"Magical World of The Strands" / Michael Head & The Strands

The Magical World Of The Strands / Michael Head & The Strands ‎–
Released 2.Mar.1998 via LPMEGA 01 (CD MEGA 01)

ｰｰｰ
●LP MEGA01：LP, Album, 12" Vinyl 33RPM, Gatefold sleeve (France)
●CD MEGA01：CD, Album, Jewel Case (UK / France)
●CD MEGA01：CD, HDCD, Album, Limited Edition, Numbered, Cardboard Sleeve (UK)
　　First edition in cardboard sleeve limited and numbered. Some copies have no 'limited edition' and printed number on rear.
　　1" diameter round black sticker on the front of the sleeve reads "Singer Songwriter of Shack & The Pale Fountains" in orange and white text.
　　Spine credits main artist as "Michael Head". Front cover as "Michael Head Introducing The Strands".
●LPMEGA24： Reissue（31.Jul.2015）, LP, Album,Gatefold(UK)
　Repressed on 180 gram heavy weight vinyl, including a 20 page booklet. Gatefold sleeve.
　Recorded from 1993 to 1995 in Liverpool and Sheffield at studios Avid,
●CDMEGA24：Reissue（31.Jul.2015）,CD, Album, Super Jewel Box
　Bonus Track #12 & 13 originally released on the Somethin' Like You single
ｰｰｰ
1(A1).Queen Matilda 3:58
2(A2).Something Like You 3:46
3(A3).And Luna 5:01
4(A4).X Hits The Spot 3:54
5(A5).The Prize 4:41
6(A6).Undecided (Reprise) 4:10
7(B1).Glynys And Jaqui 4:48
8(B2).It's Harvest Time 4:19
9(B3).Loaded Man 7:32
Written by John Head
10(B4).Hocken's Hey 3:23
11(B5).Fontilan 5:37

＜Bonus track： CDMEGA24：Reissue＞
12.Green Velvet Jacket
13.Queen Mathilda (Demo)
ｰｰｰ
Written by Michael Head (1 to 8, 10, 11)
　　　　　　　　John Head (9)
Produced by Michael Head (1 to 8, 10, 11)
　　　　　　　　John Head (9)
Co-producer – Mark Coyle
Engineer – Ian Eastwood, Steve Powell
Executive-Producer – Stephane Bismuth

Vocals, Guitar – Michael Head
Guitar, Bass, Vocals – John Head
Bass – Michelle Brown
Cello – Robert Spriggs
Drums, Percussion – Iain Templeton
Flute – Leslie Roberts
Viola – Oliver Kraus
Violin – Becca Ware, Lucy Wilkins
Orchestrated By – Helen Caddick

Sleeve – Sparta Wink
Photography (Inside Cover Photgraphy) by Renaud Monfourny
ｰｰｰ
℗&© 1997 Megaphone Music Ltd.

http://megaphonemusic.blogspot.com/?m=1

---
MICHAL HEAD
The Strands evolved one beautiful summer of 1993.
I was label-less at the time, I wouldn't quite say penniless but there was no more lobster. Shack, the mothership in a way, had disbanded
and we went our separate ways, which was still only about ten minutes from each other on foot.
I was living at my girlfriend Sarah's then and me Ma, who was ill, lived just down the street on Kenny. So most of the day, l'd go between
the two. We'd all congregate at me Ma's. Me, John, my sister Joanne and a host of other acquaintances coming and going. There were
always two or three guitars knockin' round the house so a lot of the time, me and John would end up in one of the rooms playing each other
our new ideas for songs, such as Queen Matilda and Something Like You.
At the time Liverpool was like a big mop top of creativity and the idea that we were just Strands plucked from it.
We were to record in Steve Powell's studio, at the corner of Mount Pleasant and Clarence Street. It wasn't like any other studio I had worked
in. You got the feel of the place immediately. It had a great atmosphere primarily because it had lots of windows. It was like being in
someone's flat.
The album's title could not have been called anything else. Magical.
The best way I can describe the whole period is like what John portrays on one of his later songs. You're sitting on the platform of a railway
station in the middle of nowhere. The next train's gonna be hours. It's a blistering hot summer's day and as you look down at the train
track you see these vapours shimmering on the tracks. Colours. Movement. And it grabs hold of you and you can't take your eyes out of it.
Like when you were a kid sitting on the kerb, putting your fingers on the tar bubbles. A parked car pulls away and the residue of oil makes
little oceans of wonder. And for that moment you don't have a care in the world. Or even if you do, for that moment you're somewhere else.
That's what making Magical was like.
Mick
---

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kaxDqOTGJ8B7yGjqb2SubAZLHG7QlBjJI