Monday, 24/08/2026 19:36 PM
Track notes:
A fair few of [2 - More Pieces of Eight] never got regularly played, or perhaps were never fully developed. Our band, assembled from school friends from Bishop Fox in West Molesey, rehearsed at the time at the family home in Molesey, but we didn't do many gigs, more's the pity. I'll elaborate on that in subsequent posts if time and interest permits.
1. Don't Love: A Buzzcocks inspired punk song. About a break up with a girl. It was entirely fictitious.
2. Heart Of Stone: Blues treatment for a dodgy relationship with a manipulative person with a Heart Of Stone. This got quite a bit more added to it in 2026, including the chorus with the Heart Of Stone line.
3. Help Me Help Myself: We rehearsed this one a few times with John singing. I wrote it and some of the lyrics were a bit racy, or possibly in bad taste (cringeworthy), so I changed them to something more appropriate that suits the song. 47 years of cringe is enough. Happier with it now. Plus, Suno gave me a nice version with a girl singer.
4. Instant Carve Up: A speed freak recounts his adventures racing other people. A ZZ Top inspired style was used for this one.
5. Over and Over: This is punky, and I added a few bits about my social circle at the time. I was trying to fit in with a culture that I found a bit too boring and predictable to be honest. Spending money in the pub. Driving too fast. Like the guy in Instant Carve Up. Bah! The two don't mix either. And staying sober while you drive drunks around on New Year's Eve ain't much fun either, as I found out.
6. Passing The Time: This ends up like a Robert Cray track. About a guy in solitary confinement. And how he copes with a dire situation, trying to save his mind, and not knowing how he ended up there.
7. Pedantic Romanticist: A Reggae number featuring Reggie B. Side and The Cavaliers, (an AI Band) about a break up. I added the chorus which is rather catchy in my view. This rocks, and made Reggie a regular in the AI band space.
8. The Loser: This song originated from family members treating me like a loser. When I presented it I was told by the same people it was too negative. It took me a while to figure out I was in a zero sum game I was always meant to lose. The song makes it about someone else who doesn't really get over his lack of self worth. Shame really, but I know a few people who have gone down the same route and did not survive.
Neil Paddock, 24/08/2026, 19:53 PM