Quite possibly one of the most beautiful tracks I've ever heard - by any artist. Gorgeous opening and cinematic scope of production. Love this song. The lyrics, the bass, the guitar and the vocals....just a lesson in stunning song writing and production quality. First heard TD in about '82 on a live recording featuring I Scare Myself - awesome stuff - and to hear such a great return album with so many musical treats all these years later is quite something. The different dynamics of this song are so good to hear and the overall album is quite simply, in my humble opinion one of the best recordings in the last 20 years. 17 Hills is a lesson in how to write, perform, engineer, mix and produce a song. Stunning.
Oh, it is glorious the way Bruce's and Jeffrey's (sp?!) playing, and your own, Thomas, all flow like water... it's all so atmospheric! Absolutely lovely. To hear the tracks isolated is to appreciate the talent of the people who played them. I love the way your reversal of a bit of Jeffrey's playing is visible at 6:08-6:18 into this video. Neato! :-)
What I want to know is....the "hero" is riding the driftwood in the bay...letting the wind decide his fate".. but then he goes on to say "last thing I saw was all 17 hills....in between crest of the ocean waves".....does that mean he's drowned... or.. escaped?
Uh yeah, that might qualify as super human fretless playing. The Law of Attraction in sequence. Pun intended. On to the guitar…humbled to the core. Maximum Respect ~ Loo
Quite possibly one of the most beautiful tracks I've ever heard - by any artist. Gorgeous opening and cinematic scope of production. Love this song. The lyrics, the bass, the guitar and the vocals....just a lesson in stunning song writing and production quality. First heard TD in about '82 on a live recording featuring I Scare Myself - awesome stuff - and to hear such a great return album with so many musical treats all these years later is quite something. The different dynamics of this song are so good to hear and the overall album is quite simply, in my humble opinion one of the best recordings in the last 20 years. 17 Hills is a lesson in how to write, perform, engineer, mix and produce a song. Stunning.
Superb song and it's brilliant that Thomas is so willing to share his creative process for others to enjoy and learn from.
Oh, it is glorious the way Bruce's and Jeffrey's (sp?!) playing, and your own,
Thomas, all flow like water... it's all so atmospheric! Absolutely lovely. To
hear the tracks isolated is to appreciate the talent of the people who played
them. I love the way your reversal of a bit of Jeffrey's playing is visible at
6:08-6:18 into this video. Neato! :-)
Wow! That pedal steel is money! So Beautiful
I like the phrasing of the piano on this song is so Thomas Dolby. There is a quotation of another song in there. I think it's like on Pirate Twins.
Fretless bass makes a wiieeerd looking waveform.
Ooh! He has Scrabble in the studio!
I love this track and Bruce and Jeffrey are amazing. (Jeffrey really is a superhuman bassist, btw.)
@rocknrollohioguy - You're watching the waveforms of selected digital recording tracks (as he passingly mentions at 6:28.
What I want to know is....the "hero" is riding the driftwood in the bay...letting the wind decide his fate".. but then he goes on to say "last thing I saw was all 17 hills....in between crest of the ocean waves".....does that mean he's drowned... or.. escaped?
Uh yeah, that might qualify as super human fretless playing. The Law of Attraction in sequence. Pun intended. On to the guitar…humbled to the core. Maximum Respect ~ Loo
I thought I read that Mark Knopfler played guitar on this song?