Our house mates ( Matt Fox and his wife Katie ) had left for their overdue honeymoon and no sooner than the door had closed Andrew, Neal and myself started setting up cables and mics in the living room. With the old wooden floors the acoustics were good and that was where the piano was that I had been spending most of my free time with. Often in a robe slowly draining a bottle of Old Crow.
So we got to work.
Andrew had been messing around with Neal's Omnichord utilizing its basic beats as a starter for any kind of thought. He stumbled upon the lazy simple beat of Absentee Ballad and let it play. I started a simple melody on the piano with standard changes that I had become fond of. Somehow I remember that Andrew had left the room and came back in smoking his trademark cigarette butt and asked what I was playing. I said nothing and he said we should make it in to a song. So we hit record and began.
We did a pass with me singing completely improvised lyrics ( a habit I do often to release my unconscious mind and not make too much sense ). We finished and listened to the demo. After transcribing what I had sang we sat down to collaborate on the lyrics. Most of the finished lyrics are what I had sang during the demo with Andrew finishing a few verses where I had just mumbled.
Not wanting to lose our momentum we immediately sat back down and recorded the basic beat and piano track. Andrew, Neal and I continued to record our vocals and more tracks filling out the sound. Eventually Matt returned adding his vocals and guitar.
Absentee Ballad is one of the favorite songs I have ever been a part of. I find it beautiful in its simplicity and listening to it reminds me of the love and creativity that emanated from the house we all shared. You can hear Andrew light his cigarette at the beginning when he recorded his vocals. Magic times. Enjoy. Love, Kevin
lyrics
THERE'S NO KIND OF LOVE /LIKE THE ONtE THAT LEAVES YOU
NOTHING TO REPLACE IT / NOT EVEN IF YOU WANT TO
THERE'S NOTHING TO GATHER / GATHER TOGETHER
IN YOUR HANDS
IN YOUR HANDS
AN THERE'S NO KIND OF FAITH / LIKE THE ONE YOU LOSE
THERE'S NO KIND OF GOD / LiKE THE ONE YOU CANT CHOOSE
THERE'S NO KIND OF BURDEN / LIKE THE PRESENT TENSE
THERE'S NO KIND OF BEAST / NO KIND OF SENTENCE
IF YOU WERE DRIFTING FOREVER / LIKE THE ANCIENT SEA
I WOULD SWIM OUT TO MEET THE YOU / THE WAY YOU SWAM TO ME
I WOUD SEIZE YOUR HEART / CRACK OPEN YOUR CHEST
AN TRY TO PEAK THROUGH YOUR EYES / WHILE I SLEPT ON YOUR BREAST
SOME WOULD SAY I WAS SiMPLE / SOME WOUD SAY WAS I BARE
ALWAYS LATE FOR THE BALL / NOTHING TO WARE
I FIT MY CLOTHES / I DON'T FIT MY SKIN
LORD ONLY KNOWS / I WASN'T MADE TO WIN
credits
released February 3, 2023
Warbler and The Murders
ABSENTEE BALLAD
WRITTEN BY
KEVIN WILLIAM MOLLOY AND ANDREW MICHAEL SHORTER
PLAYED BY
KEVIN WILLIAM MOLLOY:
PIANO.VOCALS, CLASSICAL GUITAR, KEYBOARD (EMPATiHIC)
ANDREW MICHAEL SHORTER:
OMNICHORD, VOCALS, ELECTRIC
NEAL WAYNE ARGABRIGHT:
PERCUSSION, ORGAN GUITAR (FAITH) XYLOPAONE, VOCALS (OBSERVANCE)
The legendary Richard Thompson's new solo album exemplifies his many musical paths, from pop and cabaret to jazz to traditional folk. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 2, 2024
