LP/CD Matador (OLE-132) 1995

1. Decora (realx, mp3x)
2. Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1) (realx, mp3x)
3. The Hour Grows Late (realx, mp3x)
4. Tom Courtenay (realx, mp3x)
5. False Ending (realx, mp3x)
6. Pablo and Andrea (realx, liquidx, mp3x)
7. Paul is Dead (realx, liquidx, mp3x)
8. False Alarm (realx, liquidx, mp3x)
9. The Ballad of Red Buckets (realx, liquidx, mp3x)
10. Don't Say A Word (Hot Chicken #2) (realx, liquidx, mp3x)
11. (Straight Down to the) Bitter End (realx, liquidx, mp3x)
12. My Heart's Reflection (realx, liquidx, mp3x)
13. Attack on Love (realx, liquidx, mp3x)
14. Blue Line Swinger (realx, liquidx, mp3x)

Details from Matador's Annotated Discography:

Roger Moutenot: For me, ping-pong goes back to my Nile Rodgers days, like around 1984. I thought the ping-pong table at Alex The Great was a savior to the project. It was amazing how Ira transformed from a mild player into a cutthroat, with the jones to annihilate anyone he could, at any time. I had him until the end, I beat him everytime. But on the very last night, he beat me...

"False Alarm" was nearly recorded, vocals and all, in a single take. There were two mics on my singing: one distorting through an amp, and one clean. The problem was that when we listened back, the maracas that I was playing simultaneously were as loud as the singing. It was agreed that I would have to double-track the vocal, which was something of a challenge as the words that had never been sung previous to the recording, and they had still yet to be sung completely sober. Matching up with the phrasing on tape proved even harder than returning Roger's ping-pong serve, and I don't think I could have accomplished it all were it not for Georgia and James' supportive screams of laughter at my every misstep. -Ira

The first time we went to Nashville to record was also the first time we tried Prince's Hot Chicken. Hot chicken is bright orange pan-fried chicken - the color of a traffic cop. When you order it "hot" it's unimaginably hot, which is partly why it took me a good two years to appreciate it. When you order it mild it's till hot, but more manageable, and while we were recording I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, we ate it once or twice a week (usually during "Cannon" or "Mannix"). -Georgia

Prince's Hot Chicken Shack, 123 Ewing Drive, Nashville TN 37207. (615) 226 9442. Open late. -James

Line-up:
Georgia Hubley - Singing, Drums, Organ
Ira Kaplan - Singing, Guitar, Organ
James McNew - Bass
Roger Moutenot - Producer