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The Vocal Chords Web Sites
sites.google.com/site/vocalchordsmusic/
or at www.vocalchords.ca

Get The Vocal Chords music at
thevocalchords.bandcamp.com

The Cud Chewing Cows are featured on these recordings.

The Cud Chewing Cows Web Sites
sites.google.com/a/cudchewingcows.com/cud-chewing-cows-the-band/
or at www.cudchewingcows.com

Get The Cud Chewing Cows music at
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“Uncertain Smile”

Composer: Matt Johnson (aka The The)
Performers: The Vocal Chords (feat. The Cud Chewing Cows)

Soul Mining is the debut album by British post-punk/synthpop band The The. The 1981 album Burning Blue Soul was originally credited to the band's frontman Matt Johnson as a solo album, but later reissues now credit it to The The. Soul Mining was released in the UK on 21 October 1983 on Some Bizzare Records and included versions of the UK singles "Uncertain Smile" which reached no. 68 in December 1982, "Perfect" which made no. 79 in February 1983, and "This Is the Day" which reached no. 71 in September 1983. The album peaked at number 27 in the UK album chart. It has appeared on several lists as one of the best albums of the 1980s.

The singles "Uncertain Smile" (originally released in 1981 in a different form and titled "Cold Spell Ahead") and "Perfect" were recorded in 1982 in New York with Mike Thorne producing, after The The had been signed by Epic Records in the USA. However, the relationship between Johnson and Thorne quickly deteriorated as a result of Johnson's heavy drinking and drug use, and disagreements between the pair over the songs' production. The sessions were eventually abandoned and Johnson returned to London and began recording with Thorne's former engineer Paul Hardiman, reworking the two singles. The version of "Uncertain Smile" released as a single in 1982 had featured flutes and a saxophone solo from the Uptown Horns founder Crispin Cioe, but for the album the song was re-recorded, replacing the saxophone solo with a lengthy piano solo by Jools Holland. In his 2007 autobiography Barefaced Lies and Boogie-Woogie Boasts Holland recounted that when he first listened to the track he had expected to hear his contribution used as an instrumental break in the middle of the song, only to discover that Johnson had edited together two separate solos and used them as the song's outro instead. "Perfect" features harmonica playing by New York Dolls singer David Johansen, a friend of Thorne's. The song was remixed by Johnson and Hardiman, only keeping Johansen's contribution from the original single. The new version was added on to the end of the US version of Soul Mining, and later to the CD versions, a fact which irritated Johnson who felt it was an unnecessary addition to the album. The original New York-produced 7" single versions of both songs were included on The The's greatest hits album 45 RPM: The Singles of The The in 2002.

Apart from Holland and Johansen, the album features contributions from well-known musician friends of Johnson, including Orange Juice drummer Zeke Manyika, do-it-yourself synthesiser pioneer Thomas Leer, and experimental Australian musician Jim Thirlwell, credited on the album as one of his early aliases "Frank Want", and who would go on to achieve some degree of recognition recording under the name Foetus.

As with many of The The's early albums and singles, the original cover artwork is by Matt Johnson's brother Andrew, aka "Andy Dog". Different artwork was used for the UK and US album covers. The 2002 reissue replaced the original cover art with an early photograph of Matt Johnson.

Covers

We know of no other covers of this song.

“The Vocal Chords” are performing in this recording.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Mining


We are emulating some of the artists we love and closely re-creating their sound.

*The Cud Chewing Cows are featured on all of these recordings.


Our Music Videos are at:

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www.youtube.com/channel/UCg5gNwbuzljVwcCVmLMfYqA/playlists

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Twitter - twitter.com/vocalchordsband


The Vocal Chords Web Sites
sites.google.com/site/vocalchordsmusic/
or at www.vocalchords.ca

Get The Vocal Chords music at
thevocalchords.bandcamp.com

The Cud Chewing Cows Web Sites
sites.google.com/a/cudchewingcows.com/cud-chewing-cows-the-band/
or at www.cudchewingcows.com

Get The Cud Chewing Cows music at
cudchewingcows.bandcamp.com


tags

jazz, vocal cords, New Wave, rock, vocal chords, pop, vocal, cud chewing cows, America, The Seekers, The Beatles, The The, Matt Johnson, Jimmy Cliff, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Ketty Lester, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Grateful Dead, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Johnny Cash,

lyrics

"Uncertain Smile"

Peeling the skin back from my eyes, I felt surprised
that the time on the clock was the time I usually retired
to the place where I cleared my head of you;
but just for today, i think I'll lie here and dream of you.

I've got you under my skin where the rain can't get in,
but if the sweat pours out, just shout I'll try to SWIM AND pull you out.

A howling wind blows the litter as the rain flows,
As street lamps pour orange colored shapes through your window,
a broken soul stares from a pair of watering eyes,
uncertain emotions force an uncertain smile...

I've got you under my skin where the rain can't get in,
but if the sweat pours out, just shout I'll try to swim and pull you out.

credits

from Puppy Love, released March 3, 2022
The Vocal Chords (feat. The Cud Chewing Cows)

license

all rights reserved

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about

The Vocal Chords

We are emulating some of the artists we love from the 20th Century and closely re-creating their sound.

Influences

Buddy Holly, The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Peter and Gordon, The Shadows, The Drifters, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Peter Paul and Mary, Lambert Hendricks and Ross, Nina Simone, Louis, Ella, The Kingston Trio, The Mamas and the Papas, The Seekers and many others are inspiration for our sound
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