Part II, Chapter LIX: "Guitar Licks and Stevie Nicks" by @Drorac
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers:
Following the release of 1991’s Into the Great Wide Open, and the following two albums with the Travelling Wilburys, Petty missed recording with the Heartbreakers, especially Campbell. He then made the decision that his planned solo album Wildflowers was going to be a Heartbreakers album, and unusually for a Heartbreakers album more than half the tracks were co-written by him and Campbell, with even one credited to Petty/Campbell/Tench. Guest musician Lindsey Buckingham played extra guitar on the song “You Wreck Me”. Wildflowers was a worthy success for the Heartbreakers as although it didn’t do quite as well as Into the Great Wide Open, it still reached a respectable 15 on the Billboard 200 and 6 on the UK album charts.
Following Wildflowers and the subsequent tour of 1994/1995, Petty had dinner with an old friend of his, Stevie Nicks. She had been released from rehab only to find that her 1994 album Street Angel had not sold well, partly down to her addiction to Klonopin. To help his long time friend get back on her feet, he suggested something unheard of: a joint album together. Surprisingly the Heartbreakers took the idea very well, Mike Campbell had enjoyed co-writing a few tracks on her 1989 album The Other Side of the Mirror, and the Heartbreakers had played on her 1981 album Bella Donna, and Wild Heart in 1983.
Sessions during this time were very productive. It was clear that there was musical chemistry between both Petty and Nicks, and it helped re-cement the bond between the Heartbreakers as well, which had been worn thin between Petty’s solo album Full Moon Fever and the Travelling Wilbury’s albums. Mike Campbell took over production of the new album, titled “Look Me in the Eye”. The album was also helped by some guest musicians; George Harrison was bought in to provide guitar on one song and Christine McVie played piano on one song.
The lead single, “Your Heart belongs to Me” cowritten by Nicks, Petty and Campbell was released in the winter of 1995 and shot all the way up to No 9 on the Billboard 200, a huge success for them both.
The Entertaining Laddermen.
Following the success of the Travelling Wilburys Vol 3., the members decided to take a bit of a break, while Petty recorded Wildflowers with the Heartbreakers. Harrison wanted to get out and make some more music, feeling that the Wilburys were becoming too commercial once again. Once at Friars Park, he called Clapton and asked him whether he wanted to come round for a bit of jam. Clapton eagerly agreed, and before long they had written a guitar part. After a day they had ironed out some lyrics, with Clapton’s depth of realism and cynicism clashing nicely with Harrisons spiritual nature. Next Harrison called up Starr and Voorman, both of which Harrison and Clapton had worked with on All Things Must Pass. Starr added his drum part and Voorman added a bass line, but he still felt that some part of the song was missing. Deciding that he needed a piano accompaniment, he rang up Richard Tandy, who had played the piano and synthesisers with Jeff Lynne in ELO. Following the recording of their debut song called “The Lonely Wonderer”, Voorman and Starr bought a composition each to the group which soon turned into an EP, at which point they decided to form a group. They chose the name “The Entertaining Laddermen” as a tongue in cheek reference to the press’s beliefs in a group comprised of former Beatles called the “Laddermen” would exist in the 1970s.
Tandy, initially sceptical of joining the group due to his relative anonymity and comparative lack of talent soon felt more at home in these sessions than he did at ELO. He helped co-write 5 songs to the album. “The Lonely Wanderer” was released in June 1993, to widespread rave reviews. It topped the Billboard 200 for 4 weeks, with 4 singles reaching the top 30. “Blood and Bones” (Harrison/Clapton/Voorman, No. 29), “Tell me Why” (Clapton/Starr/Tandy No. 16), “This Love is not for us Anymore” (Harrison/Starr/Tandy No.11), and “The Lonely Wanderer”(Harrison/Clapton /Voorman /Tandy /Starr No.1). This marked one of the best performances of all of the respective artists, and the first number No.1 for Voorman and Tandy. This was not marked by a tour, however Harrison convened both the Travelling Wilburys and the Entertaining Laddermen for a one off concert in June 1994 to raise further funds for the Romanian Angel Appeal that him and his wife had set up in 1990. Both concerts were performed at Madison Square Gardens, with an ensemble cast of musicians of Harrison, Starr, Clapton, Voorman, Lynne, Tandy, Petty, Orbison, Dylan, Jim Keltner and Gary Moore. The set list was as follows:
- Handle With Care (TW)
- My Sweet Lord (GH)
- Blowing in the Wind (BD)
- Free Fallin’ (TP)
- Blood and Bones (EL)
- Oh Pretty Woman (RO)
- Layla (EC)
- She’s My Baby (TW) (Guest Musician Garry Moore)
- Photograph (RS)
- Mr Blue Sky (JL/RT)
- Tears in Heaven (EC)
- You Got It (RO)
- Don’t Come Around Here No More (TP)
- Lift Me Up (JL)
- Simple Twist of Fate (BD)
- Got My Mind Set on You (GH)
- The Lonely Wanderer (EL)
Encore
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps (GH)
- Here Comes the Sun (GH)
Second Encore
- End of the Line (TW) (With guest musicians from EL)
Pink Floyd
Following the end of their world tour, Gilmour was eager to follow up 4 in the Bed with a new record, which he hoped could helped cement the dynamic of the band further. However this was not a sentiment shared by Barrett and Wright, because they had a whole pile of songs written that were more 60’s esque which they wanted to produce, while Mason wanted some time with his family. Eventually after much dispute by the band, they agreed to put Pink Floyd on hiatus while they each pursued their own solo projects.
The first thing that Barrett and Wright did was bring back their old friend Peter Jenner out of retirement. Peter Jenner had managed Barrett’s solo career in the 1970’s and both Barrett and Wright thought that he would be best placed to help their songs come out in ways that were unexpected. Jenner took some persuading to re-enter the music business, but eventually he accepted.
The initial sessions progressed well, as although Barrett was still a bit unhinged and antisocial, he wasn’t as mad or uncooperative as had been in 1970. Thus Barrett and Wright were able to bring back a lot of instrumentation and strange sound effects that made the record very familiar sounding to the Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Nick Mason was bought in again to play the drums on the song “Kingdom of Madness”. The upcoming album, titled “Cry of the Jester” was scheduled for a summer 1995 release.
On the other hand, Gilmour was less sure what to do in the hiatus with Pink Floyd. He had recently overcome a cocaine addiction with the help of the of his new wife, and wasn’t ready to record a third solo album. However he received an invitation from Mark Knopfler to work with him on some blues related work, which he eagerly accepted.
Keyboards on my Guitar
Following the success and acclaim of his composing for Season 27 of Dr. Who, his last, Lindsey Buckingham was doing very well. Soon after the finale of the season, he received an invitation from his old bandmate Christine McVie, who was looking to produce some more music following the hiatus in Fleetwood Mac. Despite the tumultuous and bitter departure that he had from Fleetwood Mac, he had still maintained fairly good relations with Christine. Thus in the spring of 1994 they both went to the Village in California to lay down some tracks. While they were there they realised both of them still shared the same musical chemistry that they had had in Fleetwood Mac, which made the whole process much more enjoyable.
In the end they laid down 5 tracks, two written by McVie, one written by Buckingham and two co-written by both. As it was a low-key affair, they both used different drummers and bassists; Larry Klein was bought in to play bass, while Steve Ferrone was recruited to play the drums. The upcoming EP entitled “Keyboards on my Guitar” would be released in the winter of 1994.