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The Imagination of Thieves

by Latin Quarter

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1.
Thieves’ Imagination (Skaith) At the roadblock I just smiled and said ‘Sorry but I don’t have my papers’. He gave a shrug and a sigh and he said ‘Well, how can we sort this out?’ ‘I got a little refresco,’ I said ‘I’ll make a small consideration’, He said ‘I think my sergeant Is going to want a little more than that.’ Oh nothing’s what it seems It’s like we are in the theatre He’s got his policeman’s costume on But a thieves’, he’s got a thieves’ imagination. ‘I’m a cousin to the king, Very pleased to meet you.’ A minister of state We can help each other out. You want to sell some planes? I can be persuaded But you are going to have to help me Sort out this bottom line. Oh nothing’s what it seems It’s like we are in the theatre In their sober suits and ties But a thieves’, he’s got a thieves’ imagination. Reaching arms around the world They’re greasing palms of the undeserved On the bottom rung, you have to survive But those at the top They never know when to stop Those at the top They never feel rich enough. Oh nothing’s what it seems It’s like we are in the theatre In their sober suits and ties, and uniforms And their thieves’ imagination.
2.
Below the Water (Skaith/Jones) I swear that we’re almost choking On this free market medicine But they’ve still got time for joking Living high on the yacht basins And they tell you to stay cool Then they give you the cold shoulder And you wind up like an iceberg You’re so far below the water chorus Below the water it’s sink or swim Your feet don’t touch the bottom It’s looking pretty grim Don’t ask for flippers don’t ask for fins You’re so far below the water For your sins. All my friends are standing back All waiting for impatience And the others are paralysed By fear or complacence And they tell you to wrap up And it’s true it’s getting colder From the bank vaults to the bonus Explode below the water! And the people in the shallows they are shouting The people in the shallows shouting ‘Send them home’. And the people in the shallows they are shouting The people in the shallows shouting ‘Bring back the gallows.’
3.
You and Me 04:58
You and Me (Skaith / MacNeill) I’ve heard the lies that you said before Heard the lies that you cried before All the times love has died before and it was over. All the days that have played before us All the hands that have strayed upon us All the times you’ve lied for us All the times you tried It’s you and it’s me And it’s now or never It’s you and it’s me and I’ll do whatever And I will trust you, I will trust you So never again It’s you and it’s me And that’s fine All the words that have gone before All the hurt that was wrong before All the misheard sighs in our time And to all the love that was lost before us All the dogs that have lain before us And the calm that became us, there’s no harm. All the lies, all the cries all the times you tried before.
4.
Should have been Buried (Jeffries / MacNeill) Follow me back to the car park Stroll with me down to the beach Look at the shores for the places we’ll never get to Look at the cliffs for the heights that we won’t reach A finger on edge and the circle A flick of the ash on the end A look that is held then averted Weren’t these the signals? A look of things as they come to an end Admit that it’s dead Should have been buried a long time ago Admit that it’s dead Should have been buried so painful, so slow Why the denial? All those fake smiles Should have been buried. A last look over a shoulder A foot holding open a door Waiting for footsteps to fade away One final deep breath A face and a shape to be seen no more Admit that it’s dead Should have been buried a long time ago Admit that it’s dead Should have been buried so painful, so slow Why the denial? All those fake smiles Should have been buried Should have been buried Admit that it’s dead Should have been buried a long time ago Admit that it’s dead Should have been buried so painful, so slow Should have been buried.
5.
Number 5 02:22
6.
Dylan Thomas was Right (Skaith) I look in the glass, who's that staring back? Not the person who's inside I swear. On the bus and the shops I'm still taken aback How come they're calling me 'sir'? (Chorus ) I will try and accept the advice Not cowed at the close of the day I’ll go kicking, not gently into the long night. Dylan Thomas was right And I have won races I’ve heard the applause I’ve stood in the light on the stage But the past is still with us, never quite disappears But it struggles to brighten the dimming of age If only youth knew, if only age could This frustration of being alive There’s so much I believe, so much I denounce But life's mystery persists to confound me. Life’s mystery persists to confound me.
7.
A Bankrobber’s Lament (Skaith/Campbell) I spent 3 years in Long Lartin, 4 more in the Scrubs 18 months in Parkhurst, I really have paid my subs But while I was in Dartmoor on my third OU degree I saw the error of my ways, it’s easy now I see. I know now what I should have been I know now what I should have been You don’t need no mask nor gun No risks but lots of fun I know now what I should have been. I should have been a banker. Engrossed in my studies and reading Bertolt Brecht I came across his apercu- really quite correct What Bertie said was bertinent, this you must agree It makes more sense to start a bank, than to rob one Can’t you see? I know now what I should have been I know now what I should have been Don’t need no mask nor gun No risks but lots of fun I know now what I should have been. I should have been a banker. I could have worn my ski mask on some fancy Alpine slope I ould have used my shotgun for bagging grouse with noble folk I could have robbed ten million and never once gone to jail My brief could have taken the judge aside and said This one is too big to fail. I know now what I should have been I know now what I should have been Don’t need no mask nor gun No risks but lots of fun I know now what I should have been. What I should have been, I should have been a banker.
8.
Blue Drifting (Skaith&Jones) You almost came by tonight Almost turned on my light The new indecisive me Truth is a fantasy Part of the mystery Like the one that you weave around me. Chorus It’s not the breeze I can feel lifting Not the clouds that I see shifting It’s you, it’s you and the blue that’s drifting Drift yourself to me. Home’s where the heart should be You move so soft and free Feels like I’m standing here still Sky and forgets-me-nots Sparks when the steel gets hot Each one is a second to kill The unstable mirror of the waves The promising honeycomb of caves A love that saves Is just a phrase…… ….but not always. You almost came by tonight Almost turned on my light The new indecisive me Truth is a fantasy Part of the mystery Like the one that you weave around me.
9.
The River Runs (Skaith & MacNeill) The hands are dusty and the ground is dry Like the ink on this page but I can rewrite it A Mars a day helps you work, rest and wash 5 cigarettes a day, are you counting the cost? Arms outstretched, Palms to the sky Catch the tears of the World drifting by. With meters of pipe, the river runs dry The bringer of life, the river runs by For comic relief, the rivers run With sheer disbelief, the river runs. It ran from the springs and into the wells Gaunt child’s eyes and the images that sells O’ the boarded waterways that ran in the streets £3 a month, a shilling a week For hundred of years, the water was needed The riverbed dry. The earth left un-seeded. With meters of pipe, the river runs dry The bringer of life, the river runs by A hundred feet the river runs Just sign the sheet. Four hundred years, it’s not new news For an annual appeal to change the views For cleansing of souls, for washing and drinking The monthly target, a well of souls sinking From Chadwell Spring to New River Head It’s not flowing enough for the dry river bed The new river company, Water Aid Continuous supply, the river stayed Water flowed, pulling funds Sediment money. The river runs.
10.
Her Song 03:06
Her Song (Skaith) She loves him because He’s always there, he’s always around Pulling her up There’s better days been And there’s better to come It’s not only now If she can’t take the world on There’s always those arms. But those arms in the night So lifeless by his side He never enters her dreams This weariness their love inspires So when they sing When Fairport sing ‘Who knows where the time goes?’ She says that’s her song So when they sing When Fairport sing ‘Who knows where the time goes?’ She says that’s her song. A life of quiet despair She’s read all about that but that can’t be her Her life is good So much they have and so much they share Their love is a rock A rock that that is there so firm on the ground But so firm on the ground Never sees the sky So firm on the ground Never gets the chance to fly.
11.
Dark Side Running (Skaith) Was it really for God Or the adventure and the promise of girls? Were there insults traded ‘Get back to where you came from’? Were you stopped and searched each week By men in uniform While friends you thought you had Ran off and denied you? Wish I could understand how we got to this. Cos we can laugh and we can sing We can pray and we can dance We can be kind and gentle and generous Smile at strangers, help a friend We can play we can invent Try and make this world good again All these things we do But it seems there’s a dark side running And there’s nothing so cruel One man won’t do to another. Maybe we marched together once Against an illegal war Shared the same ideas then As we tried to change the world Friends said you were ambitious, but always the idealist So how come we get to these tweets from you That say ‘Today we shot some prisoners.’
12.
I am Refugee 03:02
I am Refugee (Skaith & Jeffries) On a train in 1940 A kinder-transportee In ’45 we were millions Displaced by war and poverty I’ve been expelled from Uganda Run out of Palestine (My) brothers and sisters taken Time after deadly time (When) Your world comes crashing all around I am refugee Wars I never started Leaders who just wash their hands Call us ‘swarms’ and ‘aliens’ Those invaders fresh from foreign lands But out there in there stadiums They raise the welcome banner high Cos you can’t turn back the clock You can’t just close your eyes On a train in 1940 A kinder-transportee Even then they called it ‘outrage’ Aliens with no right to flee
13.
The Promise 02:55
The Promise (Skaith & MacNeill) I remember crystal trees, swimming round with honey bees Walking over seven seas, tender hearts and open pleas I remember moving lakes, running round in funny shapes Living with all of my mistakes, the push and pull, the give and takes I remember your love. I remember Philadelphia New York City Niagara Falls that day My God you looked so pretty Flying home, holding hands Over the Manhattan skyline The promises we made but never kept On Lime Street Station The last time I remember your love. I remember waterfalls, grey heights and sunny walls Singing birds and deep sea calls, stepping out among snowballs I remember blue-lit hills, a stain slash and powder frills A credit card for some cheap thrills, steamy breath on window sills And I remember your love

about

Available on CD and white Vinyl

Wer hat diesen Song nicht noch im Ohr: „Radio Africa“ und das Album Modern Times waren Anfang der 1980er Jahre ein großer Erfolg für die Band Latin Quarter. Dass hinter den wunderbaren Popsongs, die es bis auf Platz 24 der deutschen Albumcharts schafften, aber auch starke politische Botschaften standen und dass die beiden Gründer der Band Steve Skaith und Mike Jones vor ihrer Musikkarriere bei der Menschenrechtsorganisation Big Flame Mitglied waren, dürfte nur einigen wenigen bekannt sein.

Von Anfang an wollte die Band sozialpolitische Botschaften mit Popsongs verbinden und das gelang nicht nur auf „Radio Africa“, sondern (mit Unterbrechung) seit mittlerweile 33 Jahren auf sieben Studioalben und weiteren Veröffentlichungen.

Das neue Album The Imagination Of Thieves hat kein übergreifendes Thema, sondern teilt sich in zwei Stränge auf: Neben Politischem wie dem Song „I Am Refugee“, der schon vorab veröffentlicht wurde, und dem Song „Dark Side Running“, der sich ebenfalls mit der Flüchtlingsthematik auseinandersetzt, geht es in „Below The Water“, „Bank Robbers Lament“ und „Thieves‘ Imagination“ um die Themen Austerität und Reichtum. Ein zweiter Themenstrang dreht sich um eher Persönliches – im Song „Dylan Thomas Was Right“ um das Altern und gleich mehrere Stücke speisen sich durch die Themen Liebe und Beziehungen.

Wurden die Texte früher überwiegend von Mike Jones geschrieben, ist das nur noch zu einem Teil der Fall (er hat sich sozusagen zur Ruhe gesetzt). Fünf der Texte sind von Freunden der Band beigesteuert worden: Michael MacNeill und Duncan Campbell. Letzterer ist ein bekannter Journalist in Großbritannien und war viele Jahre lang für das Thema Kriminalität beim Guardian zuständig. So erklärt sich auch der Text über die „lamentierenden Bankräuber“ („Bank Robbers Lament“).

Die Aufnahmen entstanden nach wenigen Proben in nur zwei Sessions und haben so einen starken Live-Charakter, der den Songs, die sich irgendwo zwischen Akustik-Pop und -Rock verorten lassen, eine schöne Dynamik gibt. Und das neue Album ist mit Abstand die ausgefeilteste Produktion, die die Band bislang vorgelegt hat. Im Mittelpunkt stehen aber bei Latin Quarter immer die Songs und das Songwriting.

Seit dem letzten Album Tilt 2014 hat sich das langjährige Line-Up der Band verändert. Greg Harewood und Yona Dunsford haben die Band verlassen und so ist das Album mit folgendem Line-Up entstanden:

Steve Jeffries – Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Produzent
Steve Skaith – Akustikgitarre und Vocals
Martin Ditcham – Schlagzeug und Percussion
Yoyo Buys – Bass und Elektronische Gitarre
Mary Carewe – Vocals
Mary Carewe ist eine britische Sängerin, die für ihre kraftvollen und ausdrucksstarken Vocals bekannt geworden ist. Sie hat in Konzertsälen wie der Carnegie Hall, der Royal Albert Hall und der Berliner Philharmonie Stücke von Gershwin, Weill, Purcell, Schönberg oder Musik aus James Bond-Filmen gesungen und ist außerdem eine gefragte Studiomusikerin.

credits

released September 16, 2016

Performed and arranged by Latin Quarter, who are:
Steve Jeffries - keyboards and backing vocals
Steve Skaith - acoustic guitar and vocals
Martin Ditcham - drums and percussion
Yo Yo Buys - bass and electric guitar
with Mary Carewe - vocals

Special guest: Ricky Gore - violin

Produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Steve Jeffries.

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Latin Quarter UK

Latin Quarter are celebrating the 40th anniverary of their 'Modern Times'-album this year. They first burst onto the scene with their singles "Radio Africa" and "New Millionaires" – songs that stayed for months in the German single charts in the 80s. The band split up in 1998. In 2011 five of the original musicians got together again. 7 new albums released after this reunion. . ... more

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