Danny LP

[DavidMn]

Danny's not reall in any kind of shape to be making music these days is he? That's a pretty sad situation

[Neb-Maat-Re]

Originally Posted by chiliD

That's the US release of his Midnight In San Juan album. Here, it was just titled Danny Kirwan and had the alternate cover you see in the eBay photo.[/URL]

Thanks for that - and thanks to SteveMacD for the mp3.

[DavidMn]

I wonder why he didnt include Trinity, that unreleased song from the Box Set?

[bretonbanquet]

Originally Posted by chiliD

My biggest disappointment with RJC is the omission of "Love Can Always Bring You Happiness", which is probably my fave tune on SC.

Agree with that - maybe there wasn't a good enough demo recording of that one? It would have been nice to have that maybe instead of two recordings of a couple of other songs.

Originally Posted by chiliD

I just wish that Danny would have layered guitar parts instead of favoring those cheezy Mini-Moog synthesiser parts throughout Midnight In San Juan.

Agreed again God knows whose idea the synth parts were, or whether they were there to cover up any failings on Danny's part. Trying to get anyone to talk about these sessions is next to impossible Doesn't stop me trying though

As for when the albums were recorded - as an educated guess I think the demos for SC were laid down maybe in '73 or '74 with the MISJ songs done in '74 or '75. HTBB was recorded in January 1979 - according to the test pressing I have of that album.

Release dates were:
SC: Sep. 12, 1975 (UK) / ? (US)
MISJ: Sep. 1, 1976 (UK) / May 1977 (US - as "Danny Kirwan")
HTBB: Mar. 21, 1979 (UK) / Apr. 25, 1979 (US)

[Wouter Vuijk]

HTBB was recorded in January 1979 - according to the test pressing I have of that album.

Release dates were:
SC: Sep. 12, 1975 (UK) / ? (US)
MISJ: Sep. 1, 1976 (UK) / May 1977 (US - as "Danny Kirwan")
HTBB: Mar. 21, 1979 (UK) / Apr. 25, 1979 (US)[/QUOTE]
So what really was the cause of Danny's decline? I mean, he was out of FM for quit some time then, building up his own career. He wa sdrinkinking excessively during his FM days, which eventually drove him out of the band. But then he still made music, recorded and released albums. What was the decisive turning point?
Anybody got a clue?

[wetcamelfood]

I think Clifford Davis felt DK was still under contractual obligation with him, but who knows?

Thanks for posting these release dates. I'll update them in the new discog & give you full credit of course.

I noticed "Rumours 'n fax" lists Sept 9th 1976 for MISJ. I guess I'll just assume that's an error, unless someone can post otherwise with another source listing 9/9/76?

John

[bretonbanquet]

I've never seen Sept 9th anywhere, but I've seen Sept 1st in several places - I've never managed to find out the US release date for 'Second Chapter' though...

HTBB was definitely a contractual obligation for Danny - bearing in mind that he was barely capable of playing guitar, and off on another planet the whole time (according to Bob Weston) - surely they wouldn't have bothered doing the album otherwise? I'm trying to find out more from other people present at the sessions, but it's like some big conspiracy of silence

As for the turning point in Danny's health, it's total speculation because we have so few facts. He was obviously unwell when he left Mac in August '72, and I understand he sought medical help at that time. He clearly recovered to some extent as he recorded 'Second Chapter' and the sleeve notes for the 'Ram Jam City' (written with the help of Danny's ex-wife) say he was well and happy at the time of the SC demos. However, at some point after that there was a downturn which never reversed - maybe before or during sessions for MISJ, maybe slightly later. Possibly the lack of commercial success made things worse. Also the fact that Danny never did any live gigs after 1974 suggests he didn't feel able to perform on stage.

The problem is that no-one really explained exactly what his health problems were - persistent alcoholism for sure, but what else? You could guess at a nervous problem, but it's not a good thing to be guessing about. People around Danny don't want to talk about it, and that's what we have to accept, even though we all mean well.