Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From

 

Raymond McGinley, Teenage Fanclub

Trust Me #22

After blogging on Norman Blake's Did I Say in January and Gerard Love's Don't Look Back in February, it is the turn of Raymond McGinley to feature in my Trust Me series.

And trust me, Raymond's Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From is a beautiful song that could melt the coldest of hearts.

One of the things I love and appreciate about Raymond's songwriting is his heart on sleeve honesty and directness. His songs regularly start with him confessing directly to the listener. Check back through his Fanclub songs to see how many start with I ...

This time McGinley starts as if he is singing to someone with the beautiful lines your sadness don't lie, your feelings can't hide, initially just him with his acoustic guitar, pouring his heart out. It takes until the bridge to the chorus for Raymond to directly talk about his feelings with the staggering lyric I, I disappear when you're not here, in my life. 

Into the chorus and Raymond has realised that he is in a much better place when he is with his love; when I'm on my own I'm lost in space, my freedoms a delusion, your love is the place where I come from.

In under 90 seconds McGinley has told us so much! Listening back to this song so many times over the course of a week to prepare for this blog has led to me having a new found appreciation for the song and the author. It is absolutely outstanding songwriting and the way it is delivered with real feeling in the vocals, playing and production leads to a song that is spine tinglingly good.

Listen to the little crack in Raymond's voice in away as he sings I can't slip away .... goosebumps. And listen to Norman's beautiful harmonies. Stunning.

After the delivery of the chorus, there is a second verse that leads to a glorious instrumental with the band crashing beautifully together as Raymond coaxes stunning sounds from his electric guitar.

The instrumental lifts the song into a final double run of the chorus where Raymond and Norman's voices gel effortlessly together, while little flourishes of impeccable guitar playing continue throughout and the song just flows with ease. McGinley has a real knack for finding a hook / refrain and running with it. 

Live, this is a long term fan favourite and set staple. A favourite not only because of the genius songwriting, feel and delivery, but for Norman playing his glockenspiel to huge cheers. You can check a couple of examples in the videos from Benicassim 2004 and the bands Electric Ballroom show from 2018.

Read on for some comments from the Teenage Fanclub Fanclub on the song.

Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From album version

Benicassim 2004 

Electric Ballroom 2018 

You can find a playlist of songs in my Trust Me series by searching for Everything Flows Trust Me on Spotify, or CLICK HERE

The Teenage Fanclub Fanclub on Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From

Kevin Robertson

To be lost in a void when you're without the love of your life, then the joy when together. True melancholy. On the face of it, it seems a straightforward song, but it's never easy to find that true emotion in both the music and the lyrics. Raymond and the lads get it spot on here.

Gerry Weir

That bit live when Norman goes for the glock and you know it's coming. That bit!

A well known fact, but in Nick Hornby's book 31 Songs, the only artist with two entries is our beloved Fannies, this being one of them.

Paul Quinn

A  *****  song.

Valterri Virtanen

It's my favourite of all of their songs. Special mention to the electric guitar playing during the last chorus.

Frank Livingston

A genius song.

Glyn Trevor

Masterpiece ...

Matt Moir

Always the xylophone.

Lauren Bacall

The absence of an intro to this song reveals a tiny touch that I always really like with Raymond's songs. Right at the beginning, in the silence just before Raymond sings Your sadness don't lie , there is a tiny audible intake of breath.

The inclusion of this sound on the record suits the song's initial simplicity. It's just Raymond strumming along on his guitar as he sings. At the beginning, it could be an acoustic song, but it isn't, so then everything else happens.

A live favourite and rightly so, but I always feel slightly sorry for Raymond being upstaged by a glock.

Your sadness don't lie

Your feelings can't hide

You always know why

But your reasons are sly

You never deny

What you feel inside

I, I disappear, when you're not here

In my life

I can't slip away when I see your face

I lose my confusion

Your love is the place where I come from

When I'm on my own I'm lost in space

My freedoms a delusion

Your love is the place where I come from

My sadness don't lie

My feelings can't hide

I just can't deny

What I feel inside

I can't slip away when I see your face

I lose my confusion

Your love is the place where I come from

When I'm on my own I'm lost in space

My freedoms a delusion

Your love is the place where I come from

I can't slip away when I see your face

I lose my confusion

Your love is the place where I come from

When I'm on my own I'm lost in space

My freedoms a delusion

Your love is the place where I come from

Written by Raymond McGinley

Teenage Fanclub Barrowland Ballroom night 2

Pic by Tony Docherty 

There is no doubt, in what I must do

Nothing is greater, than to be with you

Phew, I'm just in from the Barrowland Ballroom following a peerless performance by Teenage Fanclub who flew though their Grand Prix and Songs from Northern Britain albums.

Paul Quinn replaced Brendan O'Hare on drums (as per the recordings) and it was a classic 4-piece line-up that took to the stage and burst through Raymond's About You to a huge cheer.

O'Hare was never far from the action, walking on to the stage draped in a red cloak at the start of Gerry's much loved Sparky's Dream, appearing with a little percussion instrument to kick off the song. At other times he checked up on the band with a clipboard, or stood beside Dave to play percussion. His humour and energy is infectious and at one point he joked that everyone should look at him cause that's what its all about :-)

Grand Prix has such a superb run of songs, we had Norman's beautiful Mellow Doubt, followed by the stunning Gerry Love penned Don't Look Back. We were being spoilt.

Neil Jung was simply stunning. There was soul, power and real feeling to Norman's guitar and voice. He then excelled in delivering a gorgeous version of Tears which tugged on the heart strings.

The way Norman and Gerry's songwriting developed on Grand Prix was exceptional. Love's energetic Discolite was sublime and Going Places caused hearts to melt, it was exquisite.

It wasn't only Brendan that supplied the humour as Norman regularly had to battle to tune his guitar (just like the old days) or check which fret he should place his capo on.

McGinley's songwriting was also developing, Verisimilitude received a fantastic response from the crowd, while with Say No was one of his own highlights from the night.

Hardcore Ballad was superb. The band riffing and ripping it up to leave Norman alone with his acoustic to sing from the bottom of his heart. It was a stunning end to the set, really beautiful and heartfelt.

And love is easy to define

What mine is yours, and yours is mine

Through the pain, through the pain

Last summer I blogged about Songs from Northern Britain HERE and stated that I had come to the conclusion that it was the best Teenage Fanclub album. I stand by that. My favourite album will probably always be Bandwagonesque cause I discovered that LP and the band when I was 15, a really special time. But song for song and the way all 3 songwriters have developed, SFNB is peerless.

The performance at the Barrowland was exceptional. The way Blake and Love combined their vocals was utterly joyful, the way Raymond shredded his guitar on Can't Feel My Soul was exhilarating, the sky scraping choruses of Ain't That Enough, I Don't Want Control Of You, Take The Long Way Round and Speed of Light made me feel like a teenager, completely lost in the music and the wonder of the sound that 4 friends can create with guitars, bass, drums and a little imagination, and the escapism sought in Planets, Winter and Mount Everest sounded ever more appealing. And then you have the gorgeous Your Love Is The Place I Come From with the usual cheers for Norman on xylophone.

I described the first night at the Barrowland as majestic, well tonight was peerless. Special mention to Dave McGowan and Francis MacDonald (Brendan gets his above) - two incredibly talented musicians who were phenomenal in helping the band sound superb.

Teenage Fanclub in Livingston

Guest blog by Mark Hannah

SONGS FROM NORTHERN LIVINGSTON

Teenage Fanclub at the Howden Park Centre, Thursday 25^th of October 2018

The anticipation surrounding Teenage Fanclub’s upcoming Creation Years tour has been pretty massive. Taking over venues for three nights in a row playing all the Creation albums cover to cover with some b-sides and rarities thrown in for good measure is a brilliant prospect. With over 70 songs being rehearsed with two former drummers though, seemingly quite a task. However, judging from the warm up show in Livingston on Thursday night, the band are in wonderful shape and seeing them all together at once is joyous, a feeling which will only swell come the first of three nights at the Glasgow Barrowlands on Sunday.

The Howden Park Centre was a perfect venue for this. Intimate 300 seated theatre in West Lothian. Thankfully, I was one of the very first people to phone the box office the morning they went on sale, just a week before, and bagged a ticket at the very middle of the front row. Nobody was really sure what to expect in terms of a set list, and seeing the evening was split into two with a short interval in between, it only added to the speculation. 

Seeing George Borowski pre-show tuning things up and adjusting things never fails to make me smile. They soon emerge and clatter their way into Thirteen’s “Hang On” and songs from side A of that record were plentiful. Poor Brendan on drums was jokingly ready to expire after an explosive, quick fire “Radio” with Dave and Frances present on stage adding keys and lap-steels to really enhance the on stage sound. 

The elephant in the room is of course Gerry’s departure from the band following these UK Creation dates, and his vocal harmonising with Norman is so glorious and uplifting that it brings his now limited time with the band back into sharp focus. Nevertheless, he takes centre stage with a green telecaster, “Painted by us ourselves” Norman kids, and eases his way into Bandwagonesque’s “December.” Act one is a healthy mixture of Bandwagonesque and Thirteen and I was really happy to see “I Don’t Know” thrown in there, too. Norman was interjecting about his favourite TV shows again, reminiscent of the Shepherd’s Bush gig last year. 

Brendan’s drumming is fast, sharp and showboating, here we see a man who was clearly a stand-up comic in another life with his on stage patter, regularly leaving Norman and Gerry laughing during songs. They conclude with a rousing “The Concept”, with a select few along from me in the front row trying to encourage the crowd to stand, which admittedly I would have loved, but with great power comes great responsibility, and having already gained a notorious reputation on the Fanclub circuit for an Edinburgh stage invasion two years back, I didn’t want to be “that young dick down the front”, so stayed firmly in my seat.

After a quick interval of toilet trips and restocking the cans of Guinness, back down the front for Act Two. This presented a bit of a broader mix of Grand Prix, Songs From Northern Britain and Howdy! 

Paul Quinn takes the place of Brendan on drums and the sound in this small theatre is genuinely fantastic, and the way the band all gel with so many on stage at once is brilliant to watch, even from a non-musicians perspective like mine. Particular highlights are “I Need Direction” which sounded unbelievable, and “Accidental Life.” This all proving to be a tantalising taste of what’s to come on the upcoming tour so I shall not divulge and dissect anything too greatly. 

Norman is the jack of all trades with some mighty fine whistling during “Mellow Doubt” and the evening closes with a triumphant “Don’t Look Back” asserting how brilliant a singer Gerry really is. All in all, this is exactly everything you want from a wee, intimate warm up show; plenty of banter, an adoring little crowd and a nice healthy spread of album tracks. All roads lead to the Barrowlands in just over 48 hours time as I type this sentence, hence why I’ll keep this one short and sweet, where all these brilliant records will get the cover to cover live plays that they so thoroughly deserve. It’ll be a brilliant and quite emotional few days for sure, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from my favourite band in the whole world.

See you in McChuills on Monday beforehand, Fanclub.

Mark Hannah.

Songs From Northern Britain

Last year I came to the conclusion that Songs From Northern Britain (SFNB) is the best Teenage Fanclub album. I dug back into the treasure trove of the bands back catalogue after seeing the band 4-times over a 3-month period when they were promoting their fantastic new album Here.

Songs from SFNB featured heavily in the setlists to the delight of the Teenage Fanclub Fanclub.

My favourite TFC album is still probably Bandwagonesque, given that I discovered it (and the band) at the age of 15 - it was perfect timing.

I was 21 when SFNB was released, 20-years ago. 1997 was a seminal year for music with many bands and artists pushing boundaries and highlighting their musical and songwriting development - Spiritualized with Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating In Space, Primal Scream with Vanishing Point, The Chemical Brothers with Dig Your Own Soul, the Super Furries with Radiator, The Verve with Urban Hymns ..... the list goes on. Google best albums of 1997 and you'll be met by a lengthy list of online features to mark the 20th anniversary of some incredible releases. (can any match SFNB track for track?)

The title of the album was a marked response to Britpop and 1997 was the year that music moved on. It is notable that Oasis released Be Here Now - a backward step - while everyone else was moving forwards, including their arch rivals Blur with their eponymous album released in February of 1997.

Teenage Fanclub never followed or jumped on trends, even if Creation/Song attempted to get them involved with Britpop and multi formatted singles for the release of Grand Prix. It was notable that the bands next release was the Teenage Fanclub Have Lost It EP.

The album begins with the aptly named Start Again written by Norman Blake. Warm guitars usher us back into the Fanclub's world and what a wonderful world it is - hooks, harmonies, glorious guitars and the sound of a band gelling with ease.

Gerry Love's first offering is Ain't That Enough with its sky scraping chorus that has caused me to punch the air with delight and pogo like a teenager every time I have been at one of their live shows.

Here is a sun rise ain't that enough?

True as a clear sky, ain't that enough?

Can't Feel My Soul may well be my favourite Raymond song. It flows superbly, like all of his best work, and it also contains ferocious guitar to lift the chorus. The guitar solo is electrifying.

Back to Norman for the wonderful I Don't Want Control Of You. The Fanclub melodies and harmonies are set for stun - this is simply beautiful, written for Norman's young daughter.

This song took on a whole new meaning for me when I caught Norman playing a solo set in Blackfriars basement many years ago and he explained who it was about. Then it went to a new level when I became a father myself. It brings a tear to the eye every time I hear it now, particularly when the key change lifts it even higher.

I don't want control of you

It doesn't matter to me

The very heart and soul of you

Are places I wanna see

And every day I look at a different face

The feelings getting stronger with every embrace

Planets is a Blake and Francis MacDonald co-write and the opening lyrics fit perfectly with the album title and probably with how the band were feeling at the time. The strings are exquisite.

We're going over the country and into the highlands to look for a home

We're leaving nothing behind us and no-one will find us when we're on our own

McGinley's It's A Bad World is classic Raymond, picked guitar, soothing lyrics and voice and a natural flow around the circular riff.

Enter Gerry Love with the glorious Take The Long Way Round, this guy knows how to bring a smile to my face with genius guitar pop with a sense of euphoria.

Sunshine every beat when I'm around you

Feels like maybe I've been here before

The guitars kicking in after the first chorus are brilliant - chiming and lifting the song and listener. Love is at his best.

Pull the subway to the station

For that golden light sensation

The break down is unexpected and clever, before building to an epic and euphoric conclusion.

On Winter, Blake writes again about getting away from it all to a place where he and his love are cut off from everything. It is a theme that Blake and Love both return to regularly in their writing; romantic dreamers wanting to head out of the city to the sunshine and peace and quiet.

Sky is forever clear

Road never made it here

Forest so deep and green

Like nothing we've ever seen

McGinley's guitar playing is outstanding throughout SFNB, especially on the aforementioned Can't Feel My Soul and his next offering I Don't Care. He coaxes brilliant sounds and riffs and the harmonies on the choruses are the Fanclub at their best. Listen to Blake on the headphones, helping to lift the song - stunning.

Mount Everest has a beautiful extended guitar intro before Love sings in that glorious almost hushed voice of his.

Although Can't Feel My Soul may be my favourite Raymond song, Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From is arguably his finest moment. Acoustic, considered, loving, simple, soulful....

One of McGinley's many strengths is in his almost unique songwriting - it's so (seemingly) simple and at the same time so meaningful and soulful.

My sadness don't lie

My feelings can't hide

I just can't deny

What I feel inside

Again, McGinley finds his knack for creating something that flows superbly, hitting the sweet spot with the chorus and keeping it going. This song is a favourite of many of Teenage Fanclub's Fanclub when played live with Norman on the glockenspiel.

Gerry Love closes under 44-minutes of guitar pop genius with Speed Of Light. It is heartfelt, romantic and has a melancholic euphoria that Love seems to hit time and time again with his songwriting.

Need a changing face

When the wind's around you blowing

Don't forget to let your feelings go

Waste in space

If you're looking for persuasion

Everything you need can grow

So there you go; Teenage Fanclub at their very best in under 44-minutes. It leaves you wanting more, you want to play it again....and again - the sign of a good album.

As a Teenage Fanclub fan I am fortunate that the band have so many good albums to play again....and again. From the wonderful sound of a band finding themselves and having fun on A Catholic Education right through to the most recent Here - Teenage Fanclub deliver - love, dreams, romance, the sunshine, the city, the country, guitars, harmonies, choruses, warmth, melancholy, beauty

You'll find all of that and more in Songs From Northern Britain and anything else the Fanclub have written, recorded and produced. It's what they do.