| Mike Batt | vocals / kbd / producer / arranger | solo / ex.Wombles | birth : Feb.6 1950 / Southampton, England | residence : Surrey, UK |
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message from Mike Batt |
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When I first started out I had a little bunch of musicians I used to
like to work with, just from having met them on sessions. Ray Cooper
was one. Chris was always my favorite guitar player. He could seem
a little distant when you first met him. Quite serious. You might even
think he was not being communicative; but it was just shyness. He was
a quiet sort of guy. When you got to know him he had a lovely sense of
humour and a real passion for his music. We became good friends. In
the early days, during those terrible cover version orchestral albums
I did when I was nineteen - he's right about not discussing the guitar
parts much. I would write something like "play damped fifths - heavy
chugs" and he would read the chords, plus any tunes I put in. We worked
real quick. I still like working quickly. And they were big orchestral
sessions, so you had to be trusting of your rhythm section. If Chris
came up with something I wouldn't like (as you sometimes can't avoid)
I'd suggest changes, but sometime we had a "language" from working
together a lot. But actually, when we were laying down tracks without
an orchestra, or pre-recording or overdubbing, we discussed all his
parts in great detail, down to have much treble or bass to but on his
Fender Twin. He played a Flying V and probably a Telecaster with heavy
strings, I think. I always remember he used to refuse to use effect
pedals in those days, relying on the distorted sound from just
overloading the amp's channels and speaker a bit. That gave him this
wonderful, solid; not thin, like say, Jeff Beck through a fuzzbox
(which is equally good but different). It sounded "tough" and
uncompromising and that's what I liked about it. He had (has) an
inborne understanding of guitar 'mythology' and style.
(written for GG in November 1995) |