My Secret Studio really isn't a secret, and never has been, unless you count the period of time when problems of life and surroundings seemed to make it impossible for
Bill Nelson to actually get anything musical out into the open. His larger commercial connections had evaporated, his own label had been wracked by unethical behavior by his manager, and his life as a whole seemed to be one gigantically complex knot. Rather than letting these problems crushing the inspiration out of him,
Nelson was energized by them. He might not have been able to release much of a anything for a while, but this didn't stop him from recording hundreds of new songs and instrumental pieces.
My Secret Studio, Vol. 1 is one distillation of the four years between 1988 and 1992, organizing 65 songs into four discs (three of these have been made available separately from the box set; Juke Box for Jet Boy remains available only as part of the complete box.) A packet of
Nelson's photo-artwork is also included as an added bonus. My Secret Studio mostly focuses on songs throughout, with the Deep Dream Decoder and Juke Box for Jet Boy discs including some examples of
Nelson's floating instrumental work. The first two discs, Buddha Head and Electricity Made Us Angels, take the form of statement and contemplation, providing an initial form, though this proves less important than a simple progression through the songs themselves -- order definitely is not an issue here. The box set itself has become difficult to find -- only 2,000 copies were pressed -- but it is certainly worth acquiring, as the price is reasonable. ~ Steven McDonald