Cherry Beat - Recording Sessions (Part Ten - The Band's Ninth Album)

Mid - Late December 1978
Unlike it's predecessor "A Girl's Mind", the band's eighth album "Rocky Road" did not manage to top the charts in October 1978. Instead it reached #5. All four of the band members were not surprised that their eighth album failed to top the charts, and they were not pleased with the finished product.

Peter McDonald said that "Rocky Road" was not a very pleasant album to record, and it was the first album not to have been recorded under the same united process as it's predecessors.

"Our relationships had grown more and more tense" Sam Whitby had explained "We weren't really getting on so much at that point, which explains why we recorded several tracks as solo artists backed with session musicians, rather than playing together as a group".

"We all couldn't even achieve a consensus as to who should produce our albums" added Torquil Dohrn. "Peter wanted our music supervisor Chudley Maron to stay in place, but Sam wanted Riley Ganz to be their producer".

"Each of our contributions were ultimately recorded under our own individual directions" said Peter "I would produce or co-produce the tracks that were solely or predominantly composed by myself, Sam would produce or co-produce the tracks that were his, and so on".

4th January 1979
This was the first official recording session for the band's ninth album. Peter McDonald and Sam Whitby recorded two covers of rock and roll songs on this day. But like all Cherry Beat covers that were recorded after the release of the band's second album, neither of these covers were immediately released.

9th January 1979
Overdubs were recorded for "Goo Goo Goo Joob" on this day, even though the band did not intend to release the song on their next album. Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Devon O'Connell respectively recorded mellotron, hohner pianet electric piano, and tambourine overdubs. Devon also recorded a backing vocal overdub for the song.

11th January 1979
Chudley Maron, Riley Ganz, Elodia McDonald, and Amber Whitby record backing vocals overdubs for "Goo Goo Goo Joob" on this day. They were joined by session musicians Alphonse Labounty and Kendrick Vantassel who recorded clarinet overdubs, Delmer Matousek, Johnathan Martz, and Teodoro Orterga who recorded trombone overdubs, Tracey Lessman, Ned Morphis, and Dallas Guertin who recorded cello overdubs, Ron Hayhurst who recorded flute overdubs, Lacy Gram, Rafael Branum, and Raphael Carnegie who recorded alto saxophone overdubs.

Darin Askins, Erich Phong, and Wilburn Charboneau who recorded trumpet overdubs, Grady Ashman, and Neal Nobriga who recorded viola overdubs, Marcellus Folger, Leticia Angert, Tamar Crafts, Eleonore Hinojos, and Katy Taranto who recorded violin overdubs, and Bob Brannon, Horace Voris, Tomas Newkirk, and Dominick Stowell who recorded oboe overdubs. This session resulted in "Goo Goo Goo Joob" having one of the highest numbers of participants of a Cherry Beat recording.

16th January 1979
Peter McDonald recorded a new composition which he'd recently written on this day. It was the first new recording in 1979 that would make the band's ninth album. Peter's vocal on "I've Heard Enough" was raspy and boyish, which was inspired by the Paul McCartney and Wings song "I've Had Enough".

Sadly, this also marked the turning point where the band would begin recording separately, after they had started to record music together again. The period where they began to record together again, was proven to have been short lived.

Peter McDonald completed the track using seven master takes. The first and second master take were recorded on this day. The first contained Peter's lead vocal and bass guitar, and the second contained his backing vocal, and drumming.

19th January 1979
Peter McDonald records the third and fourth master take overdubs for his composition "I've Heard Enough". The third contained his harmony vocal and rhythm guitar, and the fourth contained his lead guitar.

21st January 1979
Peter McDonald records the fifth, sixth, and seventh master take overdubs for his composition "I've Heard Enough". The fifth, sixth, and seventh respectively contained the keyboard, tambourine, and handclaps.

27th January 1979
Sam Whitby recorded a new composition which he'd recently written on this day. It was the second new recording in 1979 that would make the band's ninth album. It would also become the title track for the album.

Sam Whitby completed the track using seven master takes. The first and second master take were recorded on this day. The first contained Sam's lead vocal and rhythm guitar, and the second contained his backing vocal, and grand piano.

29th January 1979
Sam Whitby records the third, fourth, and fifth master take overdubs for his composition "Drink Up". The third contained his harmony vocal and electric guitar, the fourth contained his lowrey organ, and the fifth contained the bass guitar.

31st January 1979
Sam Whitby records the sixth and seventh master take overdubs for his composition "Drink Up". The sixth contained the drum kit, and the seventh contained the percussion.

3rd February 1979
Sam Whitby records overdubs for "Treasure Hunt" on this day. The overdubs included foot tapping, and the crinkling and unfolding of old paper.

5th February 1979
Peter McDonald records vocal percussion overdubs for "'Getting High" on this day.

7th February 1979
Peter McDonald records overdubs for "Liquor Lords" on this day. The overdubs included pulling a cork out from a glass bottle, and the drinking from a glass.

10th February 1979
Peter McDonald records tape loops for "At the Station" on this day.

13th February 1979
Sam Whitby records overdubs for "Drink Up" on this day. The overdubs included pouring liquid from a glass bottle into a glass, and drinking from the glass.

14th April 1979
The band recorded a new composition on this day. "Pete Post" which was written by Torquil Dohrn.

Despite the song's title, Torquil did not draw the name "Pete" from the name of his fellow bandmate Peter McDonald.

15th April 1979
Torquil Dohrn and Devon O'Connell respectively record tambourine and cowbell overdubs for "Pete Post" on this day. Torquil's lead vocal is also double tracked.

Later on that day, Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, and Devon O'Connell recorded handclap overdubs for the song.

16th April 1979
Torquil Dohrn records a lowrey organ overdub for "Pete Post" on this day. He then recorded an acoustic guitar overdub, and lastly the sound of an envelope being opened.

26th April 1979
The band recorded a new composition on this day. "Pot of Gold" which was written by Torquil Dohrn. Although Torquil later claimed that it had been Peter McDonald who found the inspiration for the song.

27th April 1979
Peter McDonald and Torquil Dohrn respectively record fuzz bass guitar and electric piano overdubs for "Pot of Gold" on this day. Later on, Torquil recorded the sound of coins and added them to fit the nature of the song.

4th May 1979
The band recorded a new composition on this day. "A Dream of a Dream" which was written by Torquil Dohrn.

5th May 1979
Torquil Dohrn and Devon O'Connell respectively recorded acoustic guitar and percussion overdubs for "A Dream of a Dream" on this day. At the same time, Peter McDonald and Sam Whitby recorded electric and grand piano overdubs respectively.

6th May 1979
Peter McDonald and Torquil Dohrn record trumpet overdubs for "A Dream of a Dream" on this day.

7th May 1979
Torquil Dohrn and session musicians Luciano Ransome, Corliss Sancho, and Layla Haycock record french horn overdubs for "A Dream of a Dream" on this day. Torquil had to employ session musicians to play french horns, since none of the other Cherry Beat band members knew how to play the french horn.

8th May 1979
Torquil Dohrn and session musician Wilburn Charboneau record trombone overdubs for "A Dream of a Dream" on this day. Later on that day, Torquil recorded a Moog synthesizer overdub to give the song a more dreamy sound.

16th May 1979
The band recorded a new composition on this day. "Light as a Feather" which was written by Torquil Dohrn.

17th May 1979
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Torquil Dohrn respectively record ukulele, electric piano, and acoustic guitar overdubs for "Light as a Feather" on this day.

18th May 1979
Torquil Dohrn records a Moog synthesizer overdub for "Light as a Feather" on this day.

28th May 1979
The band recorded a new composition on this day. "Backstabber" which was written by Devon O'Connell.

29th May 1979
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, and Devon O'Connell record percussion overdubs for "Backstabber" on this day.

30th May 1979
Peter McDonald records cello overdubs for "Backstabber" on this day, while Sam Whitby and Torquil Dohrn record acoustic guitar overdubs.

31st May 1979
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Torquil Dohrn respectively record harmonium, electric piano, and Moog synthesizer overdubs for "Backstabber" on this day.

4th June 1979
Business was a little bit slow, so the band decided to record a rock cover of The Who's song "My Generation" on this day. Like all Cherry Beat covers that were recorded after the release of the band's second album, this one was not immediately released.

7th June 1979
The band was still waiting for the release date for their next single to arrive, so they continued to record a few covers of songs they particularly liked, just for a bit of fun and for some musical exercise.

On this day the band recorded a cover of Boston's song "More than a Feeling". Like all Cherry Beat covers that were recorded after the release of the band's second album, this one was not immediately released.

10th June 1979
The band recorded a cover of the Toto hard rock song "Hold the Line" on this day. Like all Cherry Beat covers that were recorded after the release of the band's second album, this one was not immediately released.

15th June 1979
The band recorded a cover of the Sweet rock song "The Ballroom Blitz" on this day. Like all Cherry Beat covers that were recorded after the release of the band's second album, this one was not immediately released.

17th June 1979
Single Release — At the Station / Treasure Hunt

20th June 1979
The band recorded a cover of the Derek and the Dominos hard rock song "Layla" on this day. Like all Cherry Beat covers that were recorded after the release of the band's second album, this one was not immediately released.

21st June 1979
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, and Devon O'Connell respectively record acoustic guitar, lead guitar, slide guitar, and percussion overdubs for "Layla" on this day.

22nd June 1979
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Torquil Dohrn respectively record grand piano, Hammond organ, and electric piano overdubs for "Layla" on this day.

25th June 1979
Interestingly, despite having already recorded two professional takes of "Tropical Beach Hearts" and "Pineapple Heart", way back in 1972, the band decided to re-record new takes of those two songs, and edit the new takes and the old ones together, to create the best possible final takes.

Another reason for the band's decision to re-record the two tracks was because they were considering releasing them on the band's next album in 1980, and they felt that the 1972 recordings in their current forms wouldn't mix well with the newer compositions, since the band members were older, more experienced, and more mature than they were back in 1972.

On this day the band recorded a new version of "Pineapple Heart" which had been written primarily by Torquil Dohrn, with input from Sam Whitby. It was the first composition Torquil had written, but it wasn't released on the band's second album, or on any of the albums following that.

This new recording featured Torquil Dohrn on lead vocals and lead guitar, Peter McDonald on backing vocals, and bass guitar, Devon O'Connell on backing vocal and drum kit, Sam Whitby on backing vocal and rhythm guitar, and Chudley Maron on electric piano. Additional overdubs would be recorded later on if necessary.

26th June 1979
Torquil Dohrn re-records tape loops for "Pineapple Heart" on this day. Devon O'Connell and Chudley Maron record new tambourine overdubs. Session musician Wiley Stancill recorded new baritone saxophone overdubs, Ricky Stanbery and Ernesto Selby recorded new tenor saxophone overdubs, and Lacy Gram, Rafael Branum, and Raphael Carnegie recorded new alto saxophone overdubs.

Later on that day, the band recorded a new version of "Tropical Beach Hearts" which had been written primarily by Peter McDonald, with input from Sam Whitby. It had not been released on the band's second album, or on any of the albums following that.

This new recording featured Torquil Dohrn on harmony vocals and classical guitar, Peter McDonald on lead vocals, and bass guitar, Devon O'Connell on drums, Sam Whitby on harmony vocal and acoustic rhythm guitar, and Chudley Maron on grand piano.

27th June 1979
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, and Devon O'Connell recorded new handclaps for "Tropical Beach Hearts" on this day.

Later on Peter McDonald and Chudley Maron recorded new maraca overdubs for the song, while Sam Whitby recorded new grand piano overdubs.

28th June 1979
Peter McDonald records new tape loops for "Tropical Beach Hearts" on this day. The new recording of the song was finished.

29th June 1979
The new 1979 recordings of "Tropical Beach Hearts" and "Pineapple Heart" were edited into the old 1972 recordings, to create the best versions of both.

30th June 1979
The band recorded two new compositions on this day. "Arrogance" which was written by Sam Whitby, and "Apocalypse" which was written by Peter McDonald.

7th July 1979
Album release — Drink Up

11th July 1979
Despite the fact that the band's ninth album had already been officially released, Peter McDonald and Sam Whitby would still continue to work on their two newest recordings, since they were actually recorded for the band's tenth album.

Peter McDonald recorded keyboard overdubs for his composition "Apocalypse" on this day, followed by some percussion overdubs.

Later on that afternoon, Sam Whitby repeated the same process, adding keyboard and percussion overdubs to his composition "Arrogance".