Confessions Of The Mind - A True Concept Album!

[cameron]

We wandered way off topic on another thread with this, so I'm starting a new one. Your thoughts on my observations are most welcome! 


Has anyone noticed how all of "Confessions Of The Mind" follows the path of a relationship? It really is a true concept album. Grab your LP and check the lyrics, you'll see what I mean:
1. Survival Of The Fittest - is describing a "famous" woman, perhaps really it's the story of a guy meeting a woman and her capturing his attention. She is his whole world but he can't get close to her just yet.
2. Man Without A Heart - this one is a bit ambiguous, but perhaps it's the man debating asking the woman out, hearing the words of his ex ringing in his head, putting him off approaching this new woman, as spotted in "Survival Of The Fittest", his confidence is low.
3. Little Girl - this one doesn't fit in with the flow, it should be between "Too Young To Be Married" and "Separated" as it's a child's view of their parents arguing before an eventual separation.
4. Isn't It Nice - back on track, this is the man and the woman established in track one and two finally getting together, describing the feelings of being really in love initially.
5. Perfect Lady Housewife - they've moved in together, settling down and the man is feeling grateful that she's full-filling her 'role' in the house (remember this was the early 1970s!).
6. Confessions Of A Mind - she goes away, he starts to play away from home. She has no idea, and by the end of the song, he's reminded that he's grateful to have her again. His conscience kicks in towards the end of the song.
7. Lady Please - she finds out about his cheating, he's begging for forgiveness and saying if she wants to leave him, he'll let her.
8. Frightened Lady - this is the anomaly of the LP. It's a mother's lament for her son being taken to War. Perhaps would fit better before "Separated".
9. Too Young To Be Married - back on track again, the couple stuck it out, are married and have two young children. The end of the song hints that it wasn't their choice (a baby on the way out of wedlock) and she is daydreaming of what her life could have been like otherwise, and feels trapped but must carry on.
10. Separated - the man can't understand the wife's problem of feeling trapped (as discussed in "Too Young To Be Married"), but by the end of the song she's left him.
11. We Wanna Shout - plot twist, the woman has been cheating too, she's run to another man (you've got something, I've got nothing/A child, a home of my own) to start a new life, she's happy and wants to tell everyone, but in admitting their love, she admits that she cheated on her husband.

Note - the anomaly "Frightened Lady" was the very last track recorded for the album. I think the outtake "Sign Of The Times" was supposed to be included instead. They had three goes at it during separate recording sessions, so it shows that they really persisted to get it into the album as part of the story. That song is about a couple moving in together without being married, and their parents/peers condemning it for breaking tradition. That would fit in with the concept story between "Isn't It Nice" and "Perfect Lady Housewife". Perhaps, the whole lot was to be linked by the two separate "Bobby's Prologues" edited between tracks? Hence only 11 tracks instead of the usual 12? 

So to follow the concept perfectly, the tracklist would be:
1. Survival Of The Fittest
2. Man Without A Heart
3. Isn't It Nice
4. Sign Of The Times
5. Perfect Lady Housewife
6. Confessions Of A Mind
7. Lady Please
8. Too Young To Be Married
9. Little Girl
10. Separated
11. I Wanna Shout

[dirtyfaz]

Love the indepth explanations about the tracks and your suggested track list.

[cameron]

Thanks, I've put these into a playlist last night and have been listening to it. The tracks flow seamlessly! Perhaps I'm really onto something here!

[gee]

It's a very good idea - and maybe a far stronger concept than deaf, dumb and blind kids who can sure play a mean pinball...? lol

Sgt Pepper 'concept' quickly goes...nowhere - as John Lennon once observed !

SOTF was of course an earlier 1968 song very likely re Nash's own frustrated situation then but transposed to a stage (or screen) star female figure the song could easily fit the overall concept

also 'Separated' is Allan Clarke's third lament re Graham leaving his life - after 'My Life is Over With You' and 'Goodbye Tomorrow' on HSH - but again it can fit this overall concept as it's made into a apparent lament for a lost love presumably of the opposite sex...

'Perfect Lady Housewife' was written for 'Oh Flux !' play along with 'Isn't it Nice ?' and  'Love Makes The World Go Round' (cut later on 'Hollies' 1974), but again both fit this concept fine as well

if The Hollies had a bit more self belief and 'push' they could have promoted it as a far more credible concept album as say The Kinks also recorded  'Arthur' around that period too - that album was largely overlooked at the time

Re 'Frightened Lady' - it could refer to the say maybe the single brother of the woman in TYTBM who has enlisted for the Army (?)

on 'Arthur' the guy who was going to 'Australia' was one of Arthur's sons...so that song was relative (literally) to Arthur overall...and 'Frightened Lady' could be likewise, the lady in question being reassured could be the mother who told her daughter she was 'Too Young To Be Married' - yes ? (and had her initial reservations in 'Sign of The Times')

COTM album was quite a deep album....EMI had NO idea how to promote it at all hence the black cover of no expression or identity

it's quite possible it was self produced as the original album while crediting arranger Johnny Scott fails to credit any producer

Ron Richards probably produced TYTBM however other tracks might be self produced with Ron's EMI  colleague (and soon after AIR studios partner)  John Burgess maybe 'signing off' the sessions as sort of executive producer (?)

some CD releases had John Burgess credited as producer while a cassette credited Ron Richards, the original vinyl UK Album had no producer credit at all

[madprofessorblyth]

I must say, it's one of the best albums of all time, and I've also always thought it was a great concept album. Moreso, would've been cool for a 'Lisztomania' type film, in my opinion. A rock/baroque (or rather, orchestral, depending) mix would be perfect for a film like that. Add in some other character-esque songs to diversify the plot from the era (the one I named my account after and Eleanor's Castle come to mind) and could make great use of my favourite Hollies song, Reflections Of A Long Time Past. Something using Hollies Sing Hollies and COTM in a film would do it for me.


To sum it up - that Sgt Pepper's movie with the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton, except it's the Hollies, and it's actually a good film.

[cameron]

Jul 8, 2018 5:00:15 GMT madprofessorblyth said:

I must say, it's one of the best albums of all time, and I've also always thought it was a great concept album. Moreso, would've been cool for a 'Lisztomania' type film, in my opinion. A rock/baroque (or rather, orchestral, depending) mix would be perfect for a film like that. Add in some other character-esque songs to diversify the plot from the era (the one I named my account after and Eleanor's Castle come to mind) and could make great use of my favourite Hollies song, Reflections Of A Long Time Past. Something using Hollies Sing Hollies and COTM in a film would do it for me.


To sum it up - that Sgt Pepper's movie with the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton, except it's the Hollies, and it's actually a good film.

I thought most of the Confessions era tracks were part of Allan Clarke's stage production "Oh Flux" in 1970? Details of which are very sketchy, but I'm sure I've seen a song list somewhere of what was included in the show. 

[madprofessorblyth]

Jul 9, 2018 22:27:23 GMT cameron said:

Jul 8, 2018 5:00:15 GMT madprofessorblyth said:

I must say, it's one of the best albums of all time, and I've also always thought it was a great concept album. Moreso, would've been cool for a 'Lisztomania' type film, in my opinion. A rock/baroque (or rather, orchestral, depending) mix would be perfect for a film like that. Add in some other character-esque songs to diversify the plot from the era (the one I named my account after and Eleanor's Castle come to mind) and could make great use of my favourite Hollies song, Reflections Of A Long Time Past. Something using Hollies Sing Hollies and COTM in a film would do it for me.


To sum it up - that Sgt Pepper's movie with the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton, except it's the Hollies, and it's actually a good film.

I thought most of the Confessions era tracks were part of Allan Clarke's stage production "Oh Flux" in 1970? Details of which are very sketchy, but I'm sure I've seen a song list somewhere of what was included in the show. 

If so, that's news to me. I'd love to see that list!

[thejanitor]

I actually really like the idea of this album having a concept! I could see Cameron's storyline and madprof's suggestions working as a mid 70s movie (released a few years after the album). Apologies for going off on a bit of a fan fiction tangent here, but a fun little easter egg would've been the group themselves making a cameo at the beginning of the film, performing under an alias (maybe as The Fivetones or Dominators of Rhythm 😉) where the two protagonists meet. Maybe Bernie would've got to compose the incidental music between the songs too! 😊

[gee]

Actually it's not too late to create the concept album - if ABBA's songs can become a film with a story later written - albeit maybe a pretty naff storyline - then this could become a more social comment early seventies actual story

some Lindisfarne fans had a similar idea years ago re putting Alan Hull / Rod Clements songs into such a storyline concept - songs like 'All Fall Down', 'When The War is Over' even the jokey song re their van accident 'Caught in The Act' was shoehorned in....and again it was a very down to earth story rather like say 'Up The Junction' (the original BBC play version of which included both The Hollies 'You Know He Did' and The Kinks 'Come On Now')

Manfred Mann's great soundtrack to the film version of 'Up The Junction' - screened here recently on Talking Pictures TV channel - showed how pop songs can be used so well in everyday storylines and The Hollies 1969-71 songs with Allan Clarke, chiefly the COTM album tracks with Bernie's atmospheric instrumentals 'Reflections' and 'Heather Moor' added COULD indeed make for an excellent production

such a show, film, TV play whatever might help increase The Hollies music's critical standing too

This and The Kinks 'Arthur', also Alan Hull's and Rod Clements' Lindisfarne songs and some Bee Gees songs re 'Ordinary people living ordinary lives' etc... re everyday life for me would make FAR more interesting productions than say the abstract over praised mega works like; 'Tommy', or 'The Wall' etc

[baz]

Jun 23, 2020 9:59:19 GMT gee said:

Manfred Mann's great soundtrack to the film version of 'Up The Junction' - screened here recently on Talking Pictures TV channel - showed how pop songs can be used so well in everyday storylines and The Hollies 1969-71 songs with Allan Clarke, chiefly the COTM album tracks with Bernie's atmospheric instrumentals 'Reflections' and 'Heather Moor' added COULD indeed make for an excellent production

such a show, film, TV play whatever might help increase The Hollies music's critical standing too

I'm doubtful about a Hollies based musical as some "famous" songs such as "Heavy" or "Breathe" would have to be grafted into the "plot" to give it commercial viability and the thought of a jukebox musical is also downright terrifying. I think as long as "The Hollies" remain as a touring proposition, such musical ideas will never happen. A pity as there are enough songs which would make for a kitchen sink drama type production but nowadays it's all about brainless feelgood nonsense so nobody would take a chance on something a little more moody in tone.

"Up The Junction" was one of those rare occasions where the soundtrack fitted perfectly with the visual content - Manfred Mann and Mike Hugg pulled that off wonderfully.

[Mevrouw Bee]

Interesting discussion here...I always looked at COTM as more a collection of snapshots into different kinds of relationships I guess, loosely connected together by concept, but not with a narrative flow as such.

And thanks for reassuring me that the existence of "Oh Flux!" wasn't just something I imagined being mentioned once in an old Yahoo group thread a gazillion years ago...

Did a google and (other than a couple of mentions on this forum) found this interview from last year that mentions it.

www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article/9440/Allan-Clarke-Interview

"You know that Tim Rice used to be the tea boy' at EMI? I wrote a musical with Jeni’s brother, John Bowstead and it was called, ‘Oh Flux!’ I wrote all the music and John wrote all the lyrics and even Terry Sylvester (fellow former Hollie) was involved. We put it on at the Gulbenkian Theatre (University of Kent) and it got rave reviews. We got a call from an impresario called Robert Stigwood (Bee Gees manager and future film mogul) and he said that he wanted to put the play on in the West End. A few weeks later, Robert called and said that another musical had come along and that they were going to go with that one instead of ours. I thought, “Shit, what's that called then?!” It was ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’! I asked Robert who wrote it and he said that it was a guy called Tim Rice. I said, “He's the bloody tea boy!” Tim and I go back quite a way!"

Sadly, John Bowstead is one and the same brother-in-law who succumbed to Covid-19 in April.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bowstead

[sandy]

It did happen 😉