Rose In Garden of Weeds

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Pugwash
A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds
Omnivore Recordings
OVCD-100
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1. Take Me Away
Thomas Walsh: Vocals, backing vocals, Novatron, Hammond Organ, floor toms
Keith Farrell: Bass, backing vocals, Moog, Hammond Organ
John Boyle: Drums
Nelson Bragg: Sleigh Bells & woodblock
Jason Faulkner: All electric guitars, piano, percussion

2. Monorail
(Thomas Walsh/Keith Farrell)
Thomas Walsh: Lead vocals, electric guitar, Wurlitzer, Chamberlin brass, Mellotron samples, percussion, cash register (courtesy of James)
Keith Farrell: Bass guitar, vocals, Nord lead 2, programming, additional drum programming
Aidan O'Grady: Drums
John Boyle: Cymbals, percussion
Ronan Byrne: Manic electric guitar
Jason Faulkner: VOX Continental

3. Keep Movin' On
Thomas Walsh: Vocals, backing vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, Chamberlin strings, percussion
Keith Farrell: Backing vocals, Nord lead 2, synths
Shaun McGee: Bass guitar
Aidan O'Grady: Drums
John Boyle: Percussion
Stephen Farrell: Electric slide and 12-string guitar
Jason Faulkner: VOX Continental

4. Finer Things In Life
Thomas Walsh: Lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Keith Farrell: Bass guitar
John Boyle: Drums, percussion
Stephen Farrell: Electric tremolo guitar
Duncan Maitland: Piano, harmony piano
Geoff Woods: Cello, strings

5. Anyone Who Asks
Thomas Walsh: Lead vocals, backing vocals, 6-string electric and acoustic guitars, Chamberlin strings and brass, Casio keyboard, percussion
Keith Farrell: Bass guitar, fuzz bass, backing vocals, 6 & 12-string electric guitars, Casio piano, programming
Aidan O'Grady: Live drums
Duncan Maitland: Rhodes, backing vocals
Shaun McGee: Backing vocals
Stephen Andreucetti: VOX Continental
John Boyle: Drums loops

6. Shine On Norvell Jefferson
Thomas Walsh: Lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar
Keith Farrell: Bass guitar, country picking
John Boyle: Drums
Geoff Woods: Bar Room Piano
Peter Cheevers: Lead guitar

7. Two Wrongs
Thomas Walsh: Lead vocals, electric guitars and wobble
Keith Farrell: Bass guitar
John Boyle: Drums, drum loop, percussion
Stephen Farrell: All electric guitars riffs
Duncan Maitland: Piano
The Section Quartet: Strings

8. A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds
Thomas Walsh: Lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitars, tambourine, sleigh bells, glockenspiel, Mellotron flutes
Keith Farrell: Bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitars
Tosh Flood: Harpsichord
The Section Quartet: Strings
Strings arranged by Dave Gregory

9. It's Nice To Be Nice
Thomas Walsh: Vocals, backing vocals, sleigh bells, tambourine, piano, vibes, organ, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel
Keith Farrell: Bass, lead guitar, backing vocals
Duncan Maitland: Piano, Mellotron, backing vocals
Aidan O'Grady: Drums
Shaun McGee: Backing vocals
Tosh Flood: Backing vocals, banjo
Ger Eaton: Hammond Organ
Daragh Bohan: Guitar sample

10. At The Sea
(Thomas Walsh/Andy Partridge)
Thomas Walsh: Lead vocals, backing vocals, rhythm electric guitar, Moog, Mellotron sample
Keith Farrell: Bass, backing vocals, electric guitars, Moog, sample programming
John Boyle: Drums
Andy Partridge: Swanee whistles, kazoos, Mellotron brass, acoustic guitar solo
Neil Hannon: Piano, organ, Moog, sequencer
Eric Matthews: Flugelhorn
Nelson Bragg: Tambourine, shakers, congos
Percussionists at law: Handclaps

11. Fall Down
Thomas Walsh: Vocals, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, Mellotron, piano, percussion
Tosh Flood: Electric guitar, piano, backing vocals
Shaun McGee: Bass guitar, backing vocals
Joe Fitzgerald: Drums, percussion
Neil Hannon: Korg synth, piano
Alvin Quatro: E-Bow guitar solo

12. Answers On A Postcard
Thomas Walsh: Vocals, acoustic guitar, Mellotron, drums, percussion, backing vocals
Tosh Flood: Electric guitar, baritone guitar, Wurlitzer, Hammond Organ, Mellotron MK II piano, backing vocals
Shaun McGee: Bass guitar, backing vocals
Joe Fitzgerald: Drums
Neil Hannon: Piano
The John Barry Appreciation Society: Kazoos

13. Heal Me
Thomas Walsh: Vocals, acoustic guitar, Mellotron, backing vocals, percussion
Tosh Flood: Electric guitars, Mellotron, Moog, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals
Shaun McGee: Bass guitar, backing vocals
Joe Fitzgerald: Drums, percussion

14. Here
Thomas Walsh: Lead vocals, backing vocals, rhythm electric guitar, Moog, Mellotron sample
Keith Farrell: Bass, backing vocals, electric guitars, Moog, sample programming
John Boyle: Drums
Dave Gallagher: Electric "pick" guitar, guitar solo
Neil Hannon: Piano
Nelson Bragg: Percussion, sleigh bells, backing vocals
The Section Quartet: Strings

15. Apples
Thomas Walsh: Lead vocals, backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, Novatron, hi-hat overdub, samples
Keith Farrell: Bass guitar, backing vocals, 12-string electric guitar, programming
Aidan O'Grady: Drums
Duncan Maitland: Vocals, backing vocals

16. Anchor
(Thomas Walsh/Andy Partridge/Duncan Maitland)
Thomas Walsh: Lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, Mellotron brass, sleigh bells, shaker, intro-drone
Keith Farrell: Backing vocals
Shaun McGee: Bass
Eric Matthews: Vocals, trumpets, flugelhorn
Graham Hopkins: Drums

17. Be My Friend Awhile
Thomas Walsh: Vocals, acoustic guitar, Mellotron, drums, percussion, backing vocals
Tosh Flood: Electric guitars, piano, Mellotron strings, backing vocals
Shaun McGee: Bass guitar, backing vocals
Joe Fitzgerald: Drums, percussion

Compilation Produced for Release by Thomas Walsh and Lee Lodyga
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Fans of guitar pop are an intense and self-supporting bunch. Their email lists, Twitter, and websites feed a fairly constant barrage of genre fodder. The sheer bulk of it can be overwhelming, and most of the time, it's with an arduous sense of duty that I click, check out the chorus, and move on.

I first heard "It's Nice To Be Nice" this way, and although I can't remember the source, I do remember wondering how this perfect pop song had previously eluded me. An instant sing-along - equal parts jangle, harmony, and melancholy - "It's Nice To Be Nice" seemed to have always been. Some benevolent soul had merely pulled it from the ether and delivered it whole.

So I did what any middle-aged man with an Internet connection would do: I wrote a fan letter. I wasn't sure what I expected, but I certainly hadn't counted on Thomas answering me and kindly sending along the entire Pugwash catalog.

As it turns out, there is so much more where that came from. By turns heartbreaking, uplifting, and ethereal, the Pugwash omnibus looms like a bookcase full of dog-eared dream journals. I'm still exploring those albums, still inspired by their vivid storylines, their gentle meditations on love, loneliness, and the subtle beauty in everyday distractions.

Please find herein, at long last, a Pugwash collection for the American pop fan. Most of my favorites are here, including selections from 1999's Almond Tea through 2011's superb The Olympus Sound. No one is more deserving of a retrospective than my friends from Dublin. May they find a treasured spot on your shelf.

Chris Collingwood
July 2014
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The conversation went something like this:

Thomas: "When The Section Quartet comes to Dublin, would you all play on the next Pugwash album?"

Me: "Yes, of course! But since we're finishing our tour in London, why don't we record the strings at Abbey Road?"

Thomas: "We can do that?"

With that, emails were sent, phone calls were made and Abbey Road Studio Two was booked - April 6, 2004, to be exact. The reason the date stays in my mind is because Thomas discovered it was 38 years to the day that The Beatles recorded "Tomorrow Never Knows" in that very room - a fortuitious coincidence that caused much reflection, or perhaps genuflection.

Pugwash and The Section Quartet, along with Pugwash's manager, engineer, and several friends who decided to trek to London for the occasion, enjoyed an entire day and night recording the string parts for "A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds" and "I Want You Back In My Life (For Mam)", both arranged and conducted by the incomparable Dave Gregory of XTC. We recorded our parts rather quickly, which allowed us plenty of time to geek out over the studio: great attention was paid to the Challen and Steinway upright pianos, Ringo's drum corner, the stairway from the control room to the tracking room, the sound-dampening pads on the wall (which have heard everything recorded in that room for the last 50 to 60 years), and, last but not least, the Abbey Roads Studio canteen, which remains my favorite pub in the entire British Isles. The day turned into night and soon into the wee hours of the next morning, yet no one wanted to leave.

After the string parts were completed, Thomas made the decision to record some vocals (on the song "Black Dog," if memory serves), standing in the spot where Ringo used to set up his drums. I recall Mr. Walsh tearing up a time or tow. And I admit to welling up a few times myself. Pugwash wears its musical influences on its collective sleeve, with no apologies. So being part of the band's first visit to Abbey Road Studios - and to join Thomas and the gang in being inspired by the past giants who had roamed the halls and reverberated the walls with their masterful sounds - was one of my prouder moments as a musician.

Eric Gorfain
The Section Quartet
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All songs written by Thomas Walsh except as indicated.

Mastered by Gavin Lurssen and Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering, Los Angeles
Licensing: Bryan George
Art Direction and Design: Greg Allen
Cover Photography: Ger O'Donnell

Editorial: Eileen Lucero

Project Assistance: Audrey Bilger, Dutch Cramblitt, Nikki Nieves, Cheryl Pawelski & Brad Rosenberger
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I, Thomas, would like to thank my weird and wonderful family. My incredibly talented band of mates - Tosh, Shaun and Joey. And my Kamchatka Kitty muse. Everyone at Omnivore, especially Lee for believing, Chris Collingwood, Eric Gorfain, and Daragh Bohan, and all my musical idols who've been so kind in their support for my pugpop. And to America! We've arrived ... and to prove it, we're here. I love you all!

And to my Mam and Dad who are finally reunited to hold hands for eternity.

Thomas

xx
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This compilation (p) 1999, 2002 Velo Records and 2005, 2008, 2011 1969 Records, Ltd., under exclusive license to Omnivore Recordings. (c) 2014 Omnivore Recordings, a division of Omnivore Entertainment Group, LLC. Manufactured and Marketed by Omnivore Recordings, 7958 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048 OVCD-100/816651016457

www.omnivorerecordings.com

Lyrics reprinted by permission
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