Background, lyrics and more
An angel or a clown
From "It's almost love" (2006)
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About a girl working at a local store selling office-items (Lomax, in Frederikssund, Denmark).
You can find inspiration for a song the most peculiar places.
The officeitem-shop Lomax, is peculiar in being extremely unpeculiar
They sell items for use in offices to professional office-people. It's as concrete, factual, logistic, no bullshit and businesslike as you can imagine, and as they don't sell to private customers, there are not even the spice of small creative setups to lure people into buying a bit more. It's about as inspiring and personal as a waiting room at a recently opened dental clinic.
But I actually like being places like that now and then. The social interaction is by common agreement, reduced to the absolute minimum and necessary (at least in Denmark it is)
Everybody knows why they and everybody else are there (except for rare ethnological sneaks like me), and there is just about 0% chance for running into a situation, where you have to relate to anything more personal than 1000 pieces of staples size 24/6 and a blue ringbinder.
But like a church, it's also a social freespace., And because everything there is about one very defined thing (selling and buying very defined and specific things), the subtle human reactions and attitudes become even clearer.
That's how I felt when I saw the clerc at Lomax. She was heart and soul occupied by seeing to, that I got the precise and best thing for my needs. She was so friendly, sincere, and in every way decent - and so SWEET, in the most beautiful sense of the word. Without a shadow of a flirt involved, she focused 100% on helping me with a purchase that I found immensely boring.
Just watching her, I got a very physical and varm sensation in my stomach. One that I have experienced a few times before in my life, and always in a similar situation:a total stranger who in a very natural and subtle way, involves every bit of his/her human capacity to help the stranger standing before them.
I felt like time had stopped and that I didn't want to leave or even move, and that everything made sense: "THIS is how we should all be. This is how an angel must be like".
And these, often quite fragile people, always make me think: "it must be hard to be an angel in a world like ours"
An angel or a clown
(Music & lyrics Lysdal)
She’s not very pretty she’s not very bright
But she makes you feel good
Makes you feel you’re allright
She doesn’t get many kisses, man that’s for sure
Yeah it’s truly amazing that her soul is so pure
If you want to bring her down you can do it
Just a hard word, and she's done
I saw her in a store, I was feeling real low
She melted the clock away and I just didn’t want to go
She didn’t say anything special
She didn’t do anything special
Bet she didn’t think anything special
But I was feeling at ease
If you want to make fun of her, you can do it
Just a wise-crackin’ joke and she’s done
'Cause she lives upon the mercy
from above
If you say you’ve got a problem
that really gets to you
She’ll say she understands
though she hasn’t got a clue
She says she understands
’Cause she doesn’t want to let you down
It just means that she cares
is she an angel or a clown ?
If you want to leave her, you just do it
You just say go and she’s gone
’cause ……
She’s not very pretty, she’s not very bright
But she’s a real fine person teah she’s allright
And she lives upon the mercy from above
Billeder
The album "It's almost love"
consists of three different recodingsessions, with three different constellations in three different studios, plus two solo home-productions. They were recorded 2003-2005
SESSION 1:
Sun Studio, Dortheavej, Copenhagen:"Little miss faithful", "An angel or a clown", "Gonna miss you when you're gone" & "Well meet again"
SESSION 2:
Granny Studio, Amerikavej, Copenhagen:"Ours" & "Say what you think is true" (see pics)
SESSION 3
Mox Studio, Kirkebjerg Allé, Vanløse:"Like the fire loves the wood", "This time" & "Crazy woman"
It was my first collaboration with the two american top-players GREG LEISZ and DANNY FRANKEL.
I met Greg at a concert in Berlin where he played with Bill Frisell. After having hung out for a while, I gave him a couple of my CD's ("the"Nashville handshake" :-)) and we exchanged mails
Later he wrote me and said he really liked the music, so I asked if he would like to play on my next album if he could fit it in in his (very busy) schedule.
A couple of months later he wrote that he was coming to Copenhagen to play with KD Lang, and that there was a two day break in the tour after that. He also told me that their drummer (Danny) was keen on joining if relevant.
I hurried booking Sun Studio, some of my regular musicians (Jon Bruland and Gustaf Ljunggren) and Oli Poulsen as a technician.
____
Together with Hugo Rasmussen, Gustaf Ljunggren and Frederik Damsgaard, I played in China in 2000 og 2001.
In Beijing we met the guzheng-harpplayer CHANG JING.
She came to one of our concerts and we jammed afterwards. And even if she has a very different musical background, she had no problems tuning in to what we were playing, and it was great time jamming with a totally different sound and a great and open musician.
Chang Jing is educated at the classical conservatory in Beijing and has toured around the world and played at the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympic games in 2008.
Later she has released a number of albums in her own name bothe in the ambient and the more classical genre.
I 2005 we made a tour together in Denmark, playing both my songs and hers (see pics)
Apart from me and Chang Jing we were:
Gustaf Ljunggren (lap-steel, el-guitar m.m.)
Bjake Falgren (violin)
Jon Bruland (bass)
Anders Pedersen (drums)
Chang Jing video 1
Chang Jing Video 2
Credits
As 99% of all recorded music is streamed, credits about the musicians, technicians, photographers etc. are gone.
So here is a list of the guilty ones, responsible for what you are hearing and seeing (and I am honored to work with them all)
MUSICIANS ON
"IT'S ALMOST LOVE"
SESSION 1
"Little miss faithful", "An angel or a clown", "Gonna miss you when you're gone" & "Well meet again"
Greg Leisz - Pedal Steel Guitar, Lap steele (Joni Mitchell, John Mayer, Eric Clapton, Bill Frisell)
Danny Frankel - Trommer (Rickie Lee Jones, Lou Reed, Marianne Faitfull, John Cale , Laurie Anderson)
Jon Bruland - Bass (Dr. Hook, Anne Linnet, Lars HUG, Kasper Vinding, Alberte, Michael Falch)
Gustaf Ljunggren - Mandolin (CV Jørgensen, Steffen Brandt, Thomas Helmig)
SESSION 2:
"Ours" & "Say what you think is true"
Chang Jing - Guzheng-harp
Jon Bruland - Bass (Dr. Hook, Anne Linnet, Lars HUG, Kasper Vinding, Alberte, Michael Falch)
Anders Pedersen - Cahon (Allan olsen)
Bjarke Falgren - Violin
SESSION 3:
"Like the fire loves the wood", "This time" & "Crazy woman"
Jesper Nordenstrøm - Keys (Bo kaspers orkester, Mike Stern, Lisa Nilsson, CV Jørgensen)
Kristoffer Sonne - Drums (Elton John, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Jason Mraz, Backstreet boys, James Morrison)
Jakob Falgren - Bass (James Morrison, Trentemøller, Pinkunoizu, Savage Rose, Søren Huss, Bisse)
Esben Just - Piano
Rune Harder Olesen - Percussion (CV Jørgensen, Gnags, One Two, Kim Larsen)
DUBBING-SESSIONS
Dan Hemmer - Organ (Hemmer, Blicher Gadd, Billy Cross)
Halfdan E - Synths (Dan Turell, Poul Krebs)
Christina Boelskifte - Backing vocals (Sanne Salomonsen, Danseorkestret)
Hugo Rasmussen - Voice
TECH CREDITS
SESSION 1
An angel or a clown, Gonna miss you when you’re gone and We’ll meet again recorded at Sun Studio Cph. by Oli Poulsen
SESSION 2
Say what you think and Ours recorded at Granny Studio Cph. by Thomas Breklin
SESSION 3
Crazy Woman and This time recorded at Mox studio Cph. by John Fomsgaard
Fools, It’s almost love and Like the fire loves the wood recorded at Village Pond Studio by Jens Lysdal
Mixed at Timeless studio Cph
by Lars Nissen and Jens Lysdal
Fire loves the wood and This time mixed
at Millfactory Cph by Boe Larsen and Jens Lysdal
Fools, Say what you think is true and It’s almost love mixed at Village Pond Studio by Jens Lysdal
PRODUCED BY JENS LYSDAL
Photos by Ditte Haarløv Johnsen
Coverdesign by Mads Find
Musicians on "An angel or a clown"
Greg Leisz - Pedal steel guitar
Danny Frankel - Drums
Jon Bruland - Bass
Gustaf Ljunggren - Mandolin
Christina Boelskifte - Backing vocals
Jens L - Lead vocal and all other instruments
Recorded in Sun Studio (now STC), Dortheavej 6, Cph in 2005