Fans of John Mitchell (Lonely Robot, Arena, Frost*, Kino) take note! The two It Bites albums from 2008 & 2012 (featuring John as writer, guitarist & lead vocalist) are being reissued on May 7th. Available for pre-order from Inside Out & Burning Shed.
I have and enjoy Map of the Past and will definitely pick up The Tall Ships. Thanks for the heads up!
I was not at all a fan of the original incarnation of It Bites, but I saw the John Mitchell version at 3RP and they were excellent. So much so that I bought The Tall Ships. It too is excellent.
I always wondered what it was the original It Bites was trying to do because I don't really think it ever gelled correctly. Honestly, I wanted to hear Dunnery play the guitar and it was almost as if half the time he adamantly refused.Originally Posted by moecurlythanu
Mongrel dog soils actor's feet
I've never been able to get into any It Bites that I've listened to. Also not that much that John Mitchell has played on. Probably some Arena he's played on is all. I can tell he's a talented player, but usually what's going on around him just isn't that interesting. I saw him with Frost on one of the Cruises to the Edge, and while the leader (can't think of his name right now) was entertaining, the music didn't do much for me.
Well, I always hear good things about The Tall Ships (I know that's w/ Dunnery, not Mitchell); I think I listened to some of it once, but I'll try to give it a sincere listen soon. Have to see what's online right now. Probably the whole thing is on Spotify and/or Bandcamp. (EDIT: Nope! Only YouTube!) I think I have a download on my hard drive, CTTOI.)
Last edited by JKL2000; 04-09-2021 at 11:53 AM.
Jed - The Tall Ships is Mitchell's first album with the band and does not feature Dunnery. It's a fantastic album, IMO.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
I was a huge IB fan back in the heyday and bought the JM albums too which are very good. I have to say though that the magic wore off after a while and I no longer own them.
Personally I never got into It Bites without Dunnery. Love all three albums they originally made from the moment they were released. With John Mitchell it just became another band with Mitchell in it.
That was an excellent show, probably my favorite of the whole weekend. I was already a fan of the Dunnery-led IB, but I really like the Mitchell version as well.
I didn't realize you were there too, but maybe we even crossed paths at some point.
John M. tweeted sometime ago that he and John Beck are writing for a new IB album. He said the contract's been signed (I think it's part of the re-issues deal), so they have to. lol
Quite possible. I know I met Camelogue Bob and his friend at that fest.
Here is a video from Map of the Past: https://youtu.be/j7bXxUcYwUw
I agree that "Tall Ships" is really good. I bought MAP but I don't like it as much. "Willow and the Stream" is an excellent song though.
I hope John Beck fully recovered from his accident.
The accident from a few years back? Something about his arm(?) Not another one, was it?
Yeah I think Tall Ships is pretty good but Map didn't do much for me.
Yes, the fall a few years ago when he was in Fish's band.
Same here.
Tall Ships is a masterpiece. Love that album.
Tall Ships grabbed me right away. That "I got your words" vocal thing was addictive. Map of the Past took a little longer to sink in, but I really like it now. Still prefer Tall Ships, but I listen to Map quite often, too.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
I can see the logic, but I think it's important to remember that back in the second half of the 80s it would be futile to market or promote or even namecheck anything as "prog-rock", so naturally It Bites weren't. They were rather toted as an outwardly "musician's pop/rock" group and fared pretty well at that. I remember hearing them compared to everything between Prefab Sprout to Van Halen; reviewers and critics were somewhat bewildered at what the band sounded like and - as you say - were trying to achieve.
A lot of folks tend to forget that by the mid-to-late 80s people were no longer really aware of most happenings in popular music only a decade-and-a-half earlier. When I went to senior high (1987-90), no single dude at my age I ever spoke to who was a Marillion fan was even acquainted with 1970-77 Genesis. At best they'd heard (or heard of) Pink Floyd but didn't know older "advanced" rock beyond that - not even 80s art-rock heads who'd might otherwise embrace The The, late 70s Bowie, Roxy Music or Public Image Ltd. These were gloriously decadent yuppytimes, and hippietimes were all but eraded from then-current pop-cultural consciousness. Alas, one of the reasons why a band like Marillion could be successful was indeed the fact that much of the listening base actually thought their music was genuinely original and new.
I quite enjoyed Once Around the World myself on release in '88, thinking it a clever deceit on norms of cultural-political correctness and reception. I also recall seeing a feature on the band at either Sky or Super channel and thinking Dunnery appeared to be a fairly fine fellow and guitarist - and I promptly wanted to hear him play more on his axe as well.
I still think it's a charming period piece, although almost too 80s for its own good.
And then Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden happened that very autumn, and "contemporary progressive rock" became a truly serious, ongoing issue instead of mere market theatre. It essentially changed the lot.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
I've never gotten into them either. I guess I just don't get it. That said, I think the track "Ice Melts Into Water" is incredible. But I haven't heard a single other track that I enjoy.
I honestly thought both albums were fairly equal, but with more thought, "The Tall Ships" might have the slight edge.
"Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)
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