Posts by hughesfan

    Nice work again on this one. Do you know that I picked up some of the vocal dynamics in your voice (such as an interesting downward inflection at the end of phrases) that are commonly used by GH himself? Stick with the low budget clips, too. Keeps it interesting.

    Are you personally acquainted with the "jealous little man" ? :)

    Good luck on the job hunting.

    Cheers

    hughesfan

    Hi all,

    I was intrigued by a recent tweet from Glenn in which remembered the sad passing of Kevin DuBrow and suggested someone should go knock Steven Tyler's door down. Anyone know what he meant by the Tyler reference?

    Cheers
    hughesfan

    One of the great things about being a Glenn Hughes Fan (and aspiring to one day be a GHCP) is the fact that his evolution as an artist continues apace and is filled with constant surprises. Grace is right - no cookie cutters here. Just got hold of AC/DC's "Black Ice" - talk about Cookie Cutters. Being an Aussie I have special affection for Angus and the boys but jeez! Anyway, you can speculate all you like about what comes next from GH but one thing I know for sure - it'll be sensational.

    I have a little story I'd like to tell about how I visualise Glenn's astonishing musical output. Some of you may be familiar with the concept of "flow". If not there's plenty of research available but in short how does it feel to be in flow?

    • Completely involved, focused, concentrating - with this either due to innate curiosity or as the result of training
    • Sense of ecstasy - of being outside everyday reality
    • Great inner clarity - knowing what needs to be done and how well it is going
    • Knowing the activity is doable - that the skills are adequate, and neither anxious or bored
    • Sense of serenity - no worries about self, feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of ego - afterwards feeling of transcending ego in ways not thought possible
    • Timeliness - thoroughly focused on present, don't notice time passing
    • Intrinsic motivation - whatever produces "flow" becomes its own reward

    (Credit to Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi pronounced "Chicks send me high" apparently!)

    So, Glenn's flow, in my mind, takes the form of a river which was blocked by a dam. The dam wall was constructed in the 70's and added to in the 80's and was made of materials that looked and felt good on the surface but in reality held little value. In the early 90's, the first cracks appeared because the dam wall was under so much pressure. It had held back the flow for many years but its weaknesses were now beginning to show. Soon after the cracks widened and the people who lived in the valley below looked up with fear and wondered what was happening. These people had provided the materials from which the dam was made and had stolen the land in the valley made dry and barren by the dam. Occasionally, some of what had been held back by the dam spilled out, hinting at what might be behind the wall.

    One day, not long after 1992 after years of pressure build up, the dam wall finally breached and what had been held back for many years finally came gushing out in torrents, flooding the valley and forcing the people who had provided the materails and stolen the land to flee, screaming like cowards. The last remnants of the dam have now been washed away.

    The flow was back and the valley was restored to a green and splendid place. Now we can all sit by the mighty river as it flows by and enjoy all that it offers.

    It is not my intention to offend anyone with this little allegorical tale and I hope I haven’t. It is just something I sometimes imagine because my limited brain needs to “see” things so it can try to understand.

    I write songs - so far I've come up with about half a dozen since I took up guitar at 15 (I'm now 44!). How someone can come up with 20 for one album and still be talking about what is to come - well I'm buggered if I know. Call it flow or what you will but where does it come from? I reckon it's a big part of that gift Glenn keep's talkin' about.

    Bloody hell, did I write all that on a Monday morning?! Have a great week all.

    Was passing my fave record store (Utopia Records, Sydney) the other day and Chickenfoot was front and centre in a new promo rack just inside the door. Grabbed a copy of the Oz version and bunged it in the CD player in the car. Strong record with two stand out tracks for me on first listen - Sexy Little Thing and Get it Up. Will listen to the rest a bit more and write up a longer review later.

    As a funny little aside, the guy at the counter was also selling the US release. He tried to get me to part wth the extra six bucks for that version. Curious, I asked him why I would do that as the track listing is the same. Turns out the US version has a heat senstive cover which he claims he discovered by accident. If you apply heat to the cover, a band photo is revealed. He rubbed it vigorously (pardon me, vicar!) and parts of the photo showed up. It is the same photo of the band that is inside the cover of the Oz version so I kept the six bucks. Astute shopper, me.

    cheers
    hughesfan

    The more I read about Glenn's work schedule, the more worried I get.

    He is just too damn busy! It is a health risk and he himself said I seem to spend my life in hotels and on airplanes. It bothers me that he rarely seems to stop (although he did have a recent break).

    Now don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining about the world tours, the albums, the collaborations, etc, etc, etc. But Glenn, if you read this, have a serious think about your schedule. You need to take care of yourself. Maybe others wouldn't say it, but in Australia you looked (to my eyes anyway) tired and a bit gaunt and I now read your stripping off more weight. I know you gotta do what you gotta do and I think I understand the passion and drive you feel for the music and the fans. I also understand you get your regular medical checks and all of that but man, just take care of yourself. You can't do what you do without health first.

    a (concerned) hughesfan

    I'll try to be quick.

    I first caught the fever in the early 80's when I saw the California Jam video in an old record store in Sydney called Utopia Records. They're still around these many years later but not in the old location. I digress.

    I was a MKII fan and had no exposure to any of the other MK's as I was just starting to get into Purple. In fact, I was a naive young lad who didn't even realise there were any other MK's! Imagine my surprise when I read the video box (and it was a plastic lined box) and I saw David Coverdale (Vocals) and Glenn Hughes (Bass & Vocals). When I got home, with great trepidation I played the video. Who were these blokes? Well, it was like turning on a light. I was quite taken by DC on vocals but what of this energetic madman playing bass and singing/screaming and shaking his long hair hither and yon. Who the hell played bass like that? More to the point, who the hell could play bass like that and sing at the same time?! I was blown away - instantly hooked. So, I started the search for as much GH material as I could gather but sadly there wasn't much to be had. I went back to Utopia Records and asked about GH but, in those pre-internet days, you had to believe what you heard. The guy behind the counter told me Glenn was sitting in a house somewhere eating Mars Bar sandwiches. That is really what he said. Little did I know that it was a dark, dark period for Glenn and his musical output was severely curtailed. I gathered the odd thing here and there over the intervening years, Gary Moore's "Run for Cover" being one such acquisition and an old 12" vinyl of Trapeze's "You are the Music ..." another, but with apologies to Ozzy, nothing seemed to satisfy.

    Years passed and the fever subsided.Or so I thought.

    In late 1999, I took a transfer in my job to a suburban location west of Sydney. There was a small record shop across the road which I could see from my office window. I went in there from time to time and they had quite an offbeat and eclectic collection of albums. Not your common or garden variety store, this one.

    Then as I was walking past one day - I heard the instantly recognisable voice of Glenn Hughes issuing from the speaker strategically located just inside the door. This had to be some sort of mistake, didn't it. I stopped and listened for a moment - no mistake. So, I practically ran inside and asked the guy behind the counter what he was playing. He said, "Oh, just some guy you wouldn't have heard of." I said, "Is it Glenn Hughes?" He looked at me a little strangely and showed me the CD Jewel case. I held the case in my hand and gazed at the cover of "The Way It Is". He turned the record up, much to the discomfort of others in the store and my spine tingled.

    Of course, it was an import and quite expensive but I had to have it. So I parted company with the best $32.95 I ever spent. The rest, as they say, is history.

    It took me over 12 months after that day to sign up as a member of the old GHPG site and here, too. I don't post a lot but I read every day and, on the tenth anniversary of TWII, I decided to share my little story.

    Later this month, Glenn plays Sydney with a full band for the first time ever. Can't wait.

    One thing I know for sure, the fever never leaves you. And that's The Way It is.

    Cheers
    hughesfan

    The more I think about this, the more sense it makes BUT only as a studio collaboration. The comments above about DC's voice are spot on and I know that GH would show him up terribly in a live situation. In the studio (and with the right songs) things could be done to "equalise" the voices and produce a great great record. Scout around on the net for the footage of "Burn" done I think at the NAMM show some years back with Coverdale and Hughes and well, you get my point.

    Having said that, I was only listening to "Good to be Bad" this morning as I drove to work. Even in the studio, DC's voice is strained in many places with an overuse of falsetto replacing what would once have been a deep resonant sound. I don't know if the guy is still smoking and I hope he isn't but man, that ain't helpin'. GH on the other hand - well, I don't intend to preach to the converted but play any GH record alongside anything DC has done since 1990 and you'll hear what I'm talking about.

    I would love to see a Mk III reunion and no mistake but I fear the reputational damage that could be caused. It warms my heart that DC & GH have a great personal relationship these days and maybe we should all just be happy with that.

    Hey Glenn,

    Isn't that right next to Australia? Yes, indeed it is. There also appears to be a few days in the tour schedule spare just after the NZ show. Shame to come all this way and not fit in a little gig or two in Australia don't you think? Do you have Drew Thomson brewing something up? Plenty of GH fans here and we'd all love to see Glenn Hughes with the full band.

    Even if it doesn't work out, I wish you every continued success with all you are doing.

    Cheers
    hughesfan