There are basically three different types of Black Thirteen albums: 1. The trio of Simon Wesley and myself 2. Any members of the trio with other friends of ours who may or may not have ever played with us before and 3. Simon and I as a duo. Types 1. and 2. have gotten play on this blog already so I thought it would be nice to offer one of the duo records.
To be fair though, this record is somewhat of a departure from the norm as far as duo records go. Usually simon and I duo on accoustic and sometimes electric guitars, but on this night we thought it would interesting to change things up a little bit. So I played electric bass and simon played electric guitar. Also, rather than breaking it up into pieces we chose to play for one solid half hour, the resulting session is "Winter's Sun".
I am happy with this record for a few reasons. I don't usually get the oppertunity to play bass and enjoyed doing it quite a lot. But also, with me on bass Simon was left alone on the guitar which gave him more freedom than he usually has on the instrument. Simon is a very interesting guitar player and his playing definitely benefits from the freedom he is given here. Usually he takes a lead or solo role with Wesley and I as chordal backing but with this he really had to step out and find the music himself, where I mostly provided rhythmic structure and textural additions to what he was already doing.
The record is mostly instrumental but in the last minutes Simon's vocals emerge from the mix, as though they had been hibernating and were ready for spring time. It is a trick that maybe we pull too often, but honestly I never tire of it, bringing in vocals so late in the performace has a way of imbuing everything previous with a certain amount of importance that you didn't know was there when you listened to it at first, as though everything was building up to this.
All in all Winter's Sun maintains a fairly somber late night, reflective tone, something which Simon and I appreciate greatly on many Loren Connors albums. I hope you enjoy it as well.
As usual this was recorded by me, live and freely improvised by Simon and myself. We played in a room at my father's house in Fayetteville GA.
Winter's Sun
Simon Sharp: Electric guitar, lead vocals
Ben Collins: Electric Bass, backing vocals
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