Lyrically (I can't pretend though, that I'm comfortable with all the lyrics, but I might be missing the point?) Musically. Harmonically. Dylanesque a la 'A Hard Rains...'

Expressionism to the nth degree.

Adler's TOTALITY. Jung's INDIVIDUATION.








08/05/25 Edit:

Thanx to all Allied service personnel who gave their lives in preventing the intended Nazi 1000 year Reich (not forgetting non service personnel forming various Resistance). Viva the 70 Allied personnel (plus others also still alive) that were part of tonight's celebration of 80 years since VE! Today, Viva Europe! Whether part of the EU or otherwise! Many European Nations have shared histories, if you look back far enough.


Continuing my views on Cavaliers:
Harley informed his fans years ago that he had two albums worth of material ready (or almost so) at the time of the EMI signing. The first two albums contain a sound, a feel, in my view, that reflect the early writing. Perhaps appropriate that the earliest Cockney Rebel worked on the opening albums because Crocker, Jeffreys and Reame-James had to have also influenced the sound to compliment Steve's earlier compositions.

Cavaliers almost seems to me to be from the same 'family' as Death Trip and Sebastian, for example. Strings were important. The drama is there every time one listens to them. Stuart Elliott easily had the versatility to transition with Steve, into the more commercial Cockney Rebel, which began with Judy Teen and then continued from Psychomodo to Love's... That's my view.

X

We've just come back from a pleasant day out at a farm shop in Oxon.

Sasha, who saw Harley with me in 1992 (Nottingham) and 2000 (Oxford) and I were discussing - rather I raised it with her - the lyrics to Cavaliers. The three words that I was least comfortable with - I've always loved the melody - the idea of the 'Cavaliers' (I've read quite a bit about the English Civil War, 1642-1649 - and finally ending in 1653 with the downfall of The Marquis of Montrose - who fought on in Scotland after Charles I was beheaded) - she's clarified for me in a jiffy.

Harley is making a cultural reference to Agatha Christie (from a work written, I think, in 1939). The specific novel changed it's title (I'm still uncomfortable with the change - equally as the original name), though the film production became, And Then There Were None.

We know Steve read extensively during his childhood illness and operations.

This leaves only nine other words that I'm uncomfortable with in the song - but only because they are shocking - but here we're moving more towards 'A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall' (Dylan, B, 1962) imagery - certainly the way Bryan Ferry's (1973) video conveyed (this was hugely ahead of it's time). Further, it's clear that Harley, considering these other uncomfortable words - wasn't happy with it either. This enabled him to incorporate the considerable top line octave shift...

Rod Stewart was right about Steve's lyric writing! X