Danny and Chris
 

Having just listened to 'Mission Bell' for the first time in a while, I was struck by how good Danny and Chris sounded singing the harmony parts together at the beginning of that song. Unless of course, I'm wrong - and I'm always willing to be corrected :p

Shame that they didn't develop that angle more while they were together in the band :confused: Does anybody have an opinion on it?

I think you're right that it's Chris and Danny doing the harmonies together on that song, and yeah, it's pretty nice. As far why they never developed that more later on, it may simply not have occurred to them. Off the top of my head, I don't think either of them really used much harmony in their songs on Future Games and Bare Trees, unless it was Danny doubling up his vocals or layering on some echo or other effects.

Yeah, I guess vocal harmonies were more a feature much later. But I think of songs like Woman of 1000 Years, which has Danny harmonising with himself - it would have been interesting to have Chris on there too.

But maybe Danny was by then a bit authoritarian on his own songs - he did seem to do everything himself.

That is definitely Danny & Chris on "Mission Bell". I've always thought their voices sounded real good together, the few times that happened. They didn't have any personal chemistry together. I wonder if that may have had something to do with why Danny harmonized with himself so much. I don't think Chris is on any of his songs(vocally) on either Future Games or Bare Trees. I've also wondered about "When You Say" on Then Play On. Chris has said that she is on backing vocals on that song, but it still sounds to me as if it's just Danny harmonizing with himself.

I agree with you, I've just played it and I can't hear Chris on there at all, just Danny doubled up until the end where his la las are layered. Did she mean that they both sang on her version of the song perhaps? I've often wondered whose idea it was for her to record that song.

I agree about the personal chemistry, and I get the impression that Danny shared personal chemistry with very few people. In the case of him and Chris, I imagine they had very little in common, and there was quite an age difference too - 7 years.

The live recordings I have of Danny and Chris aren't all that remarkable. I think Christine was still trying to find her own voice in those days, while Danny knew exactly what he wanted.

She said in a 1992 Goldmine interview that she loved Then Played On, but that she was only on backing vocals on "When You Say". I believe the only vocals(lead & backing) on the Christine Perfect album are Christine's. Danny played guitar on "When You Say" & arranged the song for her, but I believe that's it. Also, Christine's memory tends to be a bit faulty from time to time, so she may have forgotten what went on in the studio during the recording of Then Play On. You might want to check out that Goldmine interview in the Blue Letter Archives. She does talk a bit about Danny.

Yes, I'm sure that's true. She's said some pretty negative things about Danny on a personal basis over the years. But she's always spoken very respectfully about his talent. She seemed to get on very well with Bob Welch though. They seemed to collaborate alot more than she and Danny did.

I swear she is doing the harmony with him on Sands of Time...at the very beginning and end of the song...not during the main chorus...but during the verses...Or am I nuts? :shrug:

Thanks! I'd never read that one before. She's not very complimentary about Danny is she? :laugh: I think we might have our answer right there as to why they never worked together much...

Actually the more I think about it, the more I feel she's being a bit harsh on Danny there. In the recent questions that John so kindly answered for us here on The Ledge, he said Danny was "a nice guy", and seemed to feel that his shortcomings were born of his shyness and the pressure of being in the band. That's always the feeling I got too. Do you think maybe Chris (and Bob Welch too) weren't prepared to accept that Danny's apparent creepiness or rudeness was a product of his terrible shyness?

We're not far from examining my pet theory (totally my own invention) that Danny's problems were exacerbated by the rest of the band (all of them including Peter and Jeremy) being unaware of his deterioration or uninterested in his personal welfare... not deliberately, I hasten to add, but through being young and inexpert in spotting the signs. He certainly didn't get the help he needed.

I always assumed it was Danny harmonising with himself again - but on listening again, I see what you mean. I don't think Chris is on there but there is a higher voice there too. The thing is Danny's voice could often be mistaken for a female voice, and I think that's what we've got there.

I think Chris(and maybe Bob too) didn't have the patience to deal with Danny. Danny just didn't have the personality to be in a rock band. I also am not sure if Danny fit it with the rest of them. Mick, John & Chris were very tight together. Then Bob joined & he seemed to get along with Mick & the McVies just fine. Danny somehow seemed separate from the rest of the band, in my opinion.

I think it's Danny harmonizing with himself, although I can see why someone would think it's Chris.:)

I hear some harmonies in the chorus of "Dust," though they are mixed down. I also hear similarly muted harmonies in "Woman of a Thousand Years" and "Sands of Time." Whether this is Danny duetting himself with a flasetto or Christine's higher alto I'm not sure.

I do know the higher backing voice on those songs sounds a lot like Chris's vocals on "Caught in the Rain."

There was a good deal of potential for the interplay of McVie-Kirwan-Welch's voices on those two albums. I assume the band didn's exploit this that much because the vocalists were, as someone already mentioned, not entirely sure of their capabilities.

I'm pretty sure, though, that Danny sings in the harmonies on "Spare Me A Little." I KNOW I hear him on the "Just A Little Bit" throughout the chorus, and maybe even on the "ooohs" during the third verse.

I think you're right about that. It seems true that Danny was not suited to being in a band environment. Perhaps there was a big change then when Jeremy left and Bob joined, because Bob got on so well with the others, and not Danny. The personalities were such that Danny became the odd one out - maybe he was the last of the oddball members after Peter and Jeremy had gone, and the rest of the 1971-72 band were that bit more normal and easy-going... sane :o

Maybe if someone had pulled him out or sacked him after Future Games, it would have done Danny a big favour, rather than to hold on until he fell apart. We wouldn't have got Bare Trees, but Danny might have been in better shape for the future.