Glen: In life there is always more people telling you that you can't do something than people that enable you to do something. I'm kicking against that. I'm not trying to mark anyone's card, but I wanna rock a bit. There's a whole plethora of material from when I started to listen to music that I still like and stands the test of time. It's well known I like the Faces, it's well known I like a bit of Bob Dylan, and it's all incorporated in there somewhere. What changes is the lyric. I saw an interview with John Lennon when they asked if he was writing for the kids and he said "No, I used to, but now I'm writing for the kids that have grown up with me." That's quite a different thing. He told Rolling Stone magazine during his Instant Karma period he was not interested in whether someone is a guitarist or not, he was interested in ideas. In my own way, I am as well. When I was opening for the Dropkick Murphys recently, I was thinking what would be a good song to kick the set off with and this starts "Now, Ladies and Gentlemen gather round." There's Chris Musto on drums, Neal X on guitar, with me doing the rest. Phil's review: The sense of urgency that runs through the album kicks off in style. This forceful rocker is buoyed by feel good harmonious BVs. This positive vibe contrasts with a song set to challenge, not just the listener's expectations, but those eager to put obstacles in the way of other people's achievements. Neal X nails the perfect guitar sound to underpin the 'never going to stop' message. Glen: It's an old song that's been in the back of my mind for ages and never got recorded so I added it to the original session. It's a rewrite of 'Roadrunner' by Junior Walker and the All Stars. It kind of fitted in with where I was at. I'm here, there and everywhere these days. "I got ants in my pants and I need to dance" as James Brown sang. The blues is an untapped vein at the moment and it's got a strong moody, blues element. My dark side is coming out in the lyrics. It fits in with the 'Won't Put The Breaks On Me' idea and the same musicians play on it. Phil: Perpetual motion is Glen's key driver and the theme of movement prevalent throughout the album continues, this time with a more menacing musical slant. Globetrotting runs through Glen's veins and this 'always on the move' attitude is reflected by more fine guitar from Neal X and rhythmic zeal by Chris Musto on the drums. Glen's nature summed up in 3 minutes 20 seconds. Glen: It's a fun kind of song although there is an underlying "taking the bull by the horns & having confidence in yourself" sentiment to it. It's not flippant or glib, and it's not named after the film! It's a way of taking the piss out of yourself a bit. Who do I think is the sexy beast in the song? I am! Not that I think that but it's about self confidence. It's the most out and out rockabilly track on the album. Earl Slick's guitar playing is superlative. He peeled the solo off in one take. Slim Jim Phantom is on drums, Jim Lowe on bass, and I play the acoustic. Phil: Rockabilly kicks in with this confident, tongue in cheek piece of self reflection. There's a 50's undercurrent with modern day intricacies added to the mix with some style by Earl and Slim Jim, bringing the sound bang up to date. Glen: I think this is my favourite song on the album. It's quite a departure for me. The basic chord structure is like 'Spanish Harlem' or 'Stand By Me', juxtaposed with Earl's Ebow guitar which is like something from Bowie's 'Heroes'. The sustained sound in the background behind the guitar riff was Earl, it's pretty off the wall. I said let's go with it and he built it up. I think Bowie would have been proud of that song. It's quite anthemic as well. Lyrically, it's when everyone's on your back and you can't see a way out of things, but there might be a little chink in the clouds, but hang on a minute, I don't wanna talk about it 'cos it might not happen. I wrote it to cheer up Patti Palladin. It's a positive tale, just don't count your chickens before they've hatched. Don't burn your bridges. Phil: The one track in the set to display an air of caution, lyrically at least. Conversely, musically there's an air of abandon as Glen varies from the norm with a complex layered composition taking full advantage of the capabilities of Earl's guitar. An outstanding highlight with a joint message of prudence and promise. Glen: Lyrically, it's a composite of some of the people I've had to deal with over the years. People who have ulterior motives which you didn't necessarily twig at the time. In retrospect you get wise to it and don't want to go there again. Earl did a piece of guitar which I thought I'd sample and make some more of it. He does slide guitar which sounds a bit like George Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass'. It's the same set of chords all the way through but there's a long, elongated chord progression which makes it quite epic. I also wanted it to be small and personal at the beginning and then build it up as it went along. I was pleased with the BVs we got together, me and Jim Lowe. All the tracks with Earl and Slim Jim & Jim Lowe were recorded in upstate New York at Clubhouse in Rhinebeck with the vocals done back in London by myself and Jim Lowe. I wanted a change from some of the stuff I'd done before. It was engineered by Mario J. McNulty who has some pedigree. Earl had worked with Mario before on Bowie's 'The Next Day' album and recommended him. Phil: A mighty epic to take you to an exotic place far away. Yet another departure from the well trodden rock path with its infusion of island music. It's these off road songs where Glen really excels. A fine 'piece of work' in anyone's book with scintillating melody and a strident vocal delivery to suit the message. Holding your own in a world full of deception. Glen: 'Hook In You' is my rewrite of 'I've put a Spell on You' by Screaming J Hawkings. I've always loved that line "I don't care if you don't want me, I'm yours." I like the sheer bravado. It's got that attitude. There was a whole tradition of Blues shouters, they were bar tenders. They would sing, but because it was loud in the bar they had to have this bellowing kind of voice - I'm trying to emulate that a bit. There's a track by INXS on their 'Kick' album produced by Chris Thomas, called 'The Loved One', it's one of my all time favourite songs - it's got that kind of vibe. It's got a bit of Big Bill Broonzy in there, he sang 'Feel So Good' which had a great line "balling the jack." There's lots of cross references, various homages. It's dark. Earl's done a fantastic guitar solo and he's played some more Ebow on the track. Phil: A loud blues powerhouse with some amazing guitar from Earl which plants the song simultaneously in multiple genres. The prevailing aura of confidence clear throughout the album gives the track extra zest with the music pushing beyond the normal constraints. This assurance is evident in the both the lead and backing vocals. Lyrically, it's self explanatory, with a hint of self depreciation. Glen: It's a song by Scott Walker which I've played live for a while now. I just started playing it in the studio while someone was changing a guitar string, and Earl said "what's that - can we have a go at it?" He played classical guitar on it. To me, it's Scott Walker trying to do a Jacques Brel song and succeeding admirably. The original has the most fantastic dynamic to it, he did it with a 76 piece orchestra. We didn't have one but we can overdub! There are timpani kettle drums on it - we only used them because they were in the studio but they kinda worked. It's a grand chanson, part of the tradition of French chansonniers where there's a whole load going on in the lyrics that English speakers don't understand. Jacques Brel was a part of this tradition, along with Charles Aznavour and Edith Piaf culminating with people like Serge Gainsbourg. To me, all that is in that song. I dig all that stuff. The lyrics are pretty heavy, and very picturesque. Everybody's got a Montague Terrace. It's part of an album which shows a different side to me. Phil: The only cover included in the collection, a song performed many times live by Glen. Scott Walker's restless, unsettling song adds to the many varied styles employed on the album. It does however have one thing in common with its colleagues, it's a visual tour de force. The fourth song in a row to show a significant musical side-step, a further testimony to the benefits of risk taking. Story telling set in a classical environment. Glen at his atmospheric best. Glen: A rockin' rockabilly track, a Yardbirds meets Hank Mizell type guitar riff. Hank did Jungle Rock - some old boy all out of key, the little kids loved it! It's in a similar vein to Sexy Beast. It was another we recorded in Rhinebeck, the music was done pretty much live. This track has got blistering guitars on it. I like the middle eight, it goes off somewhere else totally. Earl does a great guitar solo, really whacked out. Lyrically, it's about where we are these days - everyone's pulling the wool over your eyes about this, that and the other, but effectively they're living in cloud cuckoo land. I did the vocals back in London with Jim Lowe. I was considering cloud cuckoo land as the title of the album, but it may not translate in America - they may not pick up on the Englishness of the phrase. Phil: Picking up the rockabilly tempo again it kicks in with a brief refrain reminiscent of 'God Save The Queen' before ploughing its own unique furrow with yet more fabulous guitar, stretching the song way beyond the confines of traditional rock 'n' roll. Lyrically, it's on message with the album's manifesto - you won't be mugging this man off anymore. Glen: This turned out a bit more jolly than I meant it to. I actually wrote it about my Dad who passed away with Alzheimer's. Lyrically, it's all to do with his confusion and me feeling a bit helpless, trying to help him through and express as much empathy as possible. A strange kinda taste means a bitter taste to me. Alzheimer's is a horrible insidious thing that sucks your soul. It's one day of this, one day of that, you're constantly at loggerheads with yourself. It's horrible. It can't help but be on your mind when you pick up a guitar to write a song. So the song is my tribute to my Dad's last days. It's what Earl did over the top of the song that makes it a bit more country sounding. I didn't set out to write a country song, you try something in the studio and if you like it you go with it. I guess what I was singing suggested to him to go that way. I'm a big fan of the song 'Runaway Train' by Soul Asylum and there's an element of that. There's quite a mood to it. To me, a good song is when the total is more than the sum of its parts. Like 'Anarchy In The U.K.' was. Phil: Extremely personal and poignant, this dusty rustic song is one of Glen's finest. The anguish caused by the double edged sword of compassion and frustration when dealing with the illness of a next of kin, is a topic difficult to tackle. Glen meets it head on, emerging less morose than you might expect. This touching, very human story, is ably balanced by the vast open musical landscape which gives space and life to an otherwise dark retreat.   Glen: Lyrically, it's one of my favourite songs on the album. It's about how everybody's going bonkers. If you go on Facebook these days and someone asks what you think about so and so and you reply "it's OK, but..." within the space of two replies you've got someone having a go at you. Everyone's so aggressive, people should chill out a little bit. Take some time out, take a deep breath, it's not gonna kill no-one. "It won't be no nail in your coffin, won't be no stitch in your shroud, won't be no runaway train rolling down the track that's only gonna get derailed." In the middle eight I qualify it; "there ain't no use denying that all round the sparks are flying". The line "shootin' the breeze" I got from my pal Spencer in Atlanta, he says that. There's a bit of a pickle going on, but we need to take a breath before we do what we can to deal with it. There's some cross referencing on the bass line and chord progression - it's got a bit of 'My Baby Just Cares For Me' by Nina Simone. Phil: Time for an upbeat toe tapper. A reflective mature view of life is the order of the day as Glen kicks back, takes time out from the madness of the modern world and encourages us all to do the same. A positive, up-lifting, shot in the arm. Glen: That's an out and out rocker. The sentiment of the song is when you feel you've got the right back-up, you feel you can take on the world. No matter how carefully you think you've planned something and you're keeping it tight there is always someone who conspires to pull the rug from under your feet at the last minute, but if you've got the right backup it doesn't matter and you don't give a damn and that's what's "worth a couple of hundred grand". Musically, there's a touch of Eddie Cochran's 'Cut Across Shorty' in there, just before the singing cuts in. That was an influence. Lyrically, there's some cross referencing to Was (Not Was) 'Where Did Your Heart Go', ("come down sometime, we'll eat a rusty can...") and Captain Beefheart's 'Big Eyed Beans From Venus' along with his fantastic ballad 'Too Much Time' - you think it's all Sam Cooke then in the middle eight he goes "sometimes when it's late and I'm a little hungry I heat up some old stale beans, open a can of sardines, eat crackers and dream about someone to cook for me!" Steve New had a fantastic song 'Point It To Your Head' which will sadly never see the light of day, but hats off to Steve, it went "she's got the steel wings of angels, she's a tramp and I want her but her wings they drag in the dirt". It fitted the sentiment I was trying to grasp, hence the juxtaposition of angels and dirt. When writing a song you pick things out of the air from your history, things you know about to build a picture up. Earl liked it, he could show off his Rolling Stones side, in a way it's like something off 'Exile On Main Street'. Drum wise, Slim Jim did his Charlie Watts, that easy kind of back beat. I'm proud of the guitar riff. I like the line "let 'em get to scram", in other words fuck off, we'll just get on with it ourselves. Phil: The first of a pair of forthright gems picked to close the set and it rocks with the best of them. It also boasts fabulous earthy lyrics that prove easy to identify with. It's without doubt pacey but musically proves hard to pin down; it could comfortably sit in any era. That's the beauty of the album as a whole - it's genre defying. Glen: A newer song. The album opens up with "Ladies and Gentlemen gather round" on 'Won't Put The Brakes On Me' so people know where you stand, and this final track is about keeping going right on till the end of the road. They top and tail the album nicely and both are songs I've recorded since the initial sessions. Slim Jim is on drums and Chris Spedding plays all the lead guitar. I put the rhythm guitar on the verses down and thought something's missing, it should be like Bryan Ferry's version of 'The Price Of Love', the Everly Brothers song. I looked on YouTube and there's a video of Bryan Ferry playing it with Chris Thomas on keyboards, Paul Thompson on drums, and Chris Spedding on guitar. I thought Spedding is the man, so I called him up and he came down the next day and did the guitar line, not the same as 'The Price Of Love' but that kind of guitar. I quite like 'Mercy' by Duffy, it's got a kinda bluesy thing going on, a Duane Eddy-ish sound which Spedding has covered. What I like about Spedding is that while most guitarists would have it turned up a bit, he doesn't. To get it to sustain more he works the strings - you can hear it, he has this Americana feel. There's a hint of 'Motorbikin' in the solo. He's got all that sound down like Brian Setzer from the Stray Cats. What I also like about him, he said he didn't want paying 'cos I'd played on his album! The barter system. Lyrically, "golden years is what we're told, golden years but where's the gold?" It's time for a bit of reward. I'm fed up with living in the past and not being appreciated for what I'm doing now. Also, there's a good quote by Picasso, along the lines of; "people don't always get ideas from working hard, but I find that if I work hard that’s when the good ideas come." You keep on pushing and work your way through things. Phil: The album comes full circle as it accelerates to its conclusion with a healthy dose of Glen's life philosophy. Simultaneously fighting back and pressing forward in both life and music. Chris Spedding is here, and he too has the heritage and panache to rise to the challenge with some wonderful touches. There's no shortage of energy and motion in this closing shackle-free salvo. When it comes to music, I like some actual music in the music! I'm pleased with it. I once heard Iggy Pop talking to Bowie about his own 'New Values' album. Iggy said he only liked about half of it. Bowie replied; "What, 6 out of 12? That's pretty good. I'm pleased if I like 6 songs on my albums!" I'm proud of more than that, a good 8 or so! They all grow on you for different reasons. It's quite personal, but there are some tongue in cheek funny bits in it. I didn't set out to write a Sex Pistols album and fail miserably. In my live show I do a bit of everything to keep everybody, including myself, happy. On record I'm a long way from that. I'm not going to get on Radio 1, so maybe Radio 6 or Radio 2. I set out to do what I've done and I think I've achieved it. They are two totally different things. Due September 2018

Text ©Phil Singleton and Glen Matlock 2018 / www.sex-pistols.net

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