Secrets on Parade
Encyclopedia
Secrets on Parade is the debut solo album by Danish singer-songwriter Tim Christensen
, released on 5 October 2000 on CD
and vinyl
. It is considered the transitional work between the music he made with Dizzy Mizz Lizzy
and his solo music. Before its release, Christensen described the album as: "a rock album with material that is more timeless rather than time-typical [as was the case with Dizzy Mizz Lizzy] with room for solid rock, a glittery edge, and some ballads."
, with whom he had been in a relationship since 1995. He used songwriting as a form of therapy to overcome this, putting his feelings and thoughts to words as one normally would do in a diary, but in stead of lying hidden in a drawer somewhere, his secrets are literally on display. Since his songwriting was derived from these personal experiences, the lyrics are rather direct. Christensen says, "I simply think it was written in a simple and straightforward way, almost bordering to banal."
The songs are rather ambiguous as to whether they refer to Dizzy Mizz Lizzy or Pernille Rosendahl. However, the song "King's Garden", after a literal translation of Kongens Have
, is known to refer to both as coincidentally both break-ups happened there and he admits to avoid going near the place. "Secrets on Parade", "Prime Time" and "Caterpillar" had already been written for a third album by Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, and are not related to these troubles.
The album was "decidedly a solo record" but the process was also markedly different, explained by Christensen as follows: "This was the first time I was without sparring partners, and I would definitely have bounced some things off of them. At the same time, I went into the studio without completed arrangement
s, unlike with Dizzy Mizz Lizzy where everything was pre-arranged and there was simply not a single strophe
that we did not know of how they should be played." This also meant more time was spent in the studio, in total nearly four months.
selling nearly 60,000 copies and securing a solo career for Christensen. Allegedly, Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
is among the fans.
The singles "Get the Fuck Out of My Mind" and "Love Is a Matter of...." became hits. The latter would be covered by Will Young
on for Friday's Child
(2003) as "Love Is a Matter of Distance", and this version has appeared on several karaoke
albums. The song "21st Century High" appeared on the soundtrack of the 2000 Danish movie Flickering Lights
.
Aside from Christensen himself finding solace in his music, the album has had a profound effect on others dealing with grief as well. Christensen says, "There are really many who have responded to Secrets On Parade that it was almost therapeutic for them." He thinks this is because the lyrics cover the topics so explicitly: "When someone finds himself in a depressed state, I think that very direct words penetrate through much easier. One needs something that reaches out. It simply makes it easier to console oneself with."
Additional musicians
String section
(on track 1, 9, 11)
Production
Tim Christensen
Tim Christensen is a Danish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, bass guitar, drums, Mellotron, harmonium, keyboard, piano and organ...
, released on 5 October 2000 on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. It is considered the transitional work between the music he made with Dizzy Mizz Lizzy
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy was an alternative rock band from Denmark that started in 1988. Between 1994 and 1997, they were highly successful in Denmark and Japan, heading the early 1990s rock revival in Denmark. The trio consisted of Tim Christensen , Martin Nielsen and Søren Friis...
and his solo music. Before its release, Christensen described the album as: "a rock album with material that is more timeless rather than time-typical [as was the case with Dizzy Mizz Lizzy] with room for solid rock, a glittery edge, and some ballads."
Background
Christensen went through a difficult time in 1998–99, dealing with the break-ups with Dizzy Mizz Lizzy and with singer Pernille RosendahlPernille Rosendahl
Pernille Rosendahl is a Danish singer, who besides her solo career was lead singer of the Danish band Swan Lee and now is lead vocalist for the Danish rock band The Storm....
, with whom he had been in a relationship since 1995. He used songwriting as a form of therapy to overcome this, putting his feelings and thoughts to words as one normally would do in a diary, but in stead of lying hidden in a drawer somewhere, his secrets are literally on display. Since his songwriting was derived from these personal experiences, the lyrics are rather direct. Christensen says, "I simply think it was written in a simple and straightforward way, almost bordering to banal."
The songs are rather ambiguous as to whether they refer to Dizzy Mizz Lizzy or Pernille Rosendahl. However, the song "King's Garden", after a literal translation of Kongens Have
Rosenborg Castle Gardens
Rosenborg Castle Gardens is Copenhagen's oldest and most visited park with 2.5 million visitors per year.-The Renaissance gardens:...
, is known to refer to both as coincidentally both break-ups happened there and he admits to avoid going near the place. "Secrets on Parade", "Prime Time" and "Caterpillar" had already been written for a third album by Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, and are not related to these troubles.
The album was "decidedly a solo record" but the process was also markedly different, explained by Christensen as follows: "This was the first time I was without sparring partners, and I would definitely have bounced some things off of them. At the same time, I went into the studio without completed arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s, unlike with Dizzy Mizz Lizzy where everything was pre-arranged and there was simply not a single strophe
Strophe
A strophe forms the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. In its original Greek setting, "strophe, antistrophe and epode were a kind of stanza framed only for the music," as John Milton wrote in the preface to Samson Agonistes, with the strophe...
that we did not know of how they should be played." This also meant more time was spent in the studio, in total nearly four months.
Reception
The album was successful in Denmark,selling nearly 60,000 copies and securing a solo career for Christensen. Allegedly, Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, is the wife of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark...
is among the fans.
The singles "Get the Fuck Out of My Mind" and "Love Is a Matter of...." became hits. The latter would be covered by Will Young
Will Young
William Robert "Will" Young is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominenceafter winning the 2002 inaugural series of the British music contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the now-worldwide Idols-format franchise...
on for Friday's Child
Friday's Child (album)
Friday's Child is the second album from original Pop Idol winner Will Young. The album was released on 1 December 2003 and reached #1 in the UK Album Chart...
(2003) as "Love Is a Matter of Distance", and this version has appeared on several karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
albums. The song "21st Century High" appeared on the soundtrack of the 2000 Danish movie Flickering Lights
Flickering Lights
Flickering Lights is a 2000 Danish action-comedy directed by Anders Thomas Jensen.-Plot:Four small-time gangsters from Copenhagen trick a gangster boss: they steal over 4,000,000 Danish kroner which they were supposed to bring him...
.
Aside from Christensen himself finding solace in his music, the album has had a profound effect on others dealing with grief as well. Christensen says, "There are really many who have responded to Secrets On Parade that it was almost therapeutic for them." He thinks this is because the lyrics cover the topics so explicitly: "When someone finds himself in a depressed state, I think that very direct words penetrate through much easier. One needs something that reaches out. It simply makes it easier to console oneself with."
Track listing
All lyrics by Tim Christensen and Marcus Winther-John, except where noted.Personnel
- Tim ChristensenTim ChristensenTim Christensen is a Danish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, bass guitar, drums, Mellotron, harmonium, keyboard, piano and organ...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, MellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Additional instruments: Wurlitzer electric pianoWurlitzer electric pianoWurlitzer 200A|250px|thumbThe Wurlitzer electric piano was one of a series of electromechanical stringless pianos manufactured and marketed by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, Corinth, Mississippi, U.S. and Tonawanda, New York...
, Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
, talk boxTalk boxA talk box is an effects unit that allows a musician to modify the sound of a musical instrument. The musician controls the modification by lip syncing, or by changing the shape of the mouth...
, guitar synthesizer, vocoderVocoderA vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, timpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, baritone guitarBaritone guitarThe baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar, with a longer scale length that allows it to be tuned to a lower range. It first appeared in the classical music realm...
, guitar zitherGuitar zitherThe guitar zither is a musical instrument consisting of a sound-box with two sets of unstopped strings...
, Spanish guitarClassical guitarThe classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones... - Lars Skjærbæk - guitars (on track 3, 5, 7, 10), slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
(on track 12) - Fredrik Damsgård - bass (on all tracks except 1, 2, 4, and 5)
- Laust Sonne - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(on all tracks except 4)
Additional musicians
- Jonathan Stibbard - drums (on track 4), percussion (on track 4)
- Rune Olesen - percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Henke Lindstrand - stringString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s, Wurlitzer piano (on track 12)
String section
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
(on track 1, 9, 11)
- Tobias Durholm - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Mikkel Futtrup - violin
- Sune Ranmo - violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Ingemar Brantelid - celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
Production
- Rune Nissen-Petersen – recording engineer, mixerMix engineerA mix engineer, also referred to as "mixing engineer", is a person who, once all instruments, voices, and sounds, etc., have been recorded, creates what is called the final version of a song, hence the term "mix engineer"...
(track 4) - René Cambony - recording engineer
- Lars Overgaard - mixer
- Nick Foss – producer
- Nikolaj Vinten – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Jakob Tranberg (PowerPlant) – cover artCover artCover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
- Morten Larsen – photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...