NEW YORK, N.Y. — Glow, the new album from … Read Full Bio ↴Richard Barone: Biography
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Glow, the new album from Richard Barone, frontman of cult faves the Bongos, is a sonic delight, like a lost solo Beatle album from a glam-rock future-world. After taking a break from performing to produce others and write a book Barone is back, working with producer Tony Visconti (along with Steve Addabbo, Jill Sobule and others). Glow indeed glows with songs like “Gravity’s Pull,” “Yet Another Midnight” and a captivating cover of T. Rex’s “Girl.” The king of chamber pop shines on this stunning new addition to his catalog. The recording on Bar/None Records will ship on September 14, 2010.
The album started as a somewhat casual collaboration between Barone and Visconti. Richard had wanted to work with Tony ever since scheduling conflicts prevented the latter from producing the Bongos’ major label debut. Most of Glow’s tracks were written in the studio; some, like “Girl,” came together very quickly and others, like “Sanctified,” became elaborate Visconti productions. The album utilizes lots of vintage synthesizers and obscure music-making devices that Tony had accumulated from working on sessions with Brian Eno, David Bowie, T. Rex and others.
Glow also features state-of-the-art gear that Barone picked up through his close collaboration with Gibson Guitars, including the Digital Les Paul guitar. Each string has the ability to be recorded on its own individual track. The title tune was written when Richard stopped by producer Steve Addabbo’s studio to pick up a hard drive and showed him the prototype instrument. “Walking through Manhattan, I started hearing the arpeggio chords of ‘Glow’ in my head,” says Barone, “Then some words and a melody became attached, set to the rhythm of my walking. When I got to the studio, I couldn’t wait to show Steve the guitar, plug it in and demonstrate the possibilities. I started playing ‘Glow’ and asked if we could record it. It was amazing how quickly it came together.”
Amid the high-tech studio recordings Glow also has some lo-fi parts that just sounded right in sequence. Garageband-generated “Radio Silence,” recorded at home on a laptop, comes off as a Euro-Vision style four-on-the-floor classic. The Paul Williams co-written “Silence Is Our Song” is from a live radio broadcast on New York WFUV-FM DJ Vin Scelsa’s “Idiot’s Delight” program.
How did Barone end up writing with the guy who gave us such pop radio classics as “Rainy Days and Mondays” and “We’ve Only Just Begun?” Did you know Williams wrote the B Side to Tiny Tim’s “Tip Toe Through the Tulips”? Richard did. He met Williams at a tribute show and the two writers from different eras immediately hit it off. After a number of delays Richard made it out to Paul’s house in California and an all-day marathon writing session ensued. “I started strumming chords as he circled his living room spouting phrases I quickly jotted down on a yellow legal pad. We wrote like that all day,” he says.
Another frequent Barone collaborator is Jill Sobule. Among other songs, Barone co-wrote “Bitter” for her album Pink Pearl and Sobule returned the favor on “Odd Girl Out.” The song tells the true story of a lesbian teen in the pre-Stonewall days of the West Village. This time Richard scribbled down lyrics while Sobule strummed.
Barone was born and raised in Tampa, Fla. He actually was a DJ at the age of seven on a local Top 40 station and as a teenager befriended and produced Tiny Tim, who was performing in the area. In 1977 he hitched a ride to New York with the Monkees touring backup group (CBGB stalwarts the Laughing Dogs) and lived in a small room in their practice loft as he attempted to take on the big city. This and many other tales can be read in his memoir Frontman: Surviving the Rock Star Myth, his how-to-be-an-entertainer guide as well as a gimlet-eyed autobiography.
After moving over the East and Hudson rivers Barone found himself in Hoboken, N.J., where Steve Fallon was just opening the famed music venue Maxwell’s; the club maintains its status as the last of the metro area’s ’70s nightspots. Along with the likes of the Feelies, the dB’s and the Individuals, the Bongos put Hoboken on the map as a place where young musicians could get a start. Many would come from all over the USA to place roots in the metro area’s pre-Williamsburg indie-rock capital. The New York Times asked, “Is there a musician more deserving of the moniker Man About Town than Richard Barone?”
The Bongos were the first group from the Hoboken scene to get signed to a major label — on the strength of Drums Along the Hudson, an album that featured a top CMJ Radio single “Mambo Sun” (Barone’s first Bolan cover) as well as “In the Congo” and “The Bulrushes.” The group became a favorite in the emerging college rock circuit and toured the U.S. and Europe sharing bills with the likes of the B-52s and R.E.M. Their song “Numbers With Wings” became a favorite in the early days of MTV. The Bongos released two albums and an EP and left an unfinished album for Island Records called Phantom Train. In 2007 the group reunited for the Hoboken Music and Arts Festival and were given the key to the city by the mayor for their pioneering pop.
Barone would go on to make many solo albums including the much lauded Cool Blue Halo that found him experimenting with the cello playing of Jane Scarpantoni while delivering his songs in a chamber-pop setting.
In the last decade Barone has worn many hats, writing with others and producing large musical events. Moby recently got involved with a re-mix of the Bongos classic track “Bulrushes.” And the B-52s’ Fred Schneider has tapped him to produce, arrange and co-write on numerous occasions. Tom Moon on NPR said, “Barone knows the alchemic formula for converting an everyday thought into a powerful refrain.” Now he moves on with Glow, a singular burst of optimism with the power of a sunset and the sunrise that follows.
The Man Who Sold the World
Richard Barone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Although I wasn't there, he said I was his friend
Which came as some surprise I spoke into his eyes
I thought you died alone, a long long time ago
Oh no, not me
I never lost control
You're face to face
I laughed and shook his hand, and made my way back home
I searched for form and land, for years and years I roamed
I gazed a gazely stare at all the millions here
We must have died along, a long long time ago
Who knows? Not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the Man who Sold the World
The lyrics of Richard Barone's song, The Man Who Sold the World, are mysterious, and it takes an insightful listener to decode the meaning behind them. The first verse talks about two people passing on a stair, one of whom is described as a friend who claims that the other person is also his friend, which is surprising because the second person was not there. The line 'I thought you died alone, a long long time ago' hints at something dark happening in the past. The chorus repeats the line 'You're face to face with the Man who Sold the World,' which adds to the mystery. Is this 'Man' a person, a metaphor, or something else?
The second verse adds to the cryptic message of the song, as the singer laughs and shakes hands with the 'Man who Sold the World' and heads back home. They spend years searching for something, but it's not clear what it is. The 'gazely stare' and the line 'We must have died alone, a long long time ago' suggests that the singer is in a state of existential crisis. The final lines repeat the chorus, emphasizing the fact that the 'Man who Sold the World' is always present, and the singer is still in a state of confusion and uncertainty.
Line by Line Meaning
We passed upon the stair, we spoke of was and when
We crossed paths on a staircase and talked about the past and future.
Although I wasn't there, he said I was his friend
Even though I wasn't present at the time, he still referred to me as his friend.
Which came as some surprise I spoke into his eyes
I was taken aback by the fact that he recognized me and spoke directly to me.
I thought you died alone, a long long time ago
I believed that he had died alone many years ago.
Oh no, not me
I am not the person you thought had died.
I never lost control
I was always in charge of my life and actions.
You're face to face
You are directly interacting with
With The Man Who Sold The World
The person who has managed to manipulate and deceive others into buying things that they don't need.
I laughed and shook his hand, and made my way back home
I found the situation amusing and shook his hand before leaving to go back to my own life.
I searched for form and land, for years and years I roamed
I wandered around aimlessly trying to find my place in the world for a long time.
I gazed a gazely stare at all the millions here
I looked out at the masses of people with a confused and distant look in my eyes.
We must have died along, a long long time ago
We as a society, or perhaps even as a species, may have died out a long time ago.
Who knows? Not me
I am not sure and do not claim to have the answers.
You're face to face
You are directly interacting with
With the Man who Sold the World
The person who has managed to manipulate and deceive others into buying things that they don't need.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: David Bowie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind