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Confession (SST 189) - July 1988 |
1)
So Quick to Say (info • MP3)
2) Another Side (info • MP3)
3) Going Gone (info • Real
Audio)
4) And They Laugh (info • Real
Audio)
5) I Saw Your Eyes (info • MP3)
6) It Isn't Really You (info • MP3)
7) Don't Care (info • MP3)
8) Soldiers of Love (info • MP3)
9) Book (info • Real
Audio)
10) Dancing (info • Real
Audio)
11) Everywhere You Turn (info • MP3)
12) Confession (info • MP3)
...
Confession is either our second, third or fourth album, depending on how you feel about the legitimacy of Look Again, which never came out, or Painting Smiles, which was by the time of release almost a compilation of decidedly non-hits, and only got released in France.
Whichever, Confession was our triumphant comeback album. New musicians, new hip label (SST) and new hip producer (Bill Stevenson). The material is essentially a mix of the stuff that would have come out in early '86 had the band not split up, and new stuff I'd started writing with a vengeance in late '87. It actually did soar onto the CMJ Top Five upon release, though it just as quickly soared out again.
Total time from first backing tracks to final mix was exactly two weeks, and in fact we shot the cover photo outside the studio door on the last night of mixing. I like the thing, as always I'd do everything differently if given the chance but that's always the way it is, isn't it?
—Joe
Nolte
So quick to say So quick to say So quick to say So quick to say So quick to say So quick to say So quick to say So quick to say So quick to say Later that day |
The first mention of Three O'Clock in print was a review of their first single (when they were Salvation Army) in the L.A. Weekly, where they were cited as a "cross between Black Sabbath and The Last." I already knew Mike Quercio as a Last fan, but didn't realize this was his band at the time. As far as The Last and the Paisley scene goes, see the 1982 page of the history section.
I told you that story to tell you this - this song was an attempt to write a Three O'Clock type song. Why?
Who cares.
I liked the song - I was pushing to do a new album in mid-'85 but Vitus and I were barely speaking, and brother Dave was about to leave. A lot of stuff on this and the next album should have hit the streets in 1986, but oh well...
Open letter to band members, past and present - add comments! This is not nor will it ever be nor should it be the Joe Nolte excises his soul mould website - let's have dialogue and controversy...
Or perhaps I should refrain from drinking Cuba Libres when writing...
Nahhhh!@#@#
—Joe
Nolte
I'm another - same as the other Morning comes - you walk-walk through your
day And if you've got a thing to say Noon at last, you're off the beaten track And all the crap you must endure People talk of revolution The only people on your side |
Don't know how this hit, I was talking to brother David who commented on a current Springsteen video (Dancing in the Dark) and saying that it hit him, that he could relate to changing his hair, his face, etc.
So this probably was subconsciously derived from that verbal exchange - thematically however it's really just "Slavedriver" updated. I like it, though. It's fun to play.
—Joe Nolte
To everyone there comes a time I still remember when they told me who you
were Going... going... going... gone! I steeled myself so it would not show I couldn't stand it, so I tried to run and
hide Going... going... going... gone! I steel myself for one more look That I could logically decide where I should
be Going... going... going... gone! Things get too intense when there's no time And so we knew it had to end And I'll reover though it tore my heart in
two Going... going... going... gone! Going... going... going... gone! |
Oh dear. First song about a girl we shall identify only as "H". Too personal to say much about lyrically.
Musically, I wrote a prototype song in the Spring of '85 that went nowhere, but I liked it a lot. Ultimately the verses became the verses for this song, with a new chorus added, and the chorus of the original much later became the chorus for "You" (from the Awakening album). A lot of you who clamber onto this site know me, and thus it's probable I'll play you the original scratchy tape of the original.
Come to think of it, the nice thing about being the most unknown legendary band in the world is that it's relatively easy to link up with anyone who gives a shit. At this point, your numbers can be counted on my toes (don't go there) - so I may make tapes available to any who are truly interested. If we eventually get rich famous and jaded I'll deny having said this, but what are the odds?
Anyway, "H" was a real good source for material, as you'll soon see.
—Joe Nolte
No one cares when you
feel low You do your best to please them all And when you hurt, they all just laugh One day you'll realize your mistake When you stand back you'll really see Then when you hurt, they might still laugh |
Mike wrote this - I'll get him to tell you what it means. We had a lot of fun with the falsetto voices at the end. Bill Stevenson came in his pants.
—Joe Nolte
Wrote this song on accordion.
An old friend of mine had just got into an accident on the freeway, wasn't injured but was very shaken up. Stopped off at his sister and brother-in law's home, very much in shock, looking for a shoulder to cry on... and they laughed at him!
So he somehow found himself over at my house and told me all about his ordeal and his kin's reaction and naturally I felt very sympathetic for him, and nothing but anger and astonishment at his sister's and brother-in-law's callousness. When he left, I immediately sat down and wrote the song in it's entirety, words and music. It probably was finished within the space of an hour.
—Mike Nolte
I saw your eyes - you were standing there That from that moment my heart flew out to
you I go insane when you're near Then some enchantment brings you close -
close to me And if I have to wait until my dying breath |
This was written for "M1" and no one is ever gonna know who she is! The "I saw your eyes" bit came to me, words and music simultaneously, at work, and the rest soon followed. True story. Will I confess on my deathbed? Heh, heh, heh...
—Joe Nolte
When everything is sated Remember as you float away You start out for perfection Relax and they will float away You see another sunrise You laugh and so you float away |
Weird
song - probably written before "I Saw Your Eyes" and thus the
first number written expressly for the New Improved Last. I think I realized
we needed new stuff and just popped the thing out. Ouch. I was obviously
at some sort of crossroads -
Oh hell, I have no idea...
—Joe Nolte
I found out something just today People keep changing day to day You know how lonely I have been Let me tell you why I cried |
That's right - this is actually the first song written for The Last. We did a demo of it in late '76 but never officially recorded it till now. It's another song for the "F" girl (you'll recall "Someone's Laughing") and I recall trying to play an embryonic version of it for her and her boyfriend at a party and ended up playing the Bo Diddley riff over and over and over and... you get the idea.
It was then that many of my then friends began to question my sanity.
I took them all to the first L. A. appearance of the Ramones shortly thereafter and most of them have never spoken to me since.
I think this version sums it up nicely - thanks largely to Naz - this is as close as you'll get to true "Last roots".
—Joe Nolte
It's a cover - written by Arthur Alexander and covered by the Beatles live and on radio in '62 and '63. We did an early version live in '81 with brother David helping on vocals - it totally rocked. We'd done decent versions with this lineup at practice and thus decided to include it on the album. I remain dismally dissatisfied with the results. The vocals didn't cut it. My apologies to all who've ever had to listen to it.
—Joe Nolte
I can see an open book Pages turning faster And life goes fleeting on by What do you expect from me? Your life has always been kind of a ride When they carry you away I cry I can read you like a book |
Indirectly inspired by "H". This came about out of a situation where said girl had done a particularly diabolical bit of teasing aimed at yours truly, leaving yours truly frustrated and positively furious.
At the time Nazworthy was contemplating leaving the band, though he offered his home practice studio to us. We'd recruited cousin Mike Anderson Jr (son of our uncle, Mike Anderson Sr., the drummer for the Frogmen, the first surf band to crack the top 40) to drum for us, and he and brother Mike showed up that afternoon, only to find me busily writing this song. I sent them on their way and met up with them an hour later at Naz's, song finished.
Naz of course stayed with us, and "Book", with its obvious "Sister Morphine" influence, remains one of my faves from this album.
—Joe Nolte
Hey little girl, where are you going? I saw a man dig his own grave on Monday I saw your sister - she got out on Tuesday I saw your Daddy in an alley on Wednesday I saw a lamb lie down with a lion Riderless coach pulled up on Friday Hey little girl, where are you going? |
Obviously the "Run run run run run" thing came first. Another song written for "H", this one hit me in the shower, and in the space of just under fifteen minutes the entire song, music and lyrics, had been written. Before I was even dry, even.
—Joe Nolte
And here you are reflecting on the past Wherever you go - you see empty eyes do dull,
so all alone Everywhere you turn there are people in despair,
and And as you've grown you've not seen much
good left In this world, you've still much to learn
- much to understand Everywhere you turn, you feel madness in
the air So in your death the world feels colder now Never seen past the horrors you've reacted
to and weaned Everywhere you walk |
Another one by Mike - I came up with the neo-psych idea of modulating the speed, and fading in and out the various parts. We had a lot of fun with this one.
—Joe Nolte
My view of the world and it's inhumane inhabitants in general. Wrote this on accordion as well. Not much to say about this one... it's pretty much self-explanatory. It's also one of my favorites. I was living with brother Dave at the time, and my hat goes off to him for putting up with me playing that thing! Bill Stevenson thought the song was real creepy (I think he liked it) and would walk around the studio, with eyes bulging and hands curled in claw-like fashion, sneering "everywhere you turn..."
It was pretty cool!
Larry, our old bass player, said this was one of his favorite Last songs. Go figure!
Joe was the one responsible for speeding up the rhythm at the end of the song.
—Mike Nolte
Was a time girl Now I know you Had I known, girl, In your life, girl Before you girl I would trade my future You know that I would die |
Yet another one written for "H". Deliberately did this one solo, one take, no echo - much as I would do with "7/21" on Gin and Innuendoes, though that was about an entirely different girl. In retrospect I'd probably have been better off arranging the things somewhat, but at the time I liked the idea of doing the raw emotion thing, especially as "H" at the time was confined to an institution.
—Joe Nolte