I found the first version of ?Falling At Your Feet? from The Million Dollar Hotel Soundtrack to be quite beautiful. It reminded me of a kind of Simon & Garfunkel feel. It will be interesting to see what Danny and Bono do with this second version. I?m looking forward to hearing another collaboration with Emmylou Harris. Their Wrecking Ball album was outstanding. I highly recommend Wrecking Ball. Larry Mullen Jr. plays drums on 9 out of the 12 tracks ! Danny not produces it but he also performs on every track as well as his ?band? too. Danny wrote the opening track ?Where Will I Be? and ?Blackhawk? and he co-wrote ?Deeper Well?. I remember on the VHS Achtung Baby Videos & Interference The Edge talking about enjoying certain songs that just ?arrive.? I believe he was referring to One and So Cruel. Blackhawk fits very much in that vein of songs that wonderfully ?arrive.?
BONO SHINES ON LANOIS CD
Producer releases first album in a decade
By Andrew Dansby - Rolling Stone - 28th January, 2003
Daniel Lanois will release his third solo album, Shine, on April 22nd on Anti-/Epitaph. For the highly regarded producer, who has worked with U2, Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris and numerous others, the album will be his first as a recording artist since For the Beauty of Wynona a decade ago.
Lanois handled production duty and played most of the instruments himself, though he did enlist some prior collaborators to add vocals to the album. Emmylou Harris sings on the opener, "I Love You," while U2's Bono sings on "Falling at Your Feet," which he co-wrote with Lanois. Lanois also enlisted drummer Brian Blade, with whom he worked on Harris' Wrecking Ball, for the album.
"I wanted the album to be one of those that you put on and you never take off," Lanois said. "I wanted it to have songs that could be embraced by all -- popular songs -- and also mystery songs, snapshot songs, smaller songs, and I wanted to include tripped-out psychedelic instrumentals that take people on a journey."
The track listing for Shine:
I Love You
Falling at Your Feet
As Tears Roll By
Sometimes
Shine
Transmitter
San Juan
Matador
Space Kay
Slow Giving
Fire
Power of One
JJ Leaves L.A.
? 2003 RollingStone.com
RON SEXSMITH HOB NOBS WITH DANIEL LANOIS, COLDPLAY
By Karen Pace - ChartAttack - 28th January, 2003
ChartAttack reporter/gal about town Karen Pace happened to be down in Florida when Toronto singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith came through town, opening for British pop darlings Coldplay. Here's Karen's account of what it was like to be backstage at the show: The Setting: Wednesday, January 22 at Convocation Centre, Miami University, Miami.
This was a momentous occasion for Miami University as Convocation Centre was just finished and Coldplay was the first band ever to play this venue. BUT, whenever a headlining band is the first band to play a venue, it's really the OPENING band that's the first to take the stage in front of the public. Just like By Divine Right did for the Tragically Hip opening the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ron Sexsmith had the dubious honour of actually being the first artist ever to play for a crowd at the newly minted Convocation Centre in Miami.
The 8,000-strong crowd basically sat on their collective asses for his whole set. Chairs will do that to a person: make people want to sit in them. Which in turn makes for a more passive audience. Ron had to work harder to reel them in this night, but they politely clapped after songs, then whistled on the last number in anticipation of the band they were there to see, Coldplay. But Ron did have at least one enthusiastic fan in the audience. The much-lauded and beloved fellow Canadian Daniel Lanois was in the house.
In Miami on his way to Jamaica to "look after some business" (he used to record there with Jimmy Cliff quite a bit, he said), Daniel took in his friend Ron's show with delight. "His voice is like a bird!" Lanois exclaimed backstage after his set. And he was also generous with praise for each of Ron's band members. "I really like the sound of your drums," he said to Don Kerr, noting "I find it's rare north of the border to find a warm drum sound." To guitarist Tim Bovaconti, he said, "I like the tone of your Les Paul."
I couldn't resist the temptation to grill Daniel about his ever-delayed third solo album and he said it's coming out April 22 on Epitaph. Can't wait for that one! It's a lot of the material he wrote and recorded while holed up in Mexico for three months a couple of years ago, plus some new tunes, including one where Bono sings vocals with him on the chorus. Lanois proceeded to break into song to demonstrate how much he loved the melody line of that track.
Conversation then turned to Emmylou Harris and Lanois asked Sexsmith if he'd be interested in co-writing her next album, to which Ron replied in the affirmative. Ron has already written with her several times, but Lanois took Ron's number to set up concrete plans. Talk then turned to the sound system in the new arena and Lanois expounded the virtues of a circular sound system used by Cirque de Soleil that he says is the best for arenas. The second-best would be hung speakers above the crowd, he said, but not the rows of speakers along the stage that he feels don?t convey the sound properly. We've both seen five shows on U2's Elevation Tour. He was at U2's first show of the tour in Miami, and I was at their last show of the tour in Miami. That makes us practically married, don't you think?
The conversation took place as we all watched the first few songs of Coldplay's set at the side stage, and I noticed that Lanois was particularly rocking out to the song "The One I Love," which to me was the most U2-esque track of their whole set. Little wonder that it resonated the most with Lanois. He left after a few songs with his Toronto model friend Ren?e, whom you may remember as the moving, live lips on the backdrop of the current Rolling Stones tour. Coldplay's drummer Will sat side-stage for Ron's entire set. That was groovy of him.
More bodies does not equal better reception at a gig though, as Miami was to prove. With almost three times as many people in the audience the previous night in Orlando, there was still a way more intimate and powerful vibe, compared to these very young, more apathetic students. I was shocked at how many of them had the latest toy: a cell phone that takes pictures, held aloft in the crowd, shooting snaps of the band playing and sending it back to friends who couldn't be there via a phone call. What did we ever do before gadgets like this? I know -- WE LISTENED TO THE BAND! This crowd seemed more intent on zapping shots to their friends than getting into it. Shame.
? 1995-2003, Chart Communications Inc.
anti.com website ? January 31 - 2003
"The best records come out of a stretch of experience," says Daniel Lanois. "Personal life experience, romantic experience, family, friends, global events - it all sort of stacks up and at a certain point one has a duty as a reflector, an interpreter, to just say what needs to be said."
Lanois has certainly had experiences that few can match. As a producer of such masterworks as Bob Dylan's "Time Out of Mind," Peter Gabriel's "So," and U2's "The Joshua Tree" and "All That You Can't Leave Behind," he is unarguably one of the most significant musical minds of our time. And after so many groundbreaking collaborations, Lanois has decided that once again the time has come to "say what needs to be said" with "Shine" - his third solo album, and his first since the acclaimed "For the Beauty of Wynona" ten years ago.
Recorded in locations from Mexico to Dublin, "Shine" reveals a remarkable range of sounds, emotions, and approaches to music-making. From the epic sweep of the opening track, "I Love You," featuring the unmistakable harmonies of Emmylou Harris, to the lovely music-box melody of the closing instrumental "JJ Leaves LA" ("the loneliest thing I ever did," says Lanois), the album represents a lifetime spent absorbing blues, rock, country, and folk song. "I wanted the record to be one of those that you put on and you never take off," says Lanois. "I wanted it to have songs that could be embraced by all - popular songs - and also mystery songs, snapshot songs, smaller songs, and I wanted to include tripped-out psychedelic instrumentals that take people on a journey.
"It's a lovely thing when you can elevate somebody's spirit," he continues, "and that's what a record should be about - to give people an outlet for their imagination."
Through his work with artists from Willie Nelson to the Neville Brothers, from Brian Eno to Emmylou Harris, Lanois is best known for an instantly recognizable panoramic, atmospheric sound. "Shine," however, explores a surprising variety of textures - the cascading chug of "As Tears Roll By" or the simple, uncluttered arrangements of songs like "Sometimes" and "Power of One." The gentle sway of "Falling at Your Feet," with additional vocals by Bono(the two co-wrote the song during sessions for "All That You Can't Leave Behind"), evokes a latter-day Simon and Garfunkel, while the soulful "Slow Giving" recalls David Bowie (whose '70s collaborations with Eno, Lanois says, served as a touchstone for "Shine"). What pulls all of these strands together is a strong sense of melody and songcraft. "I've always enjoyed melody," says Lanois, "writing a song in the kitchen - that's where they're usually born - and if there's no need to stray from that, then that's great."
The core musicians for "Shine" are master drummer Brian Blade (who's played with the likes of Joshua Redman and Joni Mitchell - "a giant," says Lanois) and Lanois himself, who plays the bulk of the other instruments. It makes for a loose and intimate feel that unifies the album's different moods and styles. The stripped-down sonics sometimes recall Lanois's first solo project, 1989's stunning "Acadie" album. But there's one instrument in particular that he says really stands at the heart of this project - the pedal steel highlighted on "Transmitter" and "JJ Leaves LA."
"Steel guitar is my first instrument," says Lanois, "and it's an anchoring point. It requires full dedication - you have to put in the time, and that means you can't do a lot of other things. It's almost an arrogance, that focus. I think hanging on to that ability to devote that discipline to something should never wear off."
Such conviction is indicative of the social conscience that is subtly woven through "Shine." Lanois, 51, was raised in the Canadian town of Hull, Quebec, and brings a deeply felt perspective to our complicated times. "I've always had a
fascination with exclusion and segregation," he says, "having felt some of that myself being French Canadian growing up in the Anglo neighborhoods. We tend to get very lifestyle protective, and forget that we're all newcomers - and then the welcome mat tends to disappear pretty quickly."
The vocal sessions for "Shine" done in Mexico - initially outside of Oaxaca, then around Baja - also had a powerful impact on Lanois. "It's a very inspiring place," he says. "There's a kind of purity in the air, and a connection with everyday life - the culture is really about enjoying the moment. They live closer to death, celebrating death. The Mexico chapter really helped form my philosophies."
This sense of inclusion and cross-cultural communication influenced not only the varied sounds of "Shine," but also its lyrics. "If you study these songs with a microscope they're somewhat political," says Lanois, "even if it's just about one's own personal politics. The irony of these times for me is that with all the information access we have, we stay considerably in the dark regarding world events. So the last verse of 'As Tears Roll By' has a reference to the Tower of Babel in it - you could apply that thought to the rise and fall of empires. These are
fascinating, very questioning times."
Following the album's release, Lanois is looking forward to touring following the album's release ("from record stores on up," he says, "I like doing those little shows"), possibly with just himself and a drummer onstage. But even before putting "Shine" out into the world, before going out to play for an audience eager to meet the invisible man behind some of their favorite recordings, Lanois says he has already learned something invaluable from making this album.
"I'm ready to admit that I'm a North American," he says, "and that my feet are permanently cemented here in the traditional music of America. I'm happy to be out there celebrating my roots and hiding the sutures of technology."
I've seen him many times--an incredible performer!
