during the early nineties
a guy from emi gave me a demo tape that knocked my sox off
it was some unknown from melbourne called margot smith
i rushed home n played it to my then girlfriend karin jansson
who was also similarly blown away
here at last was true talent
an incredible tuneful mellifluous voice
the only voice comparable was kate bush
the same power n glory
the same sweeping range operatic mastery
the lyrics n melodies were fucking brilliant
my fave lyric was from a song called dream
the song started with these incredible (to me) words
“everytime you say you want to die
i cant remember what you said”
and contained in those words n the way she sang em
is a world of ambiguity sadness denial and fantasy
did i want to produce her?
fuck yes!
i had my studio at surry hills then i guess this was 91
unfortunately i was going down that sad bad road with the “white lady”
although i guess you could say i was still in the honeymoon phase
margot turned up n we kinda hit it off i guess
she was precocious irreverent curious n amazingly naive
she was kinda annoying too
but any fool could see she was a Major talent
one of those rare individuals who could not sing a wrong note
her voice swooped soared roared crooned cruised and bruised but always with perfect pitch
she never faltered once
and she never sang a song the same way twice neither
she constantly changed the words n melodies
she did not see a song as a fixed idea
she just let it happen everytime n her muse never deserted her
she just made lyrics up on the spot too a la grant mclennan
words flew into her head outta thin air
i recorded half the album with her
eddie rayner from split enz did the other half
we co wrote a bunch of songs together too
“adored ” is margot having a pot shot at me
oh yes you are adored by a multitude of whores
selling their story at the door
oh i’d love to be adored as you are and you are”
she saw me battling the gear
she was just starting her long battle with the bottle too
so we were quite a pair
the engineer demanded a thousand bucks off emi as a ganja budget
and got it!
its a bloody great record
i wrote some good music for it
margot herself n her then boyfriend michael came up with the goods too
the torch song was my music n margots words about a brief affair i had had
she’d seen it happening n captured it all so succinctly
lifetime was another co write
listen to that voice n those words
“and if life could take you in his arms n hold you
and if time would let you sleep with him enfold you”
and margots “bellyman ” which she wrote on her own
“here i come , i’m the bellyman come to fill you up when you cant get full”
and of course that fabulous song dream the one that sold me on her
orchestral swelling guitars and margots wonderful singing
“you will be, i will be open wide, you n i know why”
god it still gives me gooseflesh
the first album was very ornate very elizabethan very grand in its scope
due to a number of bungles n mistakes it came out n did nothing
absolutely nothing
it sank without a trace n margot lost her deal
it was inexplicable
in another time n place she woulda been a superstar
tori amos would have loved to have written some of those songs
the second album would be the opposite of all that
michael was gone
margot was on her own and still battling the booze
i had lost the battle with the gear n i was a full on reclusive fucked up wreck
still we got together at the new karmic hit in rozelle
opposite my house in mansfield street
me n margot n tim p n peter k
we were her band
i would knock out something real rough
and we’d play it like crazy horse
2 n 3 chord songs
listen to creature
its the antithesis of the melodrama of the first record
its lowdown mean n nasty
the whole record is quite something
loaded with real pain n guts no more artifice
its one of those classic messed up albums full of visceral ache
simple music
simple bleak sketches
simple sad words
the sounds of talented people falling apart
some tracks are just me on guitar n margots voice
“stretches” for example
“what stretches before me always comes back to get me”
tim n peter contribute the minimalistic expertise just so right
totalled is like, totalled, dude
totalled like me n margot were by then
wow it hurts just to listen to some it still
seek these records out
2 completely different beasts both incredible
the sad news is margot is now gravely ill
i’m gonna go round n see her as soon as she can receive a visitor or 2
she doesnt expect to be on this mortal plane for that much longer
she really did deserve success
she really did deserve recognition
those who have heard her are believers
she n i had our squabbles n fights
it was painful to watch each other succumb to our poisons
i miraculously got out
she wasnt so lucky
margot i always always believed in you
you should be bestriding the big stages of this world
cos you were one of the best i ever heard
peter koppes thinks the same
he took time out to play in her shortlived live band
margot you are beautiful
and your small devoted bunch of fans ADORE you
i’m crying as i write these words
i hear margots got one last record up her sleeve
i hope someone gets to hear it
i hope she can defy her grim medical prognosis
and get better n enjoy a little success
margot despite all my harsh words n stuff
i love you
i really do
you were a star that just burnt too bright for your own good
and the whole thing is just so unfair
people see if you can beg borrow or burn” sleeping with the lion”
or “taste”
you wont be disappointed
sk august 1 2010