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One Small Step
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Melodic Space Metal
space rock hawkwind heavy rock synth rock
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Heavy Space Rock, a bit progressive possibly in places.
This was a project I recorded in 1999-2000, expecting (and indeed achieving) no financial gain, fame or success. It sold a fabulous 9 copies on dear old mp3.com. Ah, the joys of last century technology- Cubase VST creaking along and crashing frequently on a steam driven 300MHz Pentium II... We won't see those days again. Thank God. The original intent was a kind of metallised space rock, kind of a metallised Hawkwind. I modelled the vocals very poorly indeed on those of Martin Walkyier (then of Skyclad), largely because I can't sing to save my life. What I learned was that I can't bark convincingly either. Also, strangely, despite the hundreds of hours I spent recording and tweaking these songs I was reluctant to lay down vocal tracks, and on more than one occasion I just left the guide vocal on the finished masterpieces. Which was just plain silly. Other memories that leap unbidden include the hopeless quest to make an AWE32 kick drum poke through the mix, and the frustration caused by the fact that, having had most of my gear stolen some time before, all I had to work with was a guitar, a microphone, and whatever the poor struggling PC could come up with (and thanks to Steve Watson for the loan of his keyboard, his compressor/limiter, his outboard reverb, his ears and his considerable patience). So anyway, here it is, in all of its naked glory. Be kind. It was only for fun.
Song Info
Charts
#14,009 today Peak #38
#3,044 in subgenre Peak #11
Author
Ian Bland
Rights
Bland
Uploaded
August 22, 2004
Track Files
MP3
MP3 7.3 MB 128 kbps 0:00
Story behind the song
Possibly the album's magnum opus... and the track where lyrically my inner geek bursts forth like an Alien from John Hurt's chest. Yes, believe it or not, a song about how crap it is to have been born near the start of the Space Age, tell your mum and dad you're going to live on a space station when you grow up, then find yourself hitting middle age to find NASA pootling about in low earth orbit in a space station made out of old washing up liquid bottles. Musically it starts a bit weak, but have patience as it gets better as it goes. The BIG chords coming out of the quiet spacey bit in the middle are undoubtedly the album's production highlight. Not that that's saying much considering the quality of what they're up against.
Lyrics
A speech made by a Kennedy, On matters interplanetary, Announced it's time that we create, A satellite United State, Put the idea in our heads, That in space we should beat the Reds, The use of science without shame, Superpowers playing games, Apollo launches, 1969, Watched by millions live on prime time, A Soviet victory would mean disgrace, Better get moving, win the Space Race, Our boys blast off on Saturn V, We hope that they come back alive, Warriors of the coldest war, Frontiersmen on an alien shore, Who plant a flag in lunar sand, To prove it's owned by Uncle Sam, Communist conspiracy, Defeated on a lunar sea, Apollo launches, 1969, Watched by millions live on prime time, A Soviet victory would mean disgrace, Better get moving, win the Space Race, But now there's no trips to the moon, A different piper calls the tune, Mankind's abandoning the stars, We won't see Uncle Sam on Mars, The rocket boosters left to rust, Bear testament to misplaced trust, So look up at the midnight sky, And watch the space junk floating by, That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind One small step, one small step, small step... Hello Neil and Buzz, I'm talking to you by telephone from the oval room at the White House. One small step, one small step, small step... Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world, and as you talk to us from the Sea Of Tranquility it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth. One small step, one small step, small step... For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one, one in their pride in what you have done, and one in our prayers that you will return safely to Earth...
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