Confession.
(SST 189) - 7/88
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| CONFESSION - where the songs
came from |
"Confession" is either our second,
third or fourth album, depending on how you feel about the legitimacy
of "Look Again", which never came out, or "Painting
Smiles", which was by the time of release almost a compilation
of decidedly non-hits, and only got released in France.
Whichever, "Confession" was our triumphant comeback
album. New musicians, new hip label (SST) and new hip producer
(Bill Stevenson). The material is essentially a mix of the stuff
that would have come out in early '86 had the band not split
up, and new stuff I'd started writing with a vengeance in late
'87. It actually did soar onto the CMJ Top Five upon release,
though it just as quickly soared out again.
Total time from first backing tracks to final mix was exactly
two weeks, and in fact we shot the cover photo outside the studio
door on the last night of mixing. I like the thing, as always
I'd do everything differently if given the chance but that's
always the way it is, isn't it? |
(written April 1985)
The first mention of Three O'Clock in print was a review of their
first single (when they were Salvation Army) in the L. A. Weekly,
where they were cited as a "cross between Black Sabbath
and The Last". I already knew Mike Quercio as a Last fan,
but didn't realize this was his band at the time. As far as The
Last and the Paisley scene goes, see the 1982 page of the history
section.
I told you that story to tell you this - this song was an attempt
to write a Three O'Clock type song. Why?
Who cares.
I liked the song - I was pushing to do a new album in mid-'85
but Vitus and I were barely speaking, and brother Dave was about
to leave. A lot of stuff on this and the next album should have
hit the streets in 1986, but oh well . . .
Open letter to band members, past and present - add comments!
This is not nor will it ever be nor should it be the Joe Nolte
excises his soul mould website - let's have dialogue and controversy
. . .
Or perhaps I should refrain from drinking Cuba Libres when writing
. . .
Nahhhh!@#@# |
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ANOTHER SIDE (lyrics)
Listen to a clip of this song: (MP3)
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(written May 1985)
Don't know how this hit, I was talking to brother David who commented
on a current Springsteen video (Dancing in the Dark) and saying
that it hit him, that he could relate to changing his hair, his
face, etc.
So this probably was subconsciously derived from that verbal
exchange - thematically however it's really just Slavedriver
updated. I like it, though. It's fun to play. |
(written Dec 18, 1987)
Oh dear. First song about a girl we shall identify only as "H".
Too personal to say much about lyrically.
Musically, I wrote a prototype song in the Spring of '85 that
went nowhere, but I liked it a lot. Ultimately the verses became
the verses for this song, with a new chorus added, and the chorus
of the original much later became the chorus for "You"
(from the AWAKENING album). A lot of you who clamber onto this
site know me, and thus it's probable I'll play you the original
scratchy tape of the original.
Come to think of it, the nice thing about being the most unknown
legendary band in the world is that it's relatively easy to link
up with anyone who gives a shit. At this point, your numbers
can be counted on my toes (don't go there) - so I may make tapes
available to any who are truly interested. If we eventually get
rich famous and jaded I'll deny having said this, but what are
the odds?
Anyway, "H" was a real good source for material, as
you'll soon see. |
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Mike wrote this - I'll get him to tell you what it
means. We had a lot of fun with the falsetto voices at the end.
Bill Stevenson came in his pants.
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Mike Nolte says:
Wrote this song on accordion.
An old friend of mine had just got into an accident on the
freeway, wasn't injured but was very shaken up. Stopped off at
his sister and brother-in law's home, very much in shock, looking
for a shoulder to cry on . . . and they laughed at him!
So he somehow found himself over at my house and told me all
about his ordeal and his kin's reaction and naturally I felt
very sympathetic for him, and nothing but anger and astonishment
at his sister's and brother-in-law's callousness. When he left,
I immediately sat down and wrote the song in it's entirety, words
and music. It probably was finished within the space of an hour.
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(written July 29, 1987)
This was written for "M1" and no one is ever gonna
know who she is! The "I saw your eyes" bit came to
me, words and music simultaneously, at work, and the rest soon
followed. True story. Will I confess on my deathbed? Heh, heh,
heh . . . |
(written Summer 1987)
Weird song - probably written before "I Saw Your Eyes"
and thus the first number written expressly for the New Improved
Last. I think I realized we needed new stuff and just popped
the thing out. Ouch. I was obviously at some sort of crossroads
-
Oh hell, I have no idea . . . |
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DON'T CARE (lyrics)
Listen to a clip of this song: (MP3)
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(written June 1976)
That's right - this is actually the first song written for The
Last. We did a demo of it in late '76 but never officially recorded
it till now. It's another song for the "F" girl (you'll
recall "Someone's Laughing") and I recall trying to
play an embryonic version of it for her and her boyfriend at
a party and ended up playing the Bo Diddley riff over and over
and over and . . . you get the idea.
It was then that many of my then friends began to question my
sanity.
I took them all to the first L. A. appearance of the Ramones
shortly thereafter and most of them have never spoken to me since.
I think this version sums it up nicely - thanks largely to Naz
- this is as close as you'll get to true "Last roots". |
| It's a cover - written by Arthur Alexander
and covered by the Beatles live and on radio in '62 and '63.
We did an early version live in '81 with brother David helping
on vocals - it totally rocked. We'd done decent versions with
this lineup at practice and thus decided to include it on the
album. I remain dismally dissatisfied with the results. The vocals
didn't cut it. My apologies to all who've ever had to listen
to it. |
(written August 1987)
Indirectly inspired by "H". This came about out of
a situation where said girl had done a particularly diabolical
bit of teasing aimed at yours truly, leaving yours truly frustrated
and positively furious.
At the time Nazworthy was contemplating leaving the band, though
he offered his home practice studio to us. We'd recruited cousin
Mike Anderson Jr (son of our uncle, Mike Sr., the drummer for
the Frogmen, the first surf band to crack the top 40) to drum
for us, and he and brother Mike showed up that afternoon, only
to find me busily writing this song. I sent them on their way
and met up with them an hour later at Naz's, song finished.
Naz of course stayed with us, and "Book", with its
obvious "Sister Morphine" influence, remains one of
my faves from this album. |
(written December 1987)
Obviously the "Run run run run run" thing came first.
Another song written for "H", this one hit me in the
shower, and in the space of just under fifteen minutes the entire
song, music and lyrics, had been written. Before I was even dry,
even. |
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Another one by Mike - I came up with the neo-psych idea
of modulating the speed, and fading in and out the various parts.
We had a lot of fun with this one.
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Mike Nolte says:
My view of the world and it's inhumane inhabitants in
general. Wrote this on accordion as well. Not much to say about
this one . . . it's pretty much self-explanatory. It's also one
of my favorites. I was living with brother Dave at the time,
and my hat goes off to him for putting up with me playing that
thing! Bill Stevenson thought the song was real creepy (I think
he liked it) and would walk around the studio, with eyes bulging
and hands curled in claw-like fashion, sneering "everywhere
you turn..."
It was pretty cool!
Larry, our old bass player, said this was one of his favorite
Last songs. Go figure!
Joe was the one responsible for speeding up the rhythm at
the end of the song.
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(written December 1987)
Yet another one written for "H". Deliberately did
this one solo, one take, no echo - much as I would do with "7/21"
on the "Gin" album, though that was about an
entirely different girl. In retrospect I'd probably have been
better off arranging the things somewhat, but at the time I liked
the idea of doing the raw emotion thing, especially as "H"
at the time was confined to an institution.
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