Cherry Beat - Recording Sessions (Part Eight - The Band's Seventh Album)

December 1976
The band's 1976 album "Neapolitan" had reached #1 in the United Kingdom, as of November 1976. Despite the slightly less successful "Heavy Rock" album, which had been released in September 1975 last year and only reaching #3 in the United Kingdom. The band proved that they still had a golden touch.

December 1976, the start of the recording sessions for the band's eighth album would see several changes. One difference was that the band had recently relocated to the newly finished Moonlight Bay Studios to record their next songs, instead of Dohrn Studios. Another difference was that the band's music would no longer be issued under the Sky Dive Records. It would now be released under the band's new Moonlight Bay Records label.

The third and final difference was that Chudley Maron who had produced five of the band's first six studio albums, would no longer be making a solo stand as an album producer. Sam Whitby had been growing tired of Chudley's production work, so he brought in long time session percussionist Riley Ganz to serve as a producer for some tracks.

Peter McDonald in particular was not satisfied with Sam's decision to bring in Riley as a producer, not because he felt that Riley's "Wall of Sound" production style didn't fit in with Cherry Beat's image - he didn't have a problem with that. It was more that Riley seemed to have his own ideas of how songs should be produced, as opposed to Chudley who had the band's best interests at heart.

29th December 1976
This was the band's first official recording session for their seventh album. Chudley Maron would serve as the producer for this day's session, but from this session on, Riley Ganz would hang around in-case he was needed. While Riley may have had contributed some ideas as to how the band's new composition "Vibraphone Tombs" should sound, Chudley Maron was the one that actively produced this composition.

30th December 1976
Peter McDonald double tracks his lead vocal for "Vibraphone Tombs". He also records a harmony vocal overdub. The lead guitar, bass guitar, drum kit, rhythm guitar, electric piano, and vibraphone are also double tracked.

The volume level of the other instruments were reduced slightly, allowing listeners to focus primarily on the double tracked vocals, guitars, drums, piano, and vibraphone.

It took a lot of effort to get the mixture of the elements on "Vibraphone Tombs", but Chudley Maron managed to get it right.

31st December 1976
Peter McDonald records backing vocal and cello overdubs for "Vibraphone Tombs". Sam Whitby records a second vibraphone which was also double tracked. Torquil Dohrn records a moog synthesizer overdub, and Chudley Maron records a second celesta.

1st January 1977
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, and Devon O'Connell respectively record cello, electric piano, alto saxophone and percussion overdubs for "Salt 'n' Pepper Suite". Unlike the tracks that had been selected for release, during the recording sessions for the band's 1976 album "Neapolitan", all the songs that were worked on and released during the sessions for the band's seventh album, except for "Salt 'n' Pepper Suite", were brand new.

"Salt 'n' Pepper Suite" had been started in early 1972, but it wasn't completed, or considered for "Show Business" because it's music hall style didn't really fit in with most of the other songs recorded at that time which were mostly rock and roll numbers. Session musicians German Sprinkle, Lacy Gram, and Noel Kontos recorded alto saxophone overdubs, alongside Torquil.

Jared Underhill, Darin Askins, Jackie Barb, and Erich Phong recorded the trumpet overdubs for "Salt 'n' Pepper Suite". And Bob Brannon, Horace Voris, Tomas Newkirk, and Dominick Stowell recorded the oboe overdubs. "Salt 'n' Pepper Suite" was now completed, and ready for release in 1977.