Daniel Lanois on steel in Nashville

Kevin Post · Post by **Kevin Post** » 13 May 2003 8:19 am

The following is an excerpt from the Nashville Scene (newsweekly).

Soul mining with Daniel Lanois

In the liner notes of his 1989 debut Acadie, Daniel Lanois describes several of the songs as having been abandoned for long periods of time until inspiration or collaboration ultimately coaxed each to completion. One gets the impression that a similar process also played a significant role in the making of his new album, Shine (Anti). Not only did Lanois have nearly 10 years of material to choose from, he spent much of that decade honing his renowned skills as a producer, mastering the art of finding the telling nugget--the emotional core--within a song and bringing it to the fore. In his keynote address at the SXSW music conference two months ago, Lanois referred to this process as "soul mining."

The 13 strong, immediately likable tracks on Shine are tethered not so much by style as by themes of humanity and spirituality. The opener balances an atmospheric guitar motif with intrusions of feedback and fuzz, culminating with a gloriously simple chorus of "I love you" sung by Lanois and Emmylou Harris. Later, the austere "San Juan"--reminiscent of the music of Jeff Buckley--communicates its yearning using only Lanois' vocal and a finger-picked electric guitar. Always expert at establishing mood, the 51-year-old French-Canadian populates his soundscapes with intriguing production techniques and guitar tones, but it's a return to his first instrument, the pedal steel, that best distinguishes Shine from his other works. It also symbolizes just how adept Lanois is at dusting off something from his past and making it wonderfully complete and relevant today.

Daniel Lanois performs May 14 at the Exit/In.

--By Doug Brumley
[This message was edited by Kevin Post on 13 May 2003 at 09:22 AM.]

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 13 May 2003 8:40 am

Daniel performed two shows here last month, in a sold out 750 seat theatre.

He was only accompanied by a drummer. Reviews were excellent. He's a hometown hero.

I was out of town and unable to attend.

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 13 May 2003 9:16 am

Kevin or Joey: This is all news to me and I went to his site but the only connection I find to PSG is the remark that it was "back to his first instrument." I have no recollection of his name or association with PSG so I could use an assist here to better make the connection.

Regards, Paul

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 13 May 2003 9:43 am

Paul-- http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicPopEncycloPagesL/lanois.html
and he favors Sho-Bud LDG's with E-66 pickups into an overdriven Vox AC30.[This message was edited by chas smith on 13 May 2003 at 10:44 AM.]

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 13 May 2003 10:04 am

He's not a "traditional style" steeler.

His sound is more like a blues guitarist.
A bit of distortion, no fingerpicks, non-standard tuning...

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 13 May 2003 4:26 pm

I heard his song "JJ Leaves LA" the other night on the radio and liked it quite a bit. It's a solo pedal steel instrumental, not much production to it, and nicely played.

------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 14 May 2003 4:46 am

I got Shine based on his rep, several things I have heard him produce and the comments on it in another thread here.
I do like his steel playing; very much off the beaten path. Very atmospheric.
But overall I actually was a bit disapointed in the album. Especially considering his work with others.
There was a lot of good studio technique, but I thought it a bit muddy and dense. It definitely doesn't like my vans sound system. A fine piece of pro work, but I really expected more.
Sorry Dan.

I will keep listening to it.
Your mileage may differ.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 14 May 2003 at 05:49 AM.]

Tony LaCroix · Post by **Tony LaCroix** » 14 May 2003 5:58 am

I caught Lanois' SXSW show this year at the Austin Music Hall. There's an interesting contrast between his 6-string playing- somewhat spastic, banging the strings, rather than picking/strumming (reminded me of Neil Young) and his beautiful, legatto steel playing. He only played one instrumental steel tune, but it was very pretty. I really liked his "sound", but I think the show fell short in the song department- I kept waiting for a great song to come out of this great-sounding band. From observing the rest of the crowd, I don't think I was the only one.

Kevin Post · Post by **Kevin Post** » 15 May 2003 6:03 am

I enjoyed the guitar banging. He has his own sound, for sure. It was cool seeing the visual with what I've heard on great albums for years.

Between the grooves and the guitar sounds, I was reminded of U2's "The Joshua Tree" all night....also, Emmylou's "The Wrecking Ball."

He did play his Lloyd Green Shobud. At the end of the encore, he mentioned that he felt a connection with Nashville because of his lifelong affair with the steel guitar.