In Cassidy's Care (Foreword)

After reposting the Corsican notes my attention is back on the Miracle Mile and our new album. 
'In Cassidy's Care' is coming on, slowly but surely; Marcus's new version of Norbury Brook studios is popular; we have to take the 'dead time' between the paying sessions. I thought that this might be a good time to reaquaint you with the thoughts behind the songs on the album:

A good friend of mine (let's call him 'Cassidy') was having problems. His life was as disheveled as his appearance; he was coming apart at the seams. He wanted to talk about this dishevelment but wasn't taking any advice. I tried to help (as did others) but was met with the blank stare of a man marinading in his misery. What to do? I thought about writing him a letter. No one writes letters these days so maybe that correspondence might resonate; he might take notice. I got lazy and the letter became an email. I then found myself writing his current story, detailing things as objectively as possible so that he might better see his predicament and move beyond it. I soon realized how patronizing that good intention might seem. But I kept writing; I had a title 'In Cassidy's Care', and soon the thing had its own momentum. What had started as a letter to a friend was becoming something else; a work of fiction. I used Cassidy's situation and personality as a foundation; a template for the fictional narrative and found him a great point of reference: what would Cassidy do here? He never let me down.

At the same time Marcus and I were talking about making a new Miracle Mile. It had been over five years since 'Limbo'. I'd recorded two solo albums in the interim (Hopeland and Keepers) but missed the active collaboration of Mr Cliffe. No surprise when I found myself writing songs that related directly to the predicaments of the Cassidy character that I'd created. Those songs have since become the substance of the new album 'In Cassidy's Care'. I'm going to publish the story here over the next few weeks. By the time it's told the album should be ready and maybe these words might lead you to the music.

In the meantime I'd like to thank Cassidy for letting me hang the fabric of this fiction so loosely on his bones. He's still disheveled but you'd find him a much happier man these days; in fact, if you knew where to look, you wouldn't recognise him at all...