DS Reunion rumors

[herlock]

For me in the band history there are 2 area : before and after 1980
Before 1980, DS was a success band like it could have been for many others, doing a few good albums before becoming quite repetitive.
But hen came MM : turning point, change of style and start of the great waltz of musicians. But when you listen to the 1980 tour you hear that Alan contribution is everywhere. And it is easy to guess that he contributed to some arrangments but got no credit for them. This core trio is what made DS so special to me.

Actually Communiqu

[Love Expresso]

Hm. I always thought that Mark did not so much judge the songs by the pure quality but more by the way he remembered the circumstances in that they were written. Also some other associations with the time and surroundings might be relevant. F.e. I think Heavy Fuel stands for a certain time in his life. Private Investigations f.e. might be a favourite of JI and therefore be played on every gig. Now those times are gone and MK remembers other moments.
Cannibals is for sure not one of his best compositions, but maybe he remembers the childhood of his kids, his Dad and so on. And everything that was related with the "hard times" with David and the stressful first years is maybe not something he still likes to think of.  Only the real "gems" like TR, BIA and SFA are played because they are important for the people as he said in several interviews - including the "twiddely bits"...

LE

[herlock]

Hm. I always thought that Mark did not so much judge the songs by the pure quality but more by the way he remembered the circumstances in that they were written. Also some other associations with the time and surroundings might be relevant. F.e. I think Heavy Fuel stands for a certain time in his life. Private Investigations f.e. might be a favourite of JI end therefore be played on every gig. Now those times are gone and MK remembers other moments.
Cannibals is for sure not one of his best compositions, but maybe he remembers the childhood of his kids, his Dad and so on. And everything that was related with the "hard times" with David and the stressful first years is maybe not something he still likes to think of.  Only the real "gems" like TR, BIA and SFA are played because they are important for the people as he said in several interviews - including the "twiddely bits"...

LE

100% agree. That's certainly one of the reasons we don' get TOL any more although it is about Mark's happy childhood (the other being that it is a physically demanding song - already in 91/92 he was not able to perform both TOL and TR in the same show)

[ds1984]

With Mark it is difficult to say for some song which part of his decision to perform it is for is own pleasure and which part is to please or entertain the public.

I think when he performs SOS live and the response he get from the audience is something that tend to keep it in the set as long as he does not feel bored to death with it or find another way to do it. In some extend part of his pleasure is to see all those happy faces listening his music.

But Mark dropping MFN tells that if he had genuine fun to play it over the past years, once he had lost it he does not play it anymore even beeing a crowd fave and albeit I think he is still very proud of the riff he found.

[ds1984]

100% agree. That's certainly one of the reasons we don' get TOL any more although it is about Mark's happy childhood (the other being that it is a physically demanding song - already in 91/92 he was not able to perform both TOL and TR in the same show)

Well TOL is probably the song that DS fans like me are the most missing. And he could play it instead of TR and I don't see it more physically demanding than TR - the shorter 13 minutes version from 86 was fab.
We have heard TR so many time that if dropped for that one it would be definitively be ok.

[herlock]

Hum.
TR is such a fantastic prog rock song, such as symbol of DS' apogee, that I would be sad that it would be dropped.
On the guitar part TOL is probably not more difficult to play than TOL; on the vocals, though, TOL is very fast while TR is rather slow. I guess Mark feels he would be out of breath.
13 minutes is not short for TOL - Alchemy is 14, 91/92 as well (although the intro in shorter)
I want both TR and TOL !! Like in Alchemy !

[ds1984]

Well I lke the abrupt intro from 86.

Can you imagine the blast effect of it if it would happen that way - I could to lose consciousness like a very sensible miss.

[herlock]

Yes, me too
I love the 83 sax intro with Mel Collins; also love the 91/92 romantized version. Love them all, in fact. Would be happy with any style.... I guess today's more laid-back style would sounds a bit like the 1980 version on Alchemy bonus.

[dmg]

I think TOL is more physically demanding both in terms of the vocals and the guitar part which is played all the way through on TOL and really quite gently on TR befor the solo's.  Also for the main outro solo in TOL there are no real "escape roads" if MK gets tired or sore like there are on TR where he can "pull something out the bag" to cover it up so to speak.  Already on the OES tour one could tell sometimes he was not playing the solo the way he wanted to so I doubt he could manage it every other night on tour these days.