Recorded at Jaggy Thorn Basement and Castle Sound.
If you were wondering when the album was released in your country here's a list of release dates:
Sweden 06.04.99
France mid April (date tbc)
Turkey 29.03.99
Czechoslovakia 08.03.99
Switzerland 08.03.99
Austria 08.03.99
Hungary 17.03.99
Benelux 08.03.99
Denmark 15.03.99
Norway 19.03.99
Greece 15.04.99
Poland 08.03.99
Israel 22.03.99
Finland end of April (date tbc)
Italy 13.04.99
Ray Wilson has been "the right man in the right place at the right
time" more than once in his musical career. First as the ambitious
singer and songwiter of Guaranteed Pure, then as a member of British
rock band Stiltskin who landed an international chartbreaker hit with
their debut single Inside. He then became the front man for rock
legends Genesis. To consider him as just a member of these bands does
not represent his true influence on them. Wilson's dark but warm voice
has put his distinctive stamp on all of them. He managed to step out
from behind Phil Collin's overpowering shadow and add a new and
accepted flavour to Genesis. Now he has his new and exciting band Cut.
Are all these impressive achievements pure chance, a rare mixture of
lucky circumstances? Not so. It's actually the result of a profound mix
of talent, determination, a strong musical feel and a unique quality as
a composer and singer.
He emphatically states with regard to Millionairhead, Cut's debut,
"This album was recorded by my band, it's not a solo-album and I want
everybody to be aware." Why such a statement is so important to him is
easily understood looking at the past history. Cut consists basically
of the same musicians who formed the core of Guaranteed Pure. With
Ray's (18 month older) brother Steve on guitar and backing vocals, Paul
Holmes on keyboards. Guaranteed Pure released three albums in the early
90ies in Edinburgh. In January 1992, bass player John Haimes joined,
but just two years later Ray Wilson decided to leave the band due to
his personal financial problems. Shortly after he joined Stiltskin and
right at the peak of "grunge", they had a European wide No.1 hit with
"Inside", followed up by a top ten album "The Mind's Eye" coupled with
extensive touring throughout Europe. But when the drummer and bass
player left Stiltskin, this chapter also closed for Wilson.
Together with his old friends of Guaranteed Pure he formed Cut in the
summer of 1995. "I've always liked the style of music we played with
Stiltskin," he says, "but I wanted to play it with my own band.
Besides, with Stiltskin, there was always this last spark of melody
missing. With Cut a strong melody is the basis of every song." By the
summer of 1996 the band had written more than 20 songs and with this
material Cut went to Virgin Records, Germany where Wilson had always
felt a friendly link. "The deal was already made, we just wanted to
release the songs as fast as possible", however it was then Wilson got
a call from Tony Smith, the manager of Genesis, who invited him to
audition for them "It hit me like lightning out of the blue"!
Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks liked the Scotsman's expressive voice
and its great diversity right away. Wilson also enjoyed working with
them and decided to accept the offer and joined Genesis in 1997 with
one small reservation "Just as Mike Rutherford has Mike & The
Mechanics on the side, I insisted on being able to spend my free time
with my plans for Cut. It has always been important for me to develop
my own and independent songwriting with my own band". Genesis released
the album Calling All Stations in spring 1997 and the three hit singles
Congo, Shipwrecked and Wilson co-write Not About Us won Genesis a great
number of new fans. After appearing at the Rock In The Park open air in
Nurnberg, Germany, Wilson believed that the time had come to record
Cut's debut Millionairhead. He had not only gathered many experiences
but also took along drummer Nir Zidkyahu.
Zidkyahu, an Israeli living in the USA, is a much in demand drummer on
the New York scene. In the early 90ies he played with the Dan Reed
Network and the Bee Gees before he got his "calling" from Genesis. As a
session and studio musician he is probably one of the best in the
international music business. Together with bass player John Haimes he
represents Cut's rhythmic foundation. Haimes started playing bass when
he was 19 years old and his major influences include Cass Lewis of
Skunk Anansie amd Marcus Miller. He started his career with London
bands Big Blue Sea and Bite The Bullet. In 1990 he studied at the
London bass Academy and two years later met Wilson, who asked him to
join Guaranteed Pure, and after the band split he made his living
touring clubs. Keyboard player Paul Holmes has been living in Norway
for several years and works as a busy studio musician. As a young boy
Paul used to play the organ in church and was a member of the choir. He
performed publicly for the first time at 14 and in the following years
played countless clubs throughout Europe. Guitarist Steve Wilson also
started his musical career at the age of 14, firstly as a singer but
after a short time he started playing the guitar and together with his
brother Ray formed their first school band. The next band was called
The End and after that he joined Guaranteed Pure. When Ray left to join
Stiltskin in 1994 Steve returned to the clubs. Now with Cut, Ray and
Steve (also who contributes his songwriting skills) have come together
to complete the band's line-up.
The current material is truly refreshing and very much modern. The
songs are melodic, powerful, extraordinarily clever and skillfully
arranged "In the past four years I've learnt a lot" says Wilson, "my
main influences are Pearl Jam , Live, Radiohead and Jeff Buckley and
naturally, Genesis did a lot for me too. They taught me to think more
specifically about the use of keyboards and orchestral parts. When I
left Stiltskin, my focus was mainly on guitars. Genesis awakened my
interest in keyboards, Wurlitzer piano and all these analog sounds".
The result of this is obviously on "Millionairhead". All twelve songs
are full of great melodies and sensitive arrangements. The rocking,
driving title track describes in an ironic way the dispute between Ray,
and Stiltskin's guitarist Peter Lawlor. "Another Day", the first Cut
single, is also connected to Wilson's previous band. This song was
originally written to be included on the second Stiltskin album and
hasn't lost any of its edge. "Gypsy", a track with a calm start and a
hard riff in the middle was inspired by U2's video to "All I Want Is
You". Just like the video, "Gypsy" conveys a sentimental, melancholic
feeling. The newest track on "Millionairhead" is "Ghost" and was
written after Wilson joined Genesis. He sings "You have all I have to
give" as a sign of his great musical commitment and he openly admits
that the constant criticism to which he was exposed was sometimes
difficult to understand "you break me into many pieces".
Alongside these gems, Wilson pays homage to his great hero David Bowie
with a cover of "Space Oddity". "Bowie was the first musician I
consciously listened to. He is the reason why I started to make music
"Ziggy Stardust" or "Scary Monsters" are true classics of rock history".
The album was produced by Ray Wilson himself, engineered by Ian Huffman and mixed by Nick Davies.
No confusion in my mind
I should be with you
So many pieces
Too much frustration
No delusion in my mind
Need to be there too
All foreign places
No one to blame
Don't make a fool out of me
Don't have me wish my life away
Don't make a fool out of me
Don't have me wish my life away
No No No No No No No
No confusion in my mind
I should be with you
So many pieces
Too much frustration
Don't make a fool out of me
Don't have me wish my life away
Don't make a fool out of me
Don't have me wish my life away
Don't have me wish my life away
Don't have me wish my life away...
SARAH
Sarah, sweet Sarah
Hold me so close to you
Reach out
No reason needed
You're the one for me, Sarah
You're the one for me
Like a dream come true
So beautiful
I will be with you forever
And if the nights grow cold
I'll be there for you
Please don't make me wait
People surround me
Offers of sympathy
I just want to be left alone
Sarah, sweet Sarah
Hold me so close to you
Take in all I say
Listen carefully
Words I want you to remember
And if the nights grow cold
I'll be there for you
Please don't make me wait
People surround me
Offers of sympathy
I just want to be left alone
Sarah, I'll miss you
I don't regret all that we shared together
Everything I need,
Given to me
ANOTHER DAY
Some things disappear inside
Should I try to run away?
If I could I would escape you
I won't argue anymore
I have lost the will to be
Hope you don't think I'm ungrateful
Why, why are you laughing?
Is it something that I said?
I don't like this place at all
Makes me wonder what I'm here for
Someone take this pain away
Dying to see another day
Close the curtains lock the door
Left my note upon the stair
In the hope you wouldn't read it
Fake emotions in my head
Everything I've seen and read
Can't begin to find a reason
Why, why are you laughing?
Is it something that I said?
I don't like this place at all
Makes me wonder what I'm here for
Someone take this pain away
Dying to see another day
And I don't want to be a friend
Or pretend I can fit in, too
I'm in sensed I'm blown away
Dying to see another day
HEY, HEY
Hey, hey the pain won't go away
It looks like your worst nightmare's here and here to stay
Uh huh, yeah, yeah
O god the son you were so proud of
Waste away until there's nothing left to think of
Uh huh, yeah, yeah
Cannot trust in you,
Cannot hold on to you now
Crying out don't you touch me,
I wish you would go
I'm fine now don't you touch me,
I need to be alone
So cold young man feeling old
Look me in the eye
I'm losing all control
Uh huh, yeah, yeah
Cannot trust in you,
Cannot hold on to you now
Crying out don't you touch me,
I wish you would go
I'm fine now don't you touch me,
I need to be alone
I'm dying now don't you touch me,
I don't need you here
For Christsake don't you touch me,
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I can't sleep
I've fallen in too deep
Time to think about the drug
that tastes so sweet
I lay low,
It's the best if they don't know
Pretending nothing's there just watch your garden grow
You a friend don't make me laugh,
What we had was in the past
I can't live for yesterday
When I needed you the most
Flesh and blood became the ghost
Give so much to take away
Reaching out to touch your soul
Don't feel young and look so old
Just a number on the wall,
Lowest number of them all
Every day seems like the last
Finding strength to touch your thoughts
Need to feel may every word
Going on and on and on
On and on and on
MILLIONAIRHEAD
From inside there was nothing
And from the outside looking in
It was worse
Words that meant nothing to no-one
Echoed across
And the light never shines on the real thing
And the hope is that nothing has changed
For a moment I almost believed him
For a moment I almost believed him
Money! couldn't buy it
Your Money! didn't make it work
Millionairhead!
Millionairhead!
It was always a short-term thing,
The foundations to be built on were flawed
But it doesn't really matter
Not to us
And the light never shines on the real thing
And the hope is that nothing has changed
For a moment I almost believed him
For a moment I almost believed him
Money! couldn't buy it
Your Money! didn't make it work
Millionairhead!
Millionairhead!
Millionairhead!
I almost believed you
Money! couldn't buy it
Your Money! didn't make it work
Millionairhead!
Millionairhead!
Millionairhead!
Millionairhead!
Millionairhead!
Millionairhead!
Millionairhead!
Millionairhead!
SHOOT THE MOON
It's you to blame again
It seems like anger is your only friend
And as the darkness falls in tonight
You watch the shadows crawl across
The window to your door
It doesn't open anymore
Like some indictment on your life
You're never wrong
But never right
Do you know what you fear
Will the morning make it clear
Does it make you feel better when you're walking away
Will anybody listen to a word
As you lie looking at the ceiling
It's that old sentimental feeling
Starting over again
Starting over again
Just like travelling the wrong way
On a one way street
You'll never be quite sure
Whose promises you'll meet
Falling up the wrong road,
Falling up the wrong road
Do you know what you feel,
Will the morning make it clear
Does it make you feel better when you're walking away
Will anybody listen to a word
Shoot the moon,
Shoot the moon
This must be part of someone else's plan
Someone show me the answer
Just take me off of this winding road,
Winding road
Shoot the moon, shoot the moon, shoot the moon
Do you know what you feel
Will the morning make it clear
Does it make you feel better when you're walking away
Will anybody listen to a word
YOUNG ONES
No time to break the fall
We run before we crawl
No pill will ease your mind
Just a little bit would make a difference
No words can describe just how much
Does it take
To make sense of it
Before the young ones grow old
And all wave goodbye
They've taken down the wall
So the young ones can taste freedom
And the others have a reason to live
You kill me with your lies
Just a little bit would make a difference
No words can describe just how much
Does it take
To make sense of it
Before the young ones grow old
And all wave goodbye
All wave goodbye
There's no where to run to
I can't get inside
Your tortured mind
Is wasting away
Just a little bit would make a difference
No words can describe just how much
Does it take
To make sense of it
Before the young ones grow old
And all wave goodbye
All wave goodbye
All wave goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye,
Goodbye, goodbye
All wave goodbye
Goodbye
NO PLACE FOR LOSER
You walk out on me
Don't expect me to come running
I won't disagree
If you'd like to take the blame
I won't be there for you
I just don't feel the need
You leave me empty
Stay young, live for a reason
There's no place for a loser here
Your naked remark mans nothing to me now
All faith in yourself
Seems it's gone to find a friend
I won't be there for you
I just don't feel the need
You leave me empty
Stay young, live for a reason
There's no place for a loser here
The same song
Sung with no feeling at all
And all the losers gather round
Watch the world come crashing down around them
There's no place for the chosen few
Who know it all but rarely do astound me,
Surround me
(back vocals: Did you know that I hate you, did you know?)
They see things in different ways
Watch them spend their final days surrounded, astounded
(Did you know that I love you, did you know?)
Did you know that I hate you, did you know?
Did you know that I love you, did you know?...
SPACE ODDITY
Ground Control to Major Tom,
Ground Control to Major Tom,
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on.
Ten
Ground Control to Major Tom Nine,Eight,Seven
Commencing countdown, engines on Six,Five Four
Check igition and may God's love be with you Three,Two,One
Liftoff
This is Ground Control to Major Tom,
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare.
"This is Major Tom to Ground Control"
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today.
For here
Am I sitting in my tin can
Far across the world,
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do.
Though I'm crossed one hundred thousand miles,
I'm feeling very still,
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go.
Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows."
Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuits dead, something's wrong.
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear...
"Am I floating on my tin can,
Far above the Moon,
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do."
I HEAR YOU CALLING
Watch your friends all pass you by
You've got 25 reasons to live,
Every on is a lie
Now you're looking everywhere for comfort
The worse it gets,
The harder you try
I hear you calling me again,
It's alright,
It's alright
Like a brother or a friend,
You're depending on
As you're screaming in your sleep,
Is the needle in too deep
It's alright,
It's not alright
You're a stranger in your home
A good for nothing,
Know it all
Don't you know we've seen it all before
The sadness of it all,
You are the cure
I hear you calling me again,
It's alright,
It's alright
Like a brother or a friend,
You're depending on
As you're screaming in your sleep,
Is the needle in too deep
It's alright,
It's not alright
Now you're looking everywhere for comfort
The worse it gets,
The harder you try
I hear you calling me again,
It's alright,
It's alright
Like a brother or a friend,
You're depending on
As you're screaming in your sleep,
Is the needle in too deep
It's alright,
It's alright,
It's not alright
GYPSY
God is my witness I can feel you
There! before my very eyes, a vision to me
Don't put out this fire
It's burning for
Burning for me, burning for you.
Stand within the sunlight, press against me
Takes me back to other times, different days
Love I do surrender, it belongs to
Belongs to me, belongs to me.
Lay down on me naked gypsy
Watching you bathe in water
False childhood lies, fear in your eyes
Give me a son and daughter.
There is nothing I can't see in my mind
A picture of you painted, so vividly
Blood runs through my fingers
And in through
Through my light, through my darkness.
Lay down on me naked gypsy
Watching you bathe in water
False childhood lies, fear in your eyes
Give me a son and daughter.
Wish I could. Wish I could see you.
Lay down on me naked gypsy
Watching you bathe in water
False childhood lies, fear in your eyes
Give me a son and daughter.
Lay down on me naked gypsy
Watching you bathe in water
False childhood lies, fear in your eyes
Give me a son and daughter.
Son and daughter.
GHOST
I'm young man on the edge
With his head held in his hands
A look of desperation
Touching the fingers he hides behind
I lost my head and made a mess
Showing signs of faithlessness
Having other people laughing at you
Is hard to take
You have all I have to give
You break me into many pieces
I was just beginning to forget
In my mind I've tried
can't make much sense of what it is
Wishing one day you could understand
Everything takes time
The thoughts I have
Won't leave me
You say you've heard it all before
You sit there like a wall I have to break through
Some drug I didn't take to
You have all I have to give
You break me into many pieces
I was just beginning to forget
Should I feel anger,
Should I be patient
Do I belong here,
Do you have the answers
How long can I hold on
Do I belong
Where do I belong
You have all I have to give
You break me into many pieces
I was just beginning to forget
Don't laugh
Don't make me
I was just begging to forget
You have all I have to give
You break me into many pieces
I was just beginning to forget...