I always enjoy talking to Michael Des Barres; he has a ridiculously hectic schedule, and does some fascinating things, but his underlying philosophy is very similar to mine. Yesterday afternoon I had two film directors here, they were talking to Corinna and me about a film project based on our monthly webTV show On The Track. In the middle of this my housekeeper Helen and her irrepressible daughter Jessica (to whom I have been Uncle Jon for most of her life) arrived, and then - with all this madness around me - I telephoned Michael.By the way you can read Part One here...
JON: When live albums are done properly they’re absolutely the best thing.
MICHAEL: They really are. How many times have you heard bands say ‘oh the record’s great man but you should hear us live’? How many times have you heard that?
Also most bands are different live than in the studio anyway, it’s a
totally different vibe.
Yeah. They take on a whole other life when you got out and play them on tour because
you improvise stuff and you really feel the essence of that song, which is
twofold for me, because I played them like before I recorded them and after I
recorded them, you know. They grow exponentially even more into…..you’ll hear
when you listen to it. The songs are the
same songs, but there’s much interplay instrumentally and with the crowd.
JON: How many tracks are on the album?
MICHAEL: There are 10 songs on the album and I can give you the list if you
like.
JON: Please
MICHAEL: OK so the first song is Carnaby
Street
JON: In English or in Spanish?
MICHAEL: It’s in English, then there are three songs in a medley starting
with My Baby Saved my Ass transitioning into I Don’t Need No Doctor – the
classic Humble Pie song – and ending with Get It On – the T Rex song which I
sang with The Power Station which we do like The Stooges..
JON: My favourite live album of all time is Metallic KO
MICHAEL: No question – absolutely correct
JON: Followed by MC5 the first one Kick out the Jams
MICHAEL: Yeah totally and that is because they sound like …when people send me
their live record no you didn’t you
changed the bass part, you had somebody come in and sing the harmonies in tune,
and you did another solo you bastard. I didn’t change a fucking thing. You hear
every clunky note, mike stand falling over and every tambourine dropping, and
that to me is what rock and roll is, it is not clean. You know clean and rock and roll do not
belong in the same sentence.
Once again Michael and I are ad idem, and so it seems like an apposite place to leave him for today. We shall be back tomorrow.
 | Carnaby Street LIMITED EDITION with BONUS DVD CD - £9.99 |
 | Carnaby Street CD - £9.99 |
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