This songs goes all the way back to 1996 when I was in an indie band called Redset. This was the height of Oasis' fame and we were (mostly) a covers group with a very talented lead singer; Matthew. He could play every part (guitar, bass, drums) and wrote some great original tunes. It's very healthy being around great musicians, it gave me an outlet and inspired me to write something for the group.

Lost Again was the first tune I came up with and it's a clear attempt to write 'a hit single' in the same vein as Oasis. I wanted to prove to myself that I could write something equally straight forward that connected with people. Oh look it's in the same key as Acquiese, which I noticed happened to suit Matthew's voice which is more rawcous than mine. :-D

For the record it was never played by Redset because the focus swiftly changed to another new tune: Nothing Left To Give. Oh that tune has a real life of it's own and will be a highlight of album #2... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

So what is Lost Again about? In a nutshell; being single! It was written post my first whirlwind girlfriend ("it was too fast") but during a long period of being single and low, yes it was a bad period but also my most productive... funny how that works! There's a clear desert = single analogy, but true to me there's a few cheeky mucky references. Years later I jammed this with my mate Neil (who played lead on But I Really Want To), when he actually studied the lyrics he fell over laughing at the line: "a love is a river in the deserts of sand, it's more than just something you can hold in your hand". Busted! Yes that line is about - ahem - self love. ;-)

Over the years I plugged away at this single constantly on my 4x track tape recorder and roland drum machine, it was an early experiment at lead guitar (guess who had just learnt the blues scale...). There is a CD on my shelf from the late 90's, featuring Lost Again, The Heart of the Andes and Lost in a Changing World (which is due to for an update). The whole thing had a cover art of a globe inside a light bulb, well it looks profound!

When I moved to the PC I had become tired of the tune and it was almost consigned to the dustbin... until one holiday I happened to hit upon a nice finger pick, only a small addition but it rekindled my enthusiasm.

So what ended up on the record? Dan and myself worked on the drums based loosely on the programming I did with the old roland drum machine. Watch out for the extra fills after the last chorus, they were Dan's idea and he particularly likes the long flashy one, the extra woofy kick drum was my idea.... because I wanted to. :-)

It took some practise but I eventually re-created my old guitar solo... which I often proclaim as "[me] getting my lead guitar chops!" However for the bass part, I sacked myself! There was a take featuring me but on close inspection Dan spotted a few mistakes and offered his services.

That recording session was a barrel of laughs, Dan is a class bass player but I made him dumb it right down to basics, because this is a simple straight forward rock song. Keep It Simple Dan! Lordy did I have him on a tight leash, constantly teasing him pointing out that his licks were 'too good' and instructing him to 'do it again simpler'!

I approached the vocals with some trepidation... no Matthew! My voice is totally different and much softer, it's a bit like asking Dido to sing an Oasis song like Liam Gallagher. At heart though... I prefer Freddie Mercury's power vocals so my voice naturally imitated that style. Each verse was split into individual lines for a double tracking effect... this had nothing to do with me running out of breath(!!!) </tongue planted firmly in cheek>

Finally the icing on the cake was a little 21st magic to make my voice sound more throaty, I always chuckle when I listen to how different I sound to everything else on the album.

The cherry ontop? Chris and Dan wrote and provided the backing harmonies on the chorus which I love. Chris' voice is sooo strong and cutting right through the mix, it's ideal for this number! Dan of course is the master at blending harmonies in and has some great moments.

All in all I like this song, whilst the musicians like Dan, Chris and Jim all find it a little bland (which it is!) there is no denying that it's catchy and is exactly what I set out to write; a single. Hopefully a hit one. :-D

I'll leave the final comment on this tune to Matthew... on hearing the near finished demo: "[Lost Again] has some balls doesn't it?".