More History: Spectacle (6.8M mp3) also from the 1997 Buenos Aires Greenthumb sessions.
This is another example of my ongoing practice of clothing a song in multiple radical arrangements over the years. The piece was originally conceived on May 12, 1988 during the first Guitar Craft course in France during a late night guitar session with Victor McSurely, Robert Fripp, and a hand-full of other Crafties who were up late playing in the cafeteria of the facility where the second French Guitar Craft course was being held. Victor began with a seed in seven, and a number of variations came to life within this small, intense, non-circular circle.
The seed came home with me to Boston (where I was sharing a rent controlled apartment in Brookline at the time with New Man singer/sax player Scott Gilman, who is now with Foreigner.) The piece became a staple of my Redline subway busking repertoire.
Words poured out, pretty much exactly as they are today, in real time one evening when I was practicing at home in my Fairbanks St. apartment.
The song next evolved into a Prometheus song in 1992-1994 featuring rocking rhythm section provided by Nigel Gavin and Pat Mastelotto, and then I re-recorded it instrumentally, as originally conceived, for 1999's the Breathing Field CD.
This version here features the 1997 ‘Greenthumb’ group including:
guillermo olivera
luciano pietrafesa
martin de aguirre
christian de santis
steve ball
martin schwutke
horacio pozzo
fernando kabusacki
claudio lafalce
pablo mandel
marcelo o'reilly
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Spectacle
call this land my home
call this land your own
I don’t imagine anything I say is going to change you
take a walk around the block and try to wear some darker shoes
try to see through my eyes
born on this side of the border
you brought your guns, you brought your order into my homeland
the only place I understand
you made the law, forced our submission
you did not ask for our permission, we did what you told us
how long will you hold us?
we have the number, you the power
your strength grows weary by the hour
don’t ignore us -- so many million more of us than you
call this land my home
from where I’m standing this land looks small
from where you’re standing I can’t see anything at all
help me see through your eyes
I don’t imagine anything I do is going to change you
help me see through your eyes
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PS – happy August the Hippo to my first band, Fish (Richard, Bret, and Kevin.)
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