Ticonderoga

Ticonderoga revisits the early work of Waxworks. The idea is to rerecord or update any previously-recorded material or produce for the first time things which have never seen the light of day. Only two have been completed to date.

One, written solely by Tone H, called This Town [2019] is full of weird little jazz chords. It’s not far off being mixed, but is screaming out for a female vocal.

The second is While The City Sleeps. There are two versions here. One is a piano-flavoured demo from the 90s and the latter is a soporific sleepy winter version.
There must be about at least half a dozen versions of this kicking about. Some tunes take ages to be nailed!

[1997]
This next one is mainly a synth-backed demo.

Another of Tone H’s creations has finally seen the light of day. Written in 1984 it’s been committed to tape at last. When this was brought to the rehearsals I thought he’d gone all hippy.
“Got a new tune. It’s ace. It’s called The Magician.”

Soon it became apparent that he was referring to the ‘magic’ of the Minutemen, startlingly awful weapons of warfare.

Sharp cookie was Tone.

The tune still has his musical in-joke, where the vocal has a part in both verses which don’t belong in the song. I told him he’d never get away with it. But here it is, the Mario Lanza stanza interject. With its new heavy rock backing it feels very strange. Though complete, this version still feels like a demo. It needs to be delivered at a faster tempo.

Sierra

Jazz-flavoured chords with a Spanish twist. A tad pretentious even for the early 80s.

Carnival (Farewell To Meat))

Another demo which needed fleshing out to honour Tone’s creative genius.

Abducted By Aliens

Those who think they have ought to be.

Cauldron

Was I entering Springsteen territory before The Boss got there? No idea.

Pink Gloves

Wartime carnage from WW1 with visions of poppies and corpses littering meadows. People celebrate this?

The Crypt [1985]

The original 8-track demo still holds up, thanks in part to the exceptional drumming of Paul Hackling, who gave of his time and expertise freely. Thank you, my friend.

Someone Like You

A pop song for a friend with a lazy catchy lead break. Must have been listening to ‘Steve McQueen.’

This Town [2019]

While setting up the mix, I realised that there was potential for an instrumental version with fewer parts. Adopting the “less is more” principle, the mix below shows the value of not being precious about anything.

This Town has been mixed, complete with harmony vocals, and, although it’s a pleasant rendition, faithful to Tone H’s original design, I still feel it deserves a female vocal. Any takers?

Holiday Hymn

A jaunty tune which deserved to be remade. It even has a singalong chorus!