C O A B Discography

Fifth LP: Child's Play    Release Date: 26th February 2007

Singles:

Track List:

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Songwriter: 1-12 Chris Sakes

Background to LP

Christ On A Bike's most successful and commercial LP so far, "A Geminus Vita", left quite a challenge for the band to improve on. Instead, they turned to all the other work they were completing around the time of this LP and started to dig away at the instrumentals and left-field tracks that just didn't fit the last LP.

Chris had already decided on two new LPs, one a collection of these types of songs and another, a set of soulful, jazzy numbers coupled with some commercial viable r n b and house songs. However, inspiration came from a young man called Jack Gearing, aged 5 and a half! Jack's Mum had shown Chris the photos of Jack fooling around in a playground in his inimitable style, both cheeky and innocent at the same time. The photographs were terrific and coupled with the fact that Jack was a big COAB fan (he was only allowed to refer to them as "The Bikemen"!) this was an inspired piece of luck.

Chris then set about working on new songs reflecting both innocence and as he went along some of the darker elements of man. By mid-December 06, five new songs were completed and furthermore, there was now two new instrumental LPs not just one with more than 25 songs to choose from. The first LP was therefore chosen to be "Child's Play" whilst the second would reflect the more primal side of human nature in "Adult Games". So here's "Child's Play" a collection of songs about innocence and wonderment!

Starting with the rollercoaster ride of a train journey from Glasgow to Edinburgh in the deep snow of a cold January morning in All Aboard The Caledonian Express. Then the twittering sound of birds chattering on a bright summers' day in Birdsong onto the title track, Child's Play, a storming run through an inner city playground with kids screaming and shouting and having fun to the sound of tingling guitars and bubbling synths. Then Holy Children, a song that was destined to be on another Xmas EP in 2006 but instead it was decided it was a better calming influence on this LP after having all those kids running around! Think, heavenly choirs of boys and girls singing away in church on a Sunday morning.

Jumbo's Big Day marches in, all trumpeting elephants like some child-like hangover from Disney's Fantasia only a lot more like those plastic elephants on a child's pram or cot that they can twirl and twist to amuse themselves with. Then Radio DaDa takes up that premise, running around the sound of the story teller, there to please the wonder of a child's imagination.

Not to be out done, running comes back to the fore with Running For The Good Life, a catchy track that seeks to harness the power from thousands of fun-runners and linking it back to the early days of a child's progression from junior to primary and onto senior schooling, looking for that route to fame and fortune or maybe ending up with nothing more than a race completion medal and more grime and mediocrity? She's Sweet and Sleepy Time are sister songs about innocent little girls and boys in play and also asleep until they grow up in time to that final ending where they are rudely awaken to get up for school/work!

The Lonely Kite '07 has been around since 2005 and was on the Xmas EP of that year. This is an updated and altogether remixed blast that still retains that image of a country hillside and a child at play with his first kite in the wind. The Rocky Road To Paradise is a more cynical piece but maybe it is a little more truthful in blending strings and the odd bit of brass with some weird FX and a synth refrain. Finally, Wonderful Nourishment is about all that healthy food stuff parents are bombarded with in adverts calling them to purchase a better life for their kids according to the latest scientific reports from boffins somewhere or other!

The cover! Well what else could it be?! It has be young Jack Gearing and his cheeky grin! Best wishes, Jack ,from The Bikemen!!!!

To read more about the singles from this and other LPs go to the Singles sections.