Description
Magnificent Obsession is the second of two compilation albums by the British born poet and singer-songwriter Steve Scott released by Alternative Records. This 1990-compilation is a companion to Lost Horizon released in 1988, intended to tie up loose ends from that album. Magnificent Obsession features live recordings, unreleased tracks and alternate versions of other tracks. Produced by Michael Roe, Charlie Peacock, and Steve Scott.
This album was a labor of love from all of us involved with this project. Intended to tie up loose ends from the Lost Horizon album, it became so much more to me. Despite the fact that the recordings and styles cover a lot more ground than last year’s critically acclaimed masterpiece, it remains remarkably consistent, and serves as a reminder once again of why Steve Scott is such an important asset to the artistic community.
Thanks once again to Mike Roe, David Leonhardt, Steve Griffith, Mike Delaney, Michael Koller, Brian Quincy Newcomb, to Jim Abegg for coining “Exit Shrapnel”, and to all the musicians involved. Finally, thanks to Steve Scott, not only from me for the effect he’s had on my life, but from all the fans who’ve written, expressing their appreciation as well. – Randy Layton, Alternative Records [excerpt from the liner notes]
Steve Scott is nothing, if not resilient. In the dozen or so years he has been associated with contemporary Christian music, he must take the prize for number of records unreleased (three) versus those actually released (one). Last year, Alternative Records took steps to remedy that situation with a compilation titled Lost Horizon. This disc gathered material from Scott’s 1983 album, Love in the Western World, as well as several tracks from Emotional Tourist and Rice, two records that were scheduled to come out on major mainstream labels, but in fact, never did. This summer, Alternative struck again, with Magnificent Obsession. The new disc rescues more material from the Love in … album, the remaining tracks from Emotional Tourist, and offers a glimpse of another unreleased Scott treasure, Moving Pictures.
The first four songs, «Love in the Western World», «Heaven Hears the Heart That Breaks», «Memory Babe», and «Ghost Train», are the Charlie Peacock-produced versions, intended for Emotional Tourist. Ace percussionist Bongo Bob is featured on these tunes, while Peacock adds deft synth touches which enliven the already perking tracks. The next six songs offer evidence that Steve Scott could be a formidable live perfomer, should he ever be in a position to mount a full-fledged tour. «Tower of Babylon», «No Time Like Now», and «Flesh and Blood» (originaly on the Love in … album) are from a 1984 concert, where Scott was backed by The 77’s. Also featured from the same 1984 set is «Wonderful Fool», the unfinished studio version which never made it onto Emotional Tourist. «Farthest Star» and «The Love You Need» (intended for Steve’s “lost” 1980 album Moving Pictures) are solo renditions from a 1981 concert. Stripped of any studio gimmickry, they offer testament of Scott’s compelling poetry and passionate voice.
Scott’s style is difficult to pigeon-hole; David Bowie is the closest comparison that comes to mind. Both artists share similar vocal stylings, and both have a broad and unrestrained lyrical vision. Scott is certainly not a particularly “religious” lyricist, which probably explains why his audience has remained small. Although many of the songs heard on Magnificent Obsession have been traded among collectors, it is essentially a new record. An if you think of it as the second album by a “new” artist, its brilliance is indeed staggering! [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, October 1990]
CD tracklist:
01. Love in the Western World – 3:52
02. Heaven Hears the Heart That Breaks – 3:12
03. Memory Babe – 3:39
04. Ghost Train – 3:25
05. Tower of Babel – 3:09
06. No Time Like Now – 4:49
07. Farthest Star – 5:41
08. The Love You Need – 5:09
09. Wonderful Fool – 4:22
10. Flesh and Blood – 4:36
11. Heaven Hears… (Remix) – 3:36
12. Come Back Soon – 3:59
Note: The last 2 tracks listed above are not included on the cassette version. An advanced edition of the album featuring a white cover was released at the Cornerstone festival ’90. There were only 200 CDs of these made, numbered and many signed by Steve Scott.
Excerpt from the liner notes of the CD
01. Love in the Western World – One of several mixes of the version cut for the unreleased Emotional Tourist project in ’84-’86. The song itself was written in 1982 and taken from a Denis De Rougemont book of the same name. The music may also have been improvised in the shower while humming to riffs off the Human League’s Dare album.
02./03. Heaven Hears the Heart That Breaks / Memory Babe – Written at the request of his record label halfway into the Tourist project. “It was felt, perhaps, that I was heading for terminal recognition as the ‘Duke of Drone’ and that some other, different songs might balance the project a little.” Although Steve doesn’t seem as fond of these songs as others from this period, they are still great examples of the “art pop” he is capable of. “Memory Babe” title taken from a book on Jack Kerouac.
04. Ghost Train – Written in England in 1983, this one started life as a reggae tune inspired by a Black Uhuru track. This has already become something of a classic among the underground community; this past summer Charlie Peacock, Vector, the 77’s, and Steve Scott performed a very loose 20 minute version in front of a few thousand friends at the C-Stone ‘90 festival in Chicago.
05./06. Tower of Babel / No Time Like Now – Two live tracks taken from a 1984 concert with the 77’s providing backup. The immense energy from these performances far surpass the original studio versions, the alternative lyrics to “Tower” not withstanding. For those that thought that Steve Scott never took the stage and rocked with a band…..
07./08. Farthest Star / The Love You Need – Live from 1981, these are revelations to longtime fans. Steve – “I wrote «Farthest Star» in 1972, in France, on an old guitar someone had lent me. This is one of the first songs I ever wrote.” Recorded originally for the unreleased Moving Pictures album, «The Love You Need» stands as one of the best songs he’s ever written; only Steve can describe the infinite in these terms. The Original master tape to this show has been lost; all that survives is this incomplete performance. Thankfully, this much remains of what must have been a very moving show.
09. Wonderful Fool – “In the summer of 1983 I was living in Cambridge, England, and writing the first draft of a novel. I’d go for an occasional walk around the bookstores, and browse through the magazines as well. TIME did a big issue on Japan, and the cultural section made a passing reference to the novelist Shusaku Endo. I tracked down all of his books, including ‘Wonderful Fool’. Then I wrote the song for the Tourist album.” No finished studio version of this exists – it is interesting to note that it is on the track line-up submitted for Emotional Tourist in 1985 for Exit/A&M release.
10. Flesh and Blood – Upon hearing this performance, the label knew it had to be released …and to a very large extent this gave birth to the CD/cassette/78rpm you now hold in your hands. Steve said that there was “no excuse” for the “usual pounding, thrashing, and dervish insect madness”. But of course, that’s why it’s so great. From the 1984 show.
11. Heaven Hears The Heart That Breaks – This “CD Extra” is interesting because of the different vocal and percussive approaches taken. Others also exist, but this was the best. Charlie Peacock’s production is very reminiscent of all his work from this period – Lie Down, etc.
12. Come Back Soon – The original version of this appears on the compilation album of the same name released in 1978 on Sangre Productions – now selling for amazing amounts of money. Steve’s “Sun Poem’ is printed on the back. This demo was found on some discarded reels, and as we’re sure you’ll agree, worth preserving. Now all of you will also know, for the first time, the damaged humor of Steve Scott. Playing this back in the studio while compiling this record brought us all to our knees in reverence – and laughter.
CREDITS. Produced by Michael Roe, Charlie Peacock, and Steve Scott.
Musicians: Steve Scott (vocals, guitar), Michael Roe (guitar, vocals), Aaron Smith (drums), Bruce Spencer (drums), Mark Tootle (keyboard, voice), Charlie Peacock (keyboard), Gary Landaker (bass, rhythm guitar). Additional musicians: Steve Griffith (bass), Bongo Bob Smith (percussion), Eric Kleven (bass), Mike Butera (saxophone), Mark Proctor (wind chimes), Joyce Diamond (voice), Sandra Tootle (woodwind), Jim Abeggs (spanish guitar).
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