KEVIN McCORRY, HOST: I’m Kevin McCorry and this is ‘Jukebox Journey.’ We’re unstuck in time, jumping through decades and genres, meditating on a theme. This week: the pursuit of the ‘new’ with producing legend Daniel Lanois.
[MUSIC: “Bullet the Blue Sky” by U2]
KM: Daniel Lanois became one of the most innovative and celebrated producers of the 1980s and ‘90s — kicked off based on his collaborations with Brian Eno and their work with U2.
[MUSIC SWELL]
DANIEL LANOIS: “We had already done one album together, The Unforgettable Fire. And I said to Edge when that was finished, I said, ‘I think we have something left to say’…. We had some pretty dedicated brains in that studio…people who are interested in exploration and to find new things in sound.”
KM: The new thing became the massive critical and commercial hit The Joshua Tree.
[MUSIC: “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2]
DL: “ The drive comes from inside, comes from the artists, and people like myself, on a good day, will make sure that we cherish that and allow it to come out in such a great way. Maybe collectively we do something stronger than we would as individuals.”
KM: Lanois then had success with Peter Gabriel…
[MUSIC: “Red Rain” by Peter Gabriel]
KM: And The Neville Brothers…
[MUSIC: “Yellow Moon” by The Neville Brothers]
KM: And it was that set up in New Orleans that caught the eye of Bob Dylan.
DL: And he said, “I like the vibe you got going here, Lanois.” I said, ‘Well, come back in the spring. We’ll do it in New Orleans. You don’t need a band. You don’t need anything. You don’t need instruments. Just bring your songs and I’ll be ready for you.’ And that’s what we did.”
[MUSIC: “Most of the Time” by Bob Dylan]
KM: Those sessions turned into Dylan’s ‘80s comeback album ‘Oh Mercy.’ Which then led to another collaboration: Dylan’s 1997 hit Grammy-winning record “Time Out of Mind.”
[MUSIC: “Love Sick” by Bob Dylan]
DL: I wish it was something that could be measured, but it’s more about having an understanding of an exchange with an artist and being philosophically aligned….it might be a certain kind of approach that would be appealing to an artist that I’m working with, and we just keep nurturing that until we come up with a philosophical stance or an angle that we think is special.”
[MUSIC SWELL]
KM: When I asked Lanois to source the music that most profoundly influenced his taste and style, as a guitar player, he called out Jimi Hendrix.
[MUSIC: “Foxy Lady” by Jimi Hendrix]
KM: But also honed in on a certain flavor of R&B, including this 1973 Sly Stone track.
[MUSIC: “In Time” by Sly And The Family Stone]
DL: ”What it has, it has a combination of real drumming and a beatbox, and it’s something that I still go after in modern times. You know, I’m always trying to marry hand-done playing with technology….How amazing is that?”
KM: And this one from Timmy Thomas:
[MUSIC: “Why Can’t We Live Together” by Timmy Thomas]
DL: “To get that much soul out of one sitting, how about that? We call that a one-point source, where so much comes out of one position.”
KM: ”And just the, the patience of it all. I feel like some of your work kind of demands that you sit with it and let it wash over you, and then live in that vibe, and then new discoveries come out of that. That feels similar to that Timmy Thomas song to me.”
DL: “Well, that’s a lovely compliment, you know, that you might, by revisiting a piece of music, you might hear something in the shadows. We use a photographic term, depth of field….you have to keep the listener interested in the landscape that one builds. So I think all that adds up to something that will keep listeners coming back to your work.”
KM: Lanois’ latest solo record, out this year, is called “Belladonna Nocturne.”
[MUSIC: “At the Foot of the Skyway Bridge” by Daniel Lanois].
DL: We all have careers, but my love and passion for music came long before any thoughts on career. And, it’s not a bad place to be at to have an appreciation or respect for the pure form.
KM: What do you think it’s given, given you in your life?
DL: A reason to exist and a reason to be on the planet. Nobody wants to feel insignificant, do they? And so I can’t control my gift. You know, I’m musically talented, however that happens. But to pay respect to the gift and to try and do as much with it as possible is what drives me along. But I don’t want to be in familiar territory. I want to be in the arena of exploration.”
KM: I’m Kevin McCorry and this has been a Jukebox Journey on WHYY. And if you want to see Daniel Lanois with his band at the Ardmore Music Hall on Tuesday November 10th, shoot me an email at jukeboxjourney@whyy.org. First in the inbox will win a pair for free.
collapse
