 NOONTIDE by Barry Newman: VINYL or CD "Noontide" - a term used by German philospoher, Neitzche, with reference to the apocalypse. This jazz / rock LP was written and recorded by Barry Newman (publisher, Cosmic Debris Musicians Magazine) at Studio One, Vancouver, BC, in August, 1974. It is one of the province's first "indie" recordings. Newman, who had previously performed in Victoria-based bands Pastime, As Sheriff and Buckeye, plays electric guitar, 12-string acoustic and sings most of the lead vocals on this vintage album. The 4 members of Noontide, aged 18 to 21, packed a rented car with as much gear as they could squeeze in, and took the ferry to Vancouver to record the project in five days. During the evenings that week, Bryan Adams and John Booth were recording Sweeny Todd in the same studio. Some of the studio's commercial accounts (large department stores) kept interrupting Noontide's allotted daily sessions to fix up their radio jingles, etc. So, by late Friday afternoon, instead of having 40 hours to produce the album, only 17 hours had gone into recording... leaving only 90 minutes left to mix the entire album. Considering the multi-tracking of Dave Richardson's sax (x4...at times sounding like a blend of Glen Miller & Blodwyn Pig), this was quite a feat! Single songs often take over 100 hours to produce. Tracks include: 1) On A Lifeline - (5:15) 2) Such A Sunny Day - (6:29) 3) Juan de Fuca Funk (Newman/Richardson) - (5:09) 4) Another No-Party - (5:00) 5) Burnin' Wolf's Beef - (8:45) 6) Our Code Has a Long Way to Go - (6:07)  All songs by Barry Newman, except for 'Juan de Fuca Funk', sung and co-written by sax player Dave Richardson. Sax and guitar harmonies were co-written by Barry and Dave. The album was engineered by Laurie Wallace & Rod Dirk; produced & written by Barry Newman. Cover photo by Derek Thornburn; artwork by David Harrison. Drummer Don Restall and bassist Peter MacDonald went on to play in numerous regional bands. After recording the album, Barry continued driving taxi and playing in various bands on Vancouver Island. In January 1994, he founded Cosmic Debris Musicians Magazine. Noontide received some airplay from CBC in 1975 and in Belgium in 2001. In the mid-80's, Newman received a call from BMI (now SOCAN) explaining that a song called On A Lifeline... by a "Barry Newman" was used as a soundtrack on an Australian movie. They added that the title of the movie was "It Could Be You" ... !?! Maybe it was him... he didn't hear any more about it. However, the chances of two identically-named songwriters giving identical titles to one of their songs are exceptionally-remote. Groovedigger Records, Box 196, Crofton, BC V0R1R0. Email: mojano@shaw.ca or go to: www.montenordstrom.com for info. The Noontide reissue CD is currently being re-mastered by Zak Cohen at Woodshop Studio. |
 WORST OF Barry Newman, 1974-2001: CD only Since recording the Noontide LP (1974), Barry Newman has performed in various Vancouver Island musical projects (live and studio) and has co-hosted various jam sessions. He continued writing during the 80's and gradually fine-tuned this material. Since 1994, publishing Cosmic Debris Musicians Magazine consumed most of his time. Budget restrictions also kept delaying a long-overdue studio session to get his newer material recorded. Finally in 2001, he got a chance to record some of these songs at Pierre Dube's Blackstone Studio. Barry Newman plays all bass, lead and acoustic guitars on these 4 tracks. Erik Anderson plays drums. Other guest musicians are mentioned below. 1) Some Call It Lunch (2:03) Written in 1980 during the Cold War and recorded 5 months before 9/11, this pop/jazz anti-war song reflects the scenario leading to the present "brave new mess". Engineer Pierre didn't have the sound-effects of "rockets which crash in the night", as Newman requested. Instead he found some effects of a jet plane and combined this with an explosion. And a few months later, we listened to this spooky product in amazement... as the 9/11 news unfolded. 2) Cherokee Dancer (5:05) Written in 1979, for an old girlfriend of Barry's, who got deported. Listeners say it has a "60's" rock feel. Lots of nifty Strat guitar. 3) Don't Touch Me (4:00) Go figure... Leonard Cohen meets Goldfinger? Superb vocals by Carol Jarvie (Victoria Opera Society) and sax-playing by Brent Hutchinson (Out Of The Blue). The lyrics are darkly dyslexic and shrouded in paranoid imagery... well, that's what Barry's mortician said. 4) 40,000 Brain Cells (3:30) An anthem to alcohol... written in 1981, after a gallon of cheap Muscatel. In-yer-face blues-harmonica wizardry by Shakey Reay Suter, soaring the cosmos with Newman's psychedelic slide guitar... Other tracks include 5 morbid thrillers from the Noontide LP (1974): 5) Such A Sunny Day - (6:29) 6) Another No-Party - (5:00) 7) On A Lifeline - (5:15) 8) Burnin' Wolf's Beef - (8:45) 9) Our Code Has a Long Way to Go - (6:07)  WORST OF BARRY NEWMAN: CD w/ b&w cover & liner notes. Groovedigger Records, Box 196, Crofton, BC V0R1R0. Email: mojano@shaw.ca or go to: www.montenordstrom.com |
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