Eight Frames A Second | Ralph, Albert & Sydney

I was clearing out some old stuff when I came across the "work sheet" for 8 Frames A Second. It was almost certainly drawn up by dear Gus Dudgeon. He was so thorough and nervous that all went well as it was his first production job.
I did have an attempt at "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen. I had no idea what the song was about and did not "get it" also it was pitched in C which meant I struggled to reach the higher register. Indeed I seem to remember cracking up at what I thought were absurd pretentious lyrics and also fear that this song would appear on the album and everyone else would laugh at it too.
Part of my deal insisted that I cover "Granny Takes a Trip" published by Transatlantic's publishing arm (Heathside Music) and Essex who were after the Cohen catalogue would use my cover to convince Mr Cohen to assign his work to them. This did not happen but they did get Tim Rose because of "Morning Dew" I interviewed Tim shortly before he died on the Radio 2 programme I hosted for a while. Actually Tim did not write that song. It was written by a lovely Canadian singer called Bonnie Dobson.
I was pissed off at the time about having to record these extras, but mercifully "Suzanne" has been lost forever and although I have revised my opinion of Mr Cohen's work I am very glad that my "Suzanne" never appeared.
RALPH McTELL
November 2003