Hey Ma

Infobox Album |
Name = Hey Ma
Type = Studio album
Artist = James


Released = April 7, 2008
Recorded = 2007 - 2008
Genre = Indie rock
Length =
Label = Mercury
Producer = Lee Muddy Baker
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3xfoxzyjldhe~T1 link]
*"Pitchfork Media" (7.4/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/145371-james-hey-ma link] |
Last album = "Fresh as a Daisy - The Singles"
(2007)
This album = "Hey Ma"
(2008)
Next album =

"Hey Ma" is the tenth studio album by Mancunian rock band James and was released on April 7 2008.

Track listing

# "Bubbles"
# "Hey Ma"
# "Waterfall"
# "Oh My Heart"
# "Boom Boom"
# "Semaphore"
# "Upside"
# "Whiteboy"
# "72"
# "Of Monsters and Heroes and Men"
# "I Wanna Go Home"

Recording and Production

After a successful Reunion tour as well as playing a variety of Festivals over the summer of 2007, James' teamed up with producer and musician Lee ‘Muddy’ Baker to start work on a new studio album. Lee Baker is most notable for his work alongside Tim Booth in 2004 on his solo album, Bone. The band, with the help of Lee Baker, proceeded to build their own studios at the Warzy Chateau in France, a studio that consisted of a main studio as well as personal studios for each member of the band located in their rooms. This allowed each member to constantly feed ideas back to Lee Baker in the main studio. Lee Baker also allowed the band to jam at leisure, a technique that has been credited for creating some of the band's most successful songs including Sit Down. It also ensured a sense of spontaneity that has often been a major selling point for the band. During this brief time the band wrote a hundred and twenty possible compositions. According to the band, 8 of those compositions where created in a single 5 hour session, an impressive feat by any standard. The songs that grew from these compositions eventually became Hey Ma. Statements from James are stating that they believe this to be as good, if not better than any past efforts.

Material Prior to Release

The first tastes of the new album could be heard as far back as the 2007 Reunion tour when the band decided to play a then new song, 'Upside', After its debut, it became an instant fan favorite. No new songs (excluding the 2 new tracks from the Fresh as a Daisy Compilation which was released alongside the reunion) appeared until a secret gig in London prior to the festival tour which saw the debut of 2 new songs entitled "Not So Strong" and "Traffic." However, fans were surprised to see that neither of these songs made the final cut.

After the Festival tour, James played two nights in Hoxton Bar and Grill on September 10th and 11th. These two shows were composed entirely of new material, including every track from the latest album. Despite the obvious desire for people to make recordings of the new material, James insisted that people do not make recordings. Thankfully for the band, a recording of the two Hoxton gigs have yet to see the light of day.

On February 25, 2008, the Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie's radio show previewed the album's first single, "Whiteboy." Fans were in a mixed opinion in regard the song's unusual mixing., However, this was later pinned down to the recording being a preview as opposed to a final copy. The final mix of the song was shortly put up on the band's Myspace page.

March 19, 2008, saw the first preview of the second track, entitled "Hey Ma," when it was used as the music for a promotional video made by the charity Help for Heroes. The song was undoubtedly picked due to its strong connection to the ongoing 'War on Terror'. Only one day later, Radio DJ Janice Long played "Waterfall" during her radio broadcast on BBC Radio 2.

Controversy

On March 13, the tabloid publication the Sun printed an article entailing a ban on the use of the album art on billboards, relating to fears concerning the baby and the gun images found on the album's sleeve. While the ban still remains, the band are still refusing to change the album cover.

Later, Darren Hughes, the designer of the album art, went on to issue a statement on the ban:

You need only to have a passing acquaintance with the headlines to be aware of the unfolding horror show of gun culture amongst kids in the UK. Whilst the media are quick to show condemnation and, in the governments barricading of not just our airports but now our train and bus stations and schools with metal detectors, armed police and dogs, their strong armed 'climate of fear-inducing' response.

But we seem less able, less curious to raise the vital question, as to what has brought our country, our culture our kids to be so taken with guns?

Larry Gott, the lead guitarist of the band, has gone on to state that this will not affect the release and publicity of the album in any way, and an alternative has already been planned if such a situation did occur.