Toss The Feathers


Information:
  • Also known as: The Creaking Headboard
     
  • Toss The Feathers has traditionally been the very last song the Corrs play in the encore at their gigs.
Written By:
  • Toss The Feathers is a traditional instrumental.
     
  • In an interview for Music Maker Magazine, Caroline explains the decision to hire Simon Phillips to play drums on Toss the Feathers:
    Question: "On one song, "Toss the Feathers", Simon Phillips plays drums. Why is that?"
    Caroline: "That song needed a special rhythm section, that's why we invited Neil Stubenhaus on bass and Simon Phillips on drums. He brought in this gigantic drum-kit and I thought 'Wow! What in Gods-name are all those drums for?' It takes enormous discipline. He's brilliant. But I had one problem. I had to learn that part for the live-shows. That took quite some effort, but I can manage now. Yes, I also play that complicated break, although I do it my way."
     
  • On his website, Simon Phillips has a quote recalling the recording session for Toss the Feathers:
    Question: "I was curious how you go about preparing a drum track for a session with an artist ("Toss the Feathers" by the Corrs springs to mind). Is it a case of receiving a "rough demo" to familiarise yourself with the track first, and is your first meeting with the band / artist in the studio? Would you jam a couple of takes first?"
    Simon Phillips: "The session with The Corrs went like this: I was called by the session co-ordinator to see if I was available. David Foster had asked specifically for me. I was available so I was booked and turned up to the Record Plant. I met the band - Bob Clearmountain was engineering so I knew him. We discussed microphones and then I went out to get a drum sound. I took a listen to the track - maybe I made a chart, can't remember, and then played it down a couple of times. I really don't remember how many takes it took or whether I did a couple of drops but I actually played 2 tracks that day. It was a really fun track to play and totally up my street."
     
  • It is possible that the Corrs version of Toss the Feathers is based on the version of the song recorded on the Liege and Lief album by Fairport Convention. It's an old album from the 60's released on the U.K. Island Records label. It's part of a 4-track medley. The track is heavily propelled by the violin because the groups violinst, Dave Swarbrick was a top violin player. It's a fairly early British recording of folk rock. The tracks audio is avialable on YouTube - Toss the Feathers kicks in around 3:19: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N-neipG-7w
     


Lyrics:
There are no lyrics for this song.


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