Within weeks, Joe had listened to previous Recoil LPs and also Alan’s current work in progress - five potential tracks that he felt would suit Joe’s voice.


“Alan had some rough ideas without lyrics and I just wrote words and melodies that suited the mood he had already created.  He didn’t pull the reigns in on me in any way so I was completely free to do whatever I felt. This made things really easy creatively.”


It was in May 2006 that Alan, Paul Kendall (engineer and sound designer) and Hepzibah Sessa (the missus and PA) travelled to Austin to work with Joe at Texas Treefort Studios, owned by Jack and Susie Rock.


Hep: “I remember the journey being quite eventful.  I think we travelled with Delta or some other American airline and I can distinctly recall our collective alarm when we encountered the cabin crew.  They were very definitely left-overs from the ‘70s when it was de rigour for air hostesses to sport big hair with Max Factor’s entire range of ‘exciting colours and shades’ trowel’d onto their faces.  Head trolley-dolly looked like the lead singer of Twisted Sister and her ageing counterparts were most-likely members of a Tubes tribute band when not serving drinks and terrorising passengers on trans-atlantic flights. 


Being required to reclaim all our luggage and re-check in at Dallas resulted in missing our on-going flight to Austin, so we killed an hour in the bar watching the paranoid comings-and-goings of a post-9/11 airport.  The entire complex was swarming with troops home on leave, roaming around the airport in what looked like Khaki baby-gros.  Every centimetre of available space was bedecked with flags and signs declaring victory against nasty transgressors like the French (‘Freedom Fries’ on sale here!!!).


Unfortunately for them, and us, stringent security measures (which required everyone to strip virtually naked) ensured lengthy queues as Uncle Sam’s brave boys tried to undo their 18-hole desert boots.  This should have made for a great slapstick comedy routine (gruff sergeants getting tangled up in their laces, gnarled lieutenants falling over in their underpants etc.) but most of it was conducted in unnerving silence due to the predominance of huge signs declaring “No laughing/smiling/joking or we will shoot you” - or words to that effect.  As you can imagine, this entire scenario is very difficult for us English because of the combined embarrassment of disrobing in front of complete strangers and the quite blatant promise of an undignified exit from the world.  “I know I’m going to get hassled...” grumbled PK “they always single me out”.  And sure enough, he was ordered to pass through a strange ‘blowing’ machine, like a huge hairdryer.  We never did find out why.


Eventually we made it to Austin where Joe met us, and relief came when we discovered that he wasn’t a racist redneck, nor a born-again crimbo (let’s face it - we knew nothing about him at the time).  In fact he was perfectly charming and very funny.  After a brief journey into the hills outside the city, we realised the session was going to be a success when we were met by studio owner Jack brandishing perfect Moscow Mules as welcoming gifts.”