Matti Caspi - The Second Album (The Doorbell) (NMC 1976)

Caspi’s second solo album is considered by many to be one of his best albums, as well as one of the best albums ever made in Israel. Accompanied by great expectations after the success of his first album, of which many songs became immediate classics, the second album didn’t fall far from the first. The musical production and the arrangements show Matti’s development as a musician, and the compositions are original, surprising and touching.

The album, which seven of its songs were written to the lyrics of Ehud Manor, has served as a testimony of the growing bond between the two artists. Manor’s ability to describe in such an honest way the feelings reflected in Caspi’s compositions, derives from their brave friendship and from Manor’s deep knowledge of Caspi.

“Here Here” was originally written in 1975 as a commission for Galatz after Caspi and Manor had won the titles of composer and lyricist of the year, respectively. It’s also the only song Caspi and Manor wrote in the same room: Manor tells that they were both sitting at his new apartment which was still unfurnished except for the piano. Matti sat at the piano and began to play and Manor says that the moment he heard the melody he already knew the lyrics for that song. Manor’s intrigue in certain chords Matti had played in the guitar, actually lead the song’s theme: the relationship between the song and its creators. In an unusual step, Matti kept in the album the very beginning of the recording of that song, which includes a dialogue between Matti, playing the guitar, and the studio technician.

“Everlasting Alliance” which became Matti’s most recognizable song, at least during the 70’s, has had countless performances. Caspi’s performance keeps a minor tone in the presentation, except for the repeating chorus which represents the peak of the song. The song is based on a melody which was originally written as a soundtrack for the movie: “Snooker Celebration”: “I wrote the first two parts of the song ‘Everlasting Alliance’ as a soundtrack to the movie ‘Snooker Celebration’, as a romantic instrumental piece. I knew the song was incomplete, that I was missing a part. That part came to me three years later and then I brought it to Ehud Manor”.

A full expression of Caspi’s musical powerfulness can also be found in the slow and somber songs in the album. Besides “Everlasting Alliance”, songs like “A Sad City”, “Susie Dulcinea” and “Day by Day I Go to your House” are without a doubt masterpieces which express Caspi’s rare sensitivity towards poetic lyrics. The song “Day by Day I Go to your House” was performed before being recorded to the album on the number two evening of poets’ songs on Galatz, and then was taken into the album. The complex and minor harmonies in “A Sad City”, the beguiling rhythm and the jazzy-bossa nova harmonies of “Susie Dulcinea”, all prove that Matti Caspi is second to none in transferring emotional messages through music.

Another song composed to the lyrics of Ehud Manor, “Free”, was supposed to be included in the album, but Caspi chose not to include it out of mismatch reasons.

As he did in the first album, this time most of the instruments were played by Caspi as well (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, drums, congas, flute, percussion, piano, electric piano, synthesizer, clavinet, and vibraphone), yet some of the songs combined musicians from the philharmonic: “I like playing all the instruments by myself. I have a love for that which doesn’t exist when I record with other musicians. But I also love recording with musicians because it has that tension of ‘give and take’ during recording. Also participated in the album were Shlomo Yidov on the electric guitar, and Gidi Gov, Avner Kener and the “Field Edge” trio as backing vocals. Matti’s answer to one of the most repeating questions about the album: “the intro for the song “Here Here” is played on the flute by Shem Tov Levy, and in the end of the song I improvise with the wooden flute called ‘Alt’ which is a little bigger than the regular wooden recorder called ‘sopran’”. Caspi, who was influenced by Stevie Wonder’s style, used the clavinet in the song “No Piece”, and that was the first time anyone used this unique instrument in Israel.

The album cover was designed by David Tratkober, who tells: “in 1976, Matti Caspi came to me with a new album which was his second solo album (which was named, like the former one, after its creator). I’d been through some long processes until I came up with the idea of the doorbell, which projects a sense of sound as well as draws attention thanks to the bright red color of the button of the doorbell, and the name Matti Caspi is written on it too. I brought a doorbell from home and together with photographer Gerard Alon, we took pictures of it on the background of a plaster wall on a rooftop in Tel Aviv. It wasn’t popular that an album cover will not feature the artist’s face back then, and in this album Matti’s face was on the back of the cover”. “The Idea” he explains, “was to do a very minimalistic job, where the size of the object (the doorbell) was life-size, like a real one. It took a long process until I figured out how to project sound and shape, and mainly how to project a complete ‘Tel Avivian’ atmosphere. Ever since there have been many takeoffs done after this doorbell”.

The work on this album took a very intensive year. Except for a song or two, all songs in this album became heritage assets of Israeli culture. It’s hard to exaggerate in the influence of songs like “Here Here” or “Everlasting Alliance” which accompany so many until today in their most touching and exciting moments of their lives. Other songs from the album which became hugely popular, are “Friday is Back”, “Never Knew You’d Leave Me”, “No Peace” and “Day by Day I Go to your House”.

In 2007 the “Doorbell” album was released in a new edition in NMC’s “Road Signs” series, and it had a bonus CD which included the following pieces:

1. When God First Said Nathan Zach/Matti Caspi
2. No Peace Ehud Manor/Matti Caspi
3. How Come a Star Nathan Zach/Matti Caspi
4. Everlasting Alliance Ehud Manor/Matti Caspi
5. Never Knew You'd Leave Me Ehud Manor/Matti Caspi
6. Susie Dulcinea Dalia Rabikovitch/Matti Caspi

Songs 1-5: from a guest performance of Matti Caspi in the songs and lyrics festival of 1979.
Song number 6: from the TV show: “Guitar Players” broadcasted in 1975.