The inner mind of Green Pepper Junction is a history of songs and tracks spanning 36 years of the UK label – Green Pepper Junction. All originally composed in various locations (mostly outdoors) on seashores to the mountains and on one occasion a tropical botanical hothouse!
The tracks were recorded from time to time alongside various other productions and were not and have not ben influenced by the music trends of the time or the moment – Be it then or now.
There is no set theme or genre in the tracks which include R&B, Ballads, Pop, Hip-hop, Jazz, Dance and Latino, but they all have one thing in common: possessing strong melodies and structured songs and many with great ‘hook’ lines.
The arrangements generally differ greatly from today, but then this is an anthology stretching back more than three and a half decades. The tracks have been left in their original format and not remixed and though digitally re-mastered were nearly all recorded in analogue.
Most of the songs were written for specific acts at the time, but recorded by other artists in Scotland and the USA. As real musicians were used 90% of the time, the personalities and emotions shine through on many of the tracks – both in the performance musically and vocally – like ‘Tenement Boogie – Bop’ creating the feel sound and mood of the ‘Swinging 40s.’
No easy feat, it took a lot ‘on hand’ brandy, beer and stoking up the heat (an opera fire in the studio would you believe)! for everybody in the studio before it all started to come together, only to find the ‘trumpet man’ had disappeared!
An urgent pleading phone call at 2 o’clock in the morning got ‘correct man’ Tommy Hulcup out of bed and into the studio and with no previous knowledge and rehearsal laid down an amazing atmospheric trumpet solo on the track.
Then there was ‘Games Lovers Play’ which was originally written as a soul track for a well-known artiste (out of New York) – who had to pull out of the production at the very last minute, due to contractual commitments – resulting in changing the rhythm and arrangement and finding the right vocalist to ‘fit’ the song and production.
A ‘flurry’ of phone calls to associates and companies in the Uk and Europe, suggested an artiste in teh Netherlands with a great voice suitable for the track called ‘Linny’. It was Christmas eve, but a phone call to ‘Linny’ in Amsterdam 12 noon Christmas day requesting she fly to Scotland immediately to record both ‘Games Lovers Play’ along with another song in both England and Spanish (she couldn’t speak Spanish).
She didn’t know Green Pepper Junction and had no idea what she would be recording.
She somehow got on a plane to Glasgow the following day(Boxing Day) learnt and ‘laid down’ both tracks in English and Spanish. (A story ‘how’ another time) – and was on a plane back to Amsterdam in less than 48hrs from the first phone call!
This is just an example of some of the fun and adventure we had recording these and the other tracks over the many years from composing to final production and mastering. There are many other stories, personalities and ‘situations’ relating to the album. We could go on, but enough of this on to the music and the real thing.
This is the first album ever to be released on ‘Shake the Moon’ label. Its theme is a compilation of ‘across the board’ music for all ages and tastes from dance to pop, some-with a lot of fun, and some-just abou tlife.
Listen-Dance-Enjoy! Asher Halle
Hello very cool website!! Man .. Excellent .. Wonderful .. I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds I’m happy to seek out numerous useful info right here in the post, we need work out more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
Normally I do not read post on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to try and do so! Your writing style has been amazed me. Thanks, very nice article.