Produced by Tony Meehan, engineered by Peter Bown, at Abbey Road Studios in June 1974, 'Spellbound' is from John Howard's 1975 debut album, Kid In A Big World.
\"This was one of the songs on Kid In A Big World which Tony Meehan didn't re-arrange very much, he liked the jazz-inflected rhythm I'd set it to and the general feel of the song. Drummer Bob Henrit and bassist Dave Wintaur followed my lead on the piano and once we'd laid the track down to everyone's satisfaction Tony did a quick brass arrangement while he stood with the three-man sax sessions players. I still have a clear memory of standing at Studio 2's control room window, looking down at Tony and these three guys in the far corner of the studio, while Tony sang the brass parts he could hear in his head. They re-produced what he sang them note-for-note virtually. Some guitar overdubs were then called for along with a vibe motif Tony sang to me in the middle 8, \"So maybe I'll take a vacation...\".
\"The track didn't take long to record at all, I think because I knew the song so well by that time and because Tony stuck to what I'd demo'd for him, there were no different arrangements or tempos to learn. I'd written it just a few months earlier in my manager's Chappell Music office. (The same night I'd written Goodbye Suzie, in fact).
\"It's now one of my favourite tracks on the album, it fairly belts along and has a great feel to it. The chorus was full of quite complex chord progressions, literally a chord per every couple of words, running down the keyboard. It always reminded me of the jazz stuff my Dad would listen to when I was a kid, and Tony got that really well with his arrangement.
\"While the backing track was recorded in the large Studio 2 the lead vocals were done in the smaller Studio 1 at about midnight. I didn't record too many vocals in there but it gave this particular track a very solid dry sound which suits the track well.\" - JH
Spellbound, and the album 'Kid In A Big World' are available to download from iTunes and all other good download stores. The CD is available to buy direct from RPM/Cherry Red's website or from good music shops.
