CHRIS THOMPSON
''DO NOTHING TILL YOU HEAR FROM ME''
SEPTEMBER 28 2012
53:16
1. When I Take My Suger To Tea/2:48
2. Caravan/3:11
3. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams/3:49
4. Take This Chains/3:02
5. Solitude/3:37
6. Those Wedding Bells Are Breakin'Up/2:24
7. Moonlight Serenade/2:51
8. Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me/3:28
9. True Love Wins Again/4:29
10. Davy's on The Road Again/5:28
11. Ole Buttermilk Sky/3:33
12. Do The Hucklebuck/3:06
13. Georgia On My Mind/4:42
14. In The Cool Cool Cool Of The Evening/3:03
15. Sophisticated Lady/3:45
ABOUT ''DO NOTHING TILL YOU HEAR FROM ME''
By Chris Thompson
Normally the artist doesn’t write his own liner notes, but as I’m really the only person who knows how this CD came about, I’m writing them anyway!
I did not just decide I was going to make a CD of Jazz Standards; in fact the thought had never occurred to me. As a fan of the greats, Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby, Louis, Ella, Ray Ellington, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughn …. The list goes on, I thought it best to leave it alone. However Henri Heymans, who was working on recording various compilations in this genre for Readers Digest, and who I had worked with on some more rocky tracks, asked me if I would like to try singing 4 songs from the 30s/40s. Always up for a challenge, I asked him to send me copies of the origi- nals to see if I thought it possible. As I began to sing along with the originals and work with the backing tracks they sent me, I realized that in a strange way my voice suited these songs, and I was intrigued to sing them, especially “Solitude”, which I found chal- lenging but very enjoyable and “When I Take My Sugar To Tea”, which I felt able to interpret in my own way. I was amazed at the power of their recordings, so authentic yet somehow still vital today.
The first session went well and I was really thrilled with the results. Henri asked me to sing a few more, which I did. We reached a point where I had 8 songs with my voice recorded in this style and it was at this point that Henri suggested 6 other songs in the same vain that
I could record a vocal on if I wanted to. The tracks were simply amazing the arrangements with big band and orchestra were so powerful, (singing to the arrangement on Boulevard of Broken Dreams was incredible), and at this point I felt I would be crazy to turn down this offer. There are not too many times in your life that you get offered a collection of music that sounds as good as these recordings. So there I was, thirteen songs, a CDs worth of Jazz/Swing standards, including the amazingly beautiful “Sophisticated Lady”.
At this point I decided to resurrect a song I wrote in the 80s with my friend Harry Bogdanovs called “ True Love Wins Again”, and get Ghislain to arrange it with the same feel as the other tracks, which he did beautifully with Big Band and Strings. I felt it was important for me if possible to have a self- penned song on the CD.
Joe Cassella (my manager) contacted Detlef Engelhard, (his company and Joe had worked together with the Buena Vista Social Club), who immediately agreed to release the CD. It was Detlef’s idea to re-record “Davy’s on The Road Again” in a swing style, I resisted at first, but asked Ghislain, if he thought he could do an arrangement that would fit with the other songs on the CD. He laughed and said “it’s swing anyway eh”! As with “True Love Wins Again” when I went in to the recording sessions at Musiclab studio in Brussels, I couldn’t stop smiling at the way both songs just slotted right in to the CD and the arrangements were brilliant! So there you have it 15 songs and an incredibly happy singer. Pietro and I remixed all the songs, and as with everything during the making of this CD it went very smoothly and bought new meaning to the word relaxed! Thanks to all.
I can’t wait to perform these songs live and I feel very proud to have worked with such pro- fessionals during this process. I think even my Mother and Father would be proud of the result! And when you get it home, I hope it has a per- manent place in your ‘chill out with a glass of wine” pile, “ play this to my friends”, or even “put it on when I do the housework” collection! It’s one of the only CDs I’ve ever made that I can put on myself and really enjoy listening to or singing along with and I’m really happy about that.
BIOGRAPHY
by Craig Harris
Chris Thompson has been on the cutting edge of rock for nearly three decades. The lead vocalist on Manfred Mann's Earth Band's chart-topping 1976 hit version of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By the Light," Thompson has continued to make his presence felt. His distinctive vocals can be heard on albums by Elton John, the Doobie Brothers, Ozzy Osbourne, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, John Farnham, and Jefferson Starship, who covered his tune "Blaze of Love" in 1989, as well as eight albums with Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Thompson's songs have been covered by the Doobie Brothers, Michael MacDonald, Heart, and Isaac Hayes. He co-wrote seven songs, and sang two, in the film Fire and Ice. Thompson has been involved with a number of bands besides Manfred Mann's Earth Band. He formed Night, a Los Angeles-based pop band, in 1979, shortly after leaving Manfred Mann's Earth Band. During the three years that he performed with the group, he recorded two singles that reached the Top 20 -- "Hot Summer Nights" and "If You Remember Me," the theme song of the film The Champ. Thompson collaborated with ex-Doobie Brothers vocalist/guitarist Patrick Simmons on Simmon's debut solo album, Arcade, co-writing and singing on the Top 20 hit, "So Wrong." In 1993, he began a long involvement with keyboardist/composer Alan Parsons. The American-distributed version of Parsons' 1995 album, The Very Best Live, featured a studio recording of "You're the Voice," featuring Thompson's vocals. Thompson has also been closely aligned with Queen. The group's guitarist, Brian May, was featured on his second solo album, Radio Waves, in 1985. At the Freddy Mercury Tribute Concert at Wombley Stadium in 1992, Thompson rehearsed the band and guest artists. The following year, he participated in Brian May's solo tour of South America. Born in England, Thompson grew up in New Zealand, where he formed a band, Hilbery Walker. Returning to the United Kingdom in 1974, he joined Manfred Mann's Earth Band two years later. Although he left the group in 1978, he returned to help finish the album, Somewhere in Afrika, in 1982. Together with drummer John Lingwood, he produced a live album and video, Live in Budapest. Thompson has recorded several hits on his own. In 1986, his song "The Challenge" was adopted as the theme of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and became a number one hit in Germany. His fourth solo album, Beat of Love, released in 1991, included "The Joker," which was used as the theme song of a popular television show, Jolly Joker, and became a Top Ten German hit. He performed the theme song of another German TV series, Florida Lady, in 1994. In 2000, Thompson signed a worldwide songwriter deal with the London-based Notting Hill Music company.
''DO NOTHING TILL YOU HEAR FROM ME''
SEPTEMBER 28 2012
53:16
1. When I Take My Suger To Tea/2:48
2. Caravan/3:11
3. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams/3:49
4. Take This Chains/3:02
5. Solitude/3:37
6. Those Wedding Bells Are Breakin'Up/2:24
7. Moonlight Serenade/2:51
8. Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me/3:28
9. True Love Wins Again/4:29
10. Davy's on The Road Again/5:28
11. Ole Buttermilk Sky/3:33
12. Do The Hucklebuck/3:06
13. Georgia On My Mind/4:42
14. In The Cool Cool Cool Of The Evening/3:03
15. Sophisticated Lady/3:45
ABOUT ''DO NOTHING TILL YOU HEAR FROM ME''
By Chris Thompson
Normally the artist doesn’t write his own liner notes, but as I’m really the only person who knows how this CD came about, I’m writing them anyway!
I did not just decide I was going to make a CD of Jazz Standards; in fact the thought had never occurred to me. As a fan of the greats, Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby, Louis, Ella, Ray Ellington, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughn …. The list goes on, I thought it best to leave it alone. However Henri Heymans, who was working on recording various compilations in this genre for Readers Digest, and who I had worked with on some more rocky tracks, asked me if I would like to try singing 4 songs from the 30s/40s. Always up for a challenge, I asked him to send me copies of the origi- nals to see if I thought it possible. As I began to sing along with the originals and work with the backing tracks they sent me, I realized that in a strange way my voice suited these songs, and I was intrigued to sing them, especially “Solitude”, which I found chal- lenging but very enjoyable and “When I Take My Sugar To Tea”, which I felt able to interpret in my own way. I was amazed at the power of their recordings, so authentic yet somehow still vital today.
The first session went well and I was really thrilled with the results. Henri asked me to sing a few more, which I did. We reached a point where I had 8 songs with my voice recorded in this style and it was at this point that Henri suggested 6 other songs in the same vain that
I could record a vocal on if I wanted to. The tracks were simply amazing the arrangements with big band and orchestra were so powerful, (singing to the arrangement on Boulevard of Broken Dreams was incredible), and at this point I felt I would be crazy to turn down this offer. There are not too many times in your life that you get offered a collection of music that sounds as good as these recordings. So there I was, thirteen songs, a CDs worth of Jazz/Swing standards, including the amazingly beautiful “Sophisticated Lady”.
At this point I decided to resurrect a song I wrote in the 80s with my friend Harry Bogdanovs called “ True Love Wins Again”, and get Ghislain to arrange it with the same feel as the other tracks, which he did beautifully with Big Band and Strings. I felt it was important for me if possible to have a self- penned song on the CD.
Joe Cassella (my manager) contacted Detlef Engelhard, (his company and Joe had worked together with the Buena Vista Social Club), who immediately agreed to release the CD. It was Detlef’s idea to re-record “Davy’s on The Road Again” in a swing style, I resisted at first, but asked Ghislain, if he thought he could do an arrangement that would fit with the other songs on the CD. He laughed and said “it’s swing anyway eh”! As with “True Love Wins Again” when I went in to the recording sessions at Musiclab studio in Brussels, I couldn’t stop smiling at the way both songs just slotted right in to the CD and the arrangements were brilliant! So there you have it 15 songs and an incredibly happy singer. Pietro and I remixed all the songs, and as with everything during the making of this CD it went very smoothly and bought new meaning to the word relaxed! Thanks to all.
I can’t wait to perform these songs live and I feel very proud to have worked with such pro- fessionals during this process. I think even my Mother and Father would be proud of the result! And when you get it home, I hope it has a per- manent place in your ‘chill out with a glass of wine” pile, “ play this to my friends”, or even “put it on when I do the housework” collection! It’s one of the only CDs I’ve ever made that I can put on myself and really enjoy listening to or singing along with and I’m really happy about that.
BIOGRAPHY
by Craig Harris
Chris Thompson has been on the cutting edge of rock for nearly three decades. The lead vocalist on Manfred Mann's Earth Band's chart-topping 1976 hit version of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By the Light," Thompson has continued to make his presence felt. His distinctive vocals can be heard on albums by Elton John, the Doobie Brothers, Ozzy Osbourne, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, John Farnham, and Jefferson Starship, who covered his tune "Blaze of Love" in 1989, as well as eight albums with Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Thompson's songs have been covered by the Doobie Brothers, Michael MacDonald, Heart, and Isaac Hayes. He co-wrote seven songs, and sang two, in the film Fire and Ice. Thompson has been involved with a number of bands besides Manfred Mann's Earth Band. He formed Night, a Los Angeles-based pop band, in 1979, shortly after leaving Manfred Mann's Earth Band. During the three years that he performed with the group, he recorded two singles that reached the Top 20 -- "Hot Summer Nights" and "If You Remember Me," the theme song of the film The Champ. Thompson collaborated with ex-Doobie Brothers vocalist/guitarist Patrick Simmons on Simmon's debut solo album, Arcade, co-writing and singing on the Top 20 hit, "So Wrong." In 1993, he began a long involvement with keyboardist/composer Alan Parsons. The American-distributed version of Parsons' 1995 album, The Very Best Live, featured a studio recording of "You're the Voice," featuring Thompson's vocals. Thompson has also been closely aligned with Queen. The group's guitarist, Brian May, was featured on his second solo album, Radio Waves, in 1985. At the Freddy Mercury Tribute Concert at Wombley Stadium in 1992, Thompson rehearsed the band and guest artists. The following year, he participated in Brian May's solo tour of South America. Born in England, Thompson grew up in New Zealand, where he formed a band, Hilbery Walker. Returning to the United Kingdom in 1974, he joined Manfred Mann's Earth Band two years later. Although he left the group in 1978, he returned to help finish the album, Somewhere in Afrika, in 1982. Together with drummer John Lingwood, he produced a live album and video, Live in Budapest. Thompson has recorded several hits on his own. In 1986, his song "The Challenge" was adopted as the theme of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and became a number one hit in Germany. His fourth solo album, Beat of Love, released in 1991, included "The Joker," which was used as the theme song of a popular television show, Jolly Joker, and became a Top Ten German hit. He performed the theme song of another German TV series, Florida Lady, in 1994. In 2000, Thompson signed a worldwide songwriter deal with the London-based Notting Hill Music company.
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