When a young person enjoys access to an older person’s memorabilia they enter a journey of high anticipation and expectation.  Did a grandparent display heroism in battle, or be wooed by some exotic prince?  Was the elder the undisclosed creator of some fabulous idea or invention?  For most, these fantasies of discovery remain unfulfilled, but when Stephen Lightbody of Two Faced Records was rummaging through the analog antiquities of a long defunct record label from the early 1970’s he made two discoveries that set him on a three year journey of investigation and realization.

One was a tape box entitled “Tales From The Sun” by aidan nolan, on another was scrawled, “aidan nolan – second album – unfinished!!”  Stephen (pictured left) first listened to Tales From The Sun and was impressed by both the song-writing and the production.  For a 1974 recording it had not aged into being either “typical” of the era nor a lesser example thereof, but was to Stephen, a collection of strong songs produced and arranged with flair and imagination well beyond the norm for the day.  More robust songwriting appeared on the “unfinished” tape with simple acoustic guitar tracks and vocals.

Stephen was immediately consumed with a desire to complete the second album and re-release Tales From The Sun in digital form.  There was one simple hurdle.  Who was, and where was, aidan nolan?  Was he still making music, was he still around, was he still alive?  Initial investigations soon led to a vinyl copy of Tales From The Sun hidden among the disposed-of detritus of someone’s record collection in a rural second-hand store.  From the sleeve credits a search was made for the producer / arranger John J Francis and the contributing musicians, as well as aidan himself.
(Read John J and aidan's notes on the creation of Tales From The Sun)

Two of the musicians were able to recall that aidan had been rumored to have become a teacher but had no contact details for him or John J Francis.  So the next step was to inquire with state departments of education but none had any record of one aidan nolan.  Frustration then set in for some time, everything appeared to be a dead end. A less determined man would have reluctantly given up. "I wasn't happy! I had so many ideas for those unfinished tracks and really could not do a thing until I found the guy. Then there was the fact that when I played other people the Tales From The Sun album, they all agreed it was still great music. Where was this bloke?" Stephen remarked.

Internet searches produced references to Tales From The Sun and the fact that it had become quite a collector’s item in both Europe and the US.  Further, when reviewed by music historians and aficionados, they wrote in high praise and reinforced Stephen’s own perceptions of the album, further fueling his desire to see it re-released.  There were occasional references to aidan and John J Francis but no way of communicating.  Finally, in desperation, contact was made with state teacher’s registries.  One of these had an address and telephone details for aidan.  However, they were legally unable to supply these.  After considerable charm application and a little begging, they agreed to contact aidan themselves and pass on to him a telephone number and a brief description of the need. Had it not been for the generosity of these folks this project would never have happened.

There was only one piece of contact information held by that teacher’s registry that remained valid but aidan received a message in his Australian voicemail. That evening he called from the US where aidan now resides.  When next in Australia aidan and Stephen met up and the decision was taken to re-release Tales From The Sun, and also produce another album of some of the “unfinished” songs plus others aidan had written through the intervening years.

About that first meeting, as aidan puts it, “Despite being really skeptical that this young bloke was truly interested in my old music I really liked the guy so when he played me his arrangement and production work I thought it would be great to hear the old stuff finally completed to that quality and the newer songs handled his way. Since then we’ve become good mates and he’s really done me proud!”

Now in a perfect world, that would have meant some short time would go by and the two releases would be available.  This world not being perfect there were more significant hurdles to overcome.  First there was the acquisition of the copyright to the recording of Tales From The Sun.  This involved considerable negotiation but finally the owner kindly agreed to sell.  Then there was the obtuse logistics of recording from one side of the world to the other using both US and Australian vocalists and musicians.  Email attachments and actual recordings getting lost, corrupted, needing re-recording etc proving that great truism, “Things take longer than they do!”

At last though, both albums are here with us.  Tales From The Sun is a work of ambitious and adventurous recording for the day that aidan attributes largely to John J Francis. “I recorded the vocals, acoustic guitar and a little electric guitar but I was committed to going to London on a certain date.  The last of these sessions was in the early hours of the day I left.  John J brought in the musicians, did the arrangements, mixed it and organized release in both Australia & Europe.  There was no opportunity for me to hear what he was up to with it.  He did write me a few ‘aerogrammes’ (the fastest cheap international communication medium at the time) while he was working on it, but the next thing I knew, I was listening to the finished product, with great pleasure.  I had it easy!”

No Straight Lines, as the title suggests considering the convoluted and circuitous path Stephen and aidan have trod to achieve it, contains four tracks with original 1975 vocal and guitar work layered with contemporary arrangement and recording. aidan said. “The 1975 tracks, we thought, were the best of around ten from the unfinished tape.  Incidentally, I never had a copy of that so when I heard it again thirty years later in 2005 it was like opening up a diary you wrote all that long ago.  There were songs I had completely forgotten writing, others I was sorry to admit I had written, but those four I’m really proud of.  The funniest thing for me was listening to me counting in tracks with a London accent I’d unknowingly developed in my years there.”

The other eight tracks were written between 1990 and 2007.  aidan explains, “Some of these songs I had the chance to play in bands I was in over the early ‘90’s after my ‘wilderness’ years from music.  However, most never saw light until Stephen came along.  There’s still at least another ten he and I are considering for the next project and I’m still writing, as well as writing with Stephen.  Hopefully we won’t take another three years!”  Indeed!  Enjoy!

(Read aidan's notes on the creation of No Straight Lines)