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(Translated by Christine Koch)
Daniel Lanois, originally from Quebec, but an emigre' to New Orleans, became a
successful producer in the 1980's (particularly for U2).
Bringing to fruition twenty years of experience and an ability to refine sound
to unreal and surreal levels, Lanois recorded his first solo album,
Acadie (Opal, 1989).
His sophisticated vignettes attempt a fusion of ambient and
rock music. Lanois carried out a sophisticated
manipulation of popular music: reconstructing "roots-rock" from an "ambient"
perspective (that is, impressionist, atmospheric, stratified)..
The "ambient" ballads on the album draw their inspiration from multiple
sources: country(Still Water), zydeco (Jolie Louise),
honky-tonk (Under A Stormy
Sky), reggae (Silium's Hill) and psychedelic (Where The Hawkwind
Kills),
echoing infinite artists, from U2 to Buddy Holly, from Donovan to Bob Dylan.
But each becomes an ethereal and intense digression into the concept of song,
in which even the smallest detail has been studied purposefully.
Intrinisically cajun, this work does not renounce, unlike that of Eno, the
expression of the artist's personality.
Four years later, Lanois made another effort with
For The Beauty Of Wynona (Warner Bros, 1993).
>From the swamp rock of Messenger to the aggressive Lotta Love To
Give his style showed less calligraphy and more sincerity.
The disc's best moments probably lie in the moments of Leonard Cohen-esque
melancholy,
Death Of A Train and Rocky World.
Sleeping In The Devil's Bed and Lotta Love To Give are the songs
of a more traditional folk singer.
For The Beauty Of Wynona and Waiting, however, reflect the
influence of U2.
Altogether, the disc presents a rather different auteur: where the
first disc was cold and artificial (an album of "sound" more than songs),
this album is warm and personal.
Shine (Anti, 2003) is a weak album that relies on
floating clusters of angelic sounds to rescue
an uninspired batch of generic soul-jazz ballads.
The ethereal duet with Emmylou Harris, I Love You is typical of
the thin, superficial music of Lanois. At best, his songs resemble
eastern spiritual meditations (Slow Giving, Fire,
Falling At Your Feet).
His talent is best represented by the ghostly instrumentals
(Transmitter, Matador, Space Kay, JJ Leaves La) but Lanois is still
afraid (or incapable) of expanding on their ideas.
Lanois' electronic world folk music project was better represented
by the instrumental Belladonna (2005).
It is a bad sign that the best song on
Here Is What Is (2008)
is Where Will I Be (originally recorded by Emmylou Harris in 1995).
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Daniel Lanois, originario del Quebec, ma emigrato a New
Orleans nel 1988, e` diventato negli anni '80 un produttore di successo
(in particolare per gli U2).
Mettendo a frutto vent'anni di esperienza e l'abilita` di raffinare il sound
a livelli irreali e surreali, Lanois registro`
il suo primo album solista,
Acadie (Opal, 1989).
Le sue sofisticate vignette armoniche sembrano voler fondere musica
ambientale e musica rock.
In quell'opera Lanois aveva
anche tentato un'operazione sofisticatamente colta di manipolazione della musica popolare: ricostruire il
"roots-rock" da una prospettiva "ambientale" (cioe` impressionista, atmosferica, astratta).
Le ballate "ambientali" del disco traggono ispirazione da molteplici fonti: il
country (Still Water), lo zydeco (Jolie Louise), l'honky-tonk (Under A Stormy
Sky), il raga (Silium's Hill) e la psichedelia (Where The Hawkwind Kills),
riecheggiando infiniti musicisti, dagli U2 a Buddy Holly, da Donovan a Bob Dylan. Ma ciascuna diventa
un'eterea ed intensa divagazione sul concetto di canzone, in cui anche il minimo dettaglio e` stato studiato
ad arte. Intrisa di cultura cajun, quest'opera non rinuncia, a differenza di quelle di Eno, ad esprimere la
personalita` del musicista.
Quattro anni dopo Lanois ci ha riprovato con
For The Beauty Of Wynona (Warner Bros, 1993).
Dallo swamp-rock di Messenger all'aggressiva Lotta Love To Give il
suo stile si e` fatto meno calligrafico e piu` sincero.
Il meglio del disco si trova probabilmente nei
momenti di malinconia alla Leonard Cohen,
Death Of A Train e Rocky World.
Sleeping In The Devil's Bed and Lotta Love To Give sono
canzoni da folksinger ancor piu` tradizionale.
For The Beauty Of Wynona e Waiting hanno invece
qualcosa degli U2.
Il disco presenta insomma un autore completamente diverso: laddove il primo
disco era glaciale e artificiale (un disco di "suoni" piu` che di canzoni),
questo e` un disco caldo e personale.
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