In this episode, Veronica and I discuss Noa Noa, a musical I wrote about Paul Gauguin and his life in French Polynesia. I wrote this music over several years, in between making albums and touring on the Road. I finished the 26-song project in early 1990. Eventually it was performed in an off-Broadway workshop production at Playwright’s Horizons in NYC, directed by Don Scardino. In our conversation, I describe how I was inspired by Gauguin’s art, the journey of reading and research I took, and how I originally recorded demos of the songs in solo guitar/vocal versions.

In 1974 I wrote the music for a film at Warner Bros. called Zandy’s Bride. The picture was directed by a famous Swedish film maker named Jan Troell and starred Gene Hackman and Liv Ullman. In this episode, Veronica and I discuss how I got involved in the project and what it was like writing music for a film at a major studio. For me, it was like diving headfirst into the deep end of a totally unfamiliar pool. But I really enjoyed working in this new environment and learned so much from the entire process.

I’d like to dedicate this episode to two people: Larry Marks, who, as Head of Music at Warner Bros. Pictures, hired me to write the music and mentored me with his generous good advice. And to my downstairs neighbor at the time, an 85 yr. old widow, whose name escapes me (Mrs. Cookie-Baker?). She kindly tolerated all the reverberant noise the Moviola made. Pictured above, it seems like something from the Age of Steam.

Recorded and released in 1973, this record, my first, appeared on vinyl, titled eponymously Michael Franks. In this episode Veronica and I discuss how I got the recording contract, which players I worked with, and some of the compositions I wrote. The record enjoyed some airplay across the country and "bubbled under the charts" for awhile. But the label, Brut, didn't last long.

Years later, in 1986, it was rereleased on John Hammond Records, a satellite of Columbia, under the title "Previously Unavailable." Flowered shirt, turquoise jewelry, head in the clouds. Fifty-three years ago! Special thanks to Hank O’Neal.