keys: scored as the default C major but with A#, C#, F# and G# as accidentals.
25/7/10 - The tune. Takes:13. Used: 13, all the way through. Keys: another oddity. Apparently C major but with D sharp and G sharp as accidentals in places.
11/7/10 - What isn't going on. I did have some technical problems with this but managed to get round them, and in the end it worked out quite nicely. At least in the initial edit I didn't use flex editing. Takes: 28 for the main vocal, one each for the two backing vocals. Quite a number of the 28 were abortive, some for technical reasons. I had 11 in my take folder after deleting the abortive ones. Used: 28, all the way through, plus the only take of each of the backing vocals. Keys:
this song is in D major except for I believe three accidentals.
9/5/10 - Get down (to the doctor). This was the first recording using Logic Express on the Mac, so I was very much feeling my way. It's also as you can see the first vocal recording session for ten months, as I have been busy with Beach Sounds (which didn't include vocals) and some of Abstracts (which is likely to be mostly instrumentals). Takes: 21, although around 7 of those were purely test recordings rather than serious takes. Used: on the initial version, just 21 (the last one), all the way through, although that may well change during later edits.  Keys: apparently A major (though this wasn't deliberate) but with both C and F as accidentals.

5/7/09 - A little chat [re-recording, see 11/1/09]. Takes: 10, not counting one false start. Used: 10, all the way through.
28/6/09 - Fine [re-recording, see 18/1/09].  Takes: 9. Used: 9, all the way through.
31/5/09 - Some other rainbow. Keys: F sharp, all the way through. Takes: 18. Used: 18, all the way through. This took longer than recent sessions have done, and I was very painstaking in trying to get the vocal to sound right.
24/5/09 - Gasworks Terrace. Keys: E, all the way through. Takes: 13. Used: 13, all the way through.
17/5/09 - Fort William. Keys: A flat, all the way through. Takes: 10, including 3 for backing vocal. Used: 5, all the way through (main vocal); 10, all the way through (backing vocal).
10/5/09 - The theme theme. Keys: C flat, all the way through. Takes: 5. Used: 5, all the way through.
26/4/09 -  Gatwick airport. Keys: D, all the way through. Takes: 18. Used: mostly 18, with bits of 14 and 16.
5/4/09 - Noddledirk (oh yeah wow far out). Keys: C, all the way through. Takes: 20 including backing vocal. Used: 18 with 1 word of 17, 20 (backing vocal).
22/3/09 - Rocking chair blues. Keys:  C flat, all the way through. Takes: 15. Used: 15, all the way through.
15/3/09 - A guide to the city. Keys: G flat, all the way through. Takes: 12. Used: 12, all the way through.
8/3/09 - Saltcoats in my mind. Keys: E flat, all the way through. Takes: 8, plus one abortive.  Used: 8, all the way through.
22/2/09 - The easy to assemble furniture flatpack blues. Keys: D flat, all the way through. Takes: 15, including some abandonned and discarded. Used: 12/13/15 (composite using parts of all three).
15/2/09 - Hallelujah, praise the Lord. Keys:  A (intro, verses), D (middle 8, outro). Takes: 11 including two for backing only but not counting one abortive one. Used: 9 (main vocal), 10 & 11B (backing vocal). Part of the main vocal was later moved to the backing vocal.
7/2/09 - The shoes blues. Finally sorted out how to get round the microphone issue, so back to the Samson again. Another annoying glitch also finally resolved. Takes: 13. Used:  8 (first half), 13 (second half). Keys: Bb, all the way through.
25/1/09 - Reasonable. This was done using a different microphone  into the voice recorder, and then uploaded into the laptop before being cleaned up with Audacity, which is how I now intend doing them.  Takes: 7 unuseable ones using Samson, then on voice recorder about 16 using Yoga and about 3 using Ross, total 19. Used: 19, all the way through.  Keys: Ab (intro, verses, outro), C (middle 8).
18/1/09 - Fine. Keys: E (verses, outro), F# (choruses). Takes: 56, + 3 more on voice recorder. Used:  21/14/16/8, 44/42, 32/33, 50/48/49, 55/56. Due to technical issues (which this time I was braced for) this took a lot of doing and an almost indescribable amount of patience. I did get it, but I am aware that almost anyone else would have given up in disgust long before getting remotely close to finishing it. [It was later re-recorded.]
11/1/09 - A little chat. Keys: F (verses, outro), G (choruses, middle 8).  Takes: 7.  Used: 3/5/6/7 (assembled from extracts from all four). Recording of this was severely hit by technical gremlins and it was later re-recorded.

20/7/08 - Creation. Keys: dropping steadily from 7# = C sharp to  1b = F.  Takes: 31. Used:  21, 5, 18, 26, 23,  31, 28, 9, 19, 11, 29, 17, 20, 25.
13/7/08 - Table polishing for dogs. Keys: 6b = G flat, except middle 8  3b = E flat. Takes: 23. Used: 21 (verses), 14 (middle 8), 19 with bits of 16 (choruses).
6/7/08 - Too late. Keys: 4# = E, all except middle 8 (6# = F). Takes:  8. Used: 6 until middle 8, 7 from there onwards. JFDI. Additional backing vocals.
29/6/08 - Think of something else. Keys: all naturals = C, except part of middle 8 2# = D. Takes:  13, although the last two were just one phrase I'd been unlucky with on two other recordings.  Used:  mostly 9 and 10. Bits of 8 and 11. 12 (one phrase).
15/6/08 - JFDI. Keys: 3# = A, intro, verses, choruses, outro; 6# = F sharp, middle 8. Takes: 48. Used: 42, 38, 44, 48.
25/5/08 - Me and you. Keys: 4# = E, intro, verses, outro; 7# = C sharp, middle 8. Takes: 16. Used: mostly 15 and 16. Some 13. Bits of 11 and 14.  God (did you do it right) - MC for intro.
18/5/08 - God (did you do it right). Keys: 2# = D, all the way through. Takes: 11. Used: 9, all the way through (except for about a second of 11 in verse 1A).
17/5/08 - recording rain for God (did you do it right).
11/5/08 - I wish. Keys:  6b = G flat , intro, verses;  4b = A flat, choruses, middle 8, outro. Takes: 15.  Used: 15, except verse & chorus 2 (12), verse 3 (11), chorus 3 (12).
4/5/08 - Tragic. Keys: 1b = F, all the way through. Takes: 15. Used: 11/12/14/15 (assembled one phrase at a time from these four takes, each of which was recorded in one go all the way through).
20/4/08 - Going. Keys: 3b = E flat, intro, verses; 1b = F, choruses. Takes: 15. Used: 15, all the way through (except bits of 13 or 14 here and there). I'm calling them choruses although in point of fact the structure of this song is irregular.
13/4/08 - Toleration. Keys: all naturals = C, all the way through (this was accidental, but I left it like that). Takes:  22. Used: 22, all the way through. This was the first recording where I used the guide as just that, a guide, but sang what felt right at the time (which was different in places).
6/4/08 - You thought, I thought. Keys: 7# = C flat , intro, verses; 5# = D flat , choruses, middle 8, outro. Takes: 12 (yes, really). Used:  12, all the way through (yes, really, though I have a lot of  recorded vocal to work with so I may swap bits of it around).
30/3/08 - Cough up. Keys: 6# = F sharp, intro, verses; 4# = E, choruses, outro; 5# = B, middle 8. Takes: 57. Used: 15/50, 41, 34, 44, 26/57, 47.
16/3/08 - Basic BASIC. Keys: 4b = A flat , intro, verses; 2b = B flat, choruses, middle 8, outro. Takes: 39. Used: 6, 22, 15, 25, 31, 10 (just under a second of 8 substituted), 27, 35/37/39 (outro).
9/3/08 - Only me. Keys: Intro, verses, 5# = B;  Chorus 1B/2B, middle 8, 3# = A;  Chorus 1C/2C, 1# = G.  Takes: 75. Used:  9, 25, 35/52, 46/64, 16, 30, 40/67, 50/75.
2/3/08 - Organic Jack. Keys: Middle 8, 1# = G; Choruses, 3b = E flat; everything else, 2b = B flat. Takes: 31. used: 8, 31/29, 15. One phrase from take 29 substituted for part of take 31. First recording for Introspection.

22/10/07 - Doom is nigh [complete re-record of vocal, see 19/8/07].  Takes: 9. Used: 9, all the way through (apart from the odd word here and there pinched from other takes in this or the previous session). This has been the only Mustn't grumble vocal recorded start to finish all the way through in one take.
7/10/07 - Now and Zen [complete re-reccord of vocal, see 8/7/07]. Takes: 40. Used: 10, 30 [2-3 seconds of 32 substituted at beginning], 40, 21, 32. 
16/9/07 -  (before lunch) Let's do something now.  Keys: 2b = B flat  (intro, verse), 4b = A flat (chorus, middle 8, outro). Takes: 25. Used: 6, 16, 8, 23, 12, 25. (After lunch) Cheerful news [version 2, re-orchestrated, new vocal]. Keys:  6# = F sharp (intro, verse), 7# = C sharp (chorus, middle 8, outro). Takes: 40. Used: 3, 27, 5, 29, 39, 10, 33-32* [* about 3 seconds of take 32 substituted for corresponding section of take 33 at end of last chorus]..
2/9/07 - The end. Keys: 2# = D (intro, verse 1), 3# = A (verse 2), 4# = E (verse 3, outro). Takes: 48. Used: 16, 38, 48.
19/8/07 - Doom is nigh.  Keys: 5b = D flat (intro, verse, chorus, outro), 1b = F (middle 8). Takes: 39. Used: 14, 28, 19, 35, 24, 37.
12/8/07 - (I hate) that bloody tree. Keys:  4# = E (intro, verse), 6# = F sharp (chorus). Takes: 42.  Used: 9, 32, 30 (with about a second and a half of take 21 substituted), 39, 21, 42.
5/8/07 - Fifteen hundred quid. Keys: 4b = A flat (intro, verse), all naturals = C (chorus, outro). Takes: 34. Used: 8, 28, 19, 32, 23, 33.
29/7/07 - We've got lots of money (and you haven't). Keys: 2b = B flat , all the way through.  Takes: 22. Used: 7, 20, 11, 22, 14.
22/7/07 - Let's all have a party. Keys: 3# = A (intro, verse), 5# = B (chorus, outro). Takes: 18. Used: 3, 12, 8, 16, 18 (through the wall effect in outro). Recorded while I had a cold, so my voice will sound somewhat different.
8/7/07 - Now and zen. Keys: all naturals = C (verse, middle 8, outro), 2# = D (chorus). Takes:  39. Used:  14, 27, 39, 22, 29.
1/7/07 - Cheerful news. Keys:  6# = F sharp (intro, verse), 7# = C sharp (chorus, middle 8, outro). Takes: 61. Used: 11, 35, 18, 42, 60, 26, 52.
24/6/07 - Gas board lament. Keys: 7b = C flat, all the way through.  Takes: 20. Used: 10, 20, 15.
17/6/07 - Goodbye tomorrow. Some orchestration took place before recording. Keys: 4b = A flat (intro, verse, middle 8),  2b = B flat (choruses). Takes: 34. Used: 13, 32, 27, 18, 34. About 2 seconds of take 33 substituted for corresponding section of take 34 at the end of chorus 2.
10/6/07 - My absent mind (partial re-record - verse 2, with corrected lyric). Takes: 5. Used: 5. Also swapped one word in verse 1 with corresponding word from other take.
10/6/07 - Not a sales call. Keys:  2# = D (intro, verses),  3# = A (choruses, outro). Takes: 29. Used: 6, 22, 10/8, 25, 15, 29.
20/5/07 - My absent mind. Keys: 1b = F (intro, verses, outro), 1# = G (chorus/middle 8). Takes: 20. Used: 8, 20, 11.
13/5/07 - 120 bricks. Keys: 1# = G, all the way through. Takes: 31, including brick commentary in outro. Used: 6, 22, 11,  27,  31 (brick commentary, which believe it or not took four takes to get right). Included about 18 seconds recorded at Hampton Court.
29/4/07 - Be nice to spiders. Yes, finally.  Keys: 4# = E (1st part of verse - key change during verse), 5# = B (2nd part of verse & outro). Takes: 44. Used: 27, 26, 42, 39. Included about nine seconds of Druscillas recordings.
28/4/07 - on location at Chessington World of Adventures making additional recordings for The theme theme. Recorded about 65 minutes of ride and zoo noises.
22/4/07 - Footsteps in the hall. Some orchestration took place before recording. Keys: 6b = G flat (intro, verse & chorus), 3b = E flat (middle 8). Takes: 32. Used: 9, 22, 14, 26*, 32, 19. Included about 33 seconds of the Druscillas recordings made the day before. *About half a second of take 25 was substituted for the corresponding portion of take 26 towards the end of it.
21/4/07 - on location at Druscillas zoo making additional recordings for Footsteps in the hall. Recorded about 38 minutes of zoo noises.
8/4/07 - Let's stop whinging. Keys: 5b = D flat (intro & verse), 3b = E flat (chorus). Takes: 25. Used: 3, 11, 24, 16, 14.
1/4/07 - Christmas now and then. Keys: 2b = B flat (verse & outro) 2# = D (chorus). Takes: 31. Used: 6, 26, 14, 27, 18 (in that order, verses were recorded first, one at a time, then choruses one at a time).
18/3/07(?) - We'll talk to you. Keys: 4# = E, all the way through. Takes: 47. Used: 4, 5, 32, 14, 39, 18, 42, 22, 46. This pre-dates this website. Orchestration work on it was started on 13th March, that is almost immediately after recording I hate Christmas. Recorded before this website was up and running. Seems to have been altered on 5th April, and again on 13th May.
11/3/07(?) - I hate Christmas. Keys: 3# = A , all the way through. Takes: at least 15. Used: 5-9-5-11-5, 8, 10, 13, 15. This pre-dates this website. Orchestration work on it started on 22nd February, during sessions for the family Christmas video. After being discarded from that it was included on Mustn't grumble. It seems to have been altered on 13th March (new version, which I assume means the orchestration was significantly altered), on 5th April, and again on 13th May.