Anne Loo - about the songs



			First off, let me say that the writing of these songs and the making of this album were a bold leap of faith for me. It is my greatest hope that in my doing so, I might inspire others to make equally bold leaps of faith. Sometimes I still wonder why I did it. I just had this inexplicable “need” to do this. After reading a recent article about Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon, I thought, of course, I probably always wanted to do this, to be like them. At 43, I guess I am just a little slow in getting started. I am including some notes to offer a glimpse into the process of the making of this CD because that is the kind of thing that interests me as a fan of music. My song writing usually begins with a simple construct of chords, then a vague melody and finally lyrics that are all inspired around a central idea or feeling. And then if I’m lucky, I can get out of the way of myself and just let things happen. Sometimes the stories will have been with me for a long time. Other times what comes out surprises me. But below are some small snippets of how these songs came to be. Music production-wise, there is FAR TOO MUCH to say everything about how these songs evolved. So I’ve just written a few notes about what went down. Dan Workman and Eric Jarvis, the co-producers for the CD, led this project in its “direction home.” And I could never have done it without them. Drawing on their joint and vast knowledge and skills we were able to build a solid framework, then, take the project to a place well beyond what I had originally set out to do. While not mentioned below, Steve Christensen, sitting in his turret, was at all times a sort of glue that held me together mentally/vocally but also acted as a creative, practical and solid voice of engineering reason. He was involved at almost every level of this project and his role in the making and mixing of this CD was absolutely vital. But for me to write about mixing and engineering is beyond my abilities, so I am leaving that part of the CD to speak for itself. Oh, and one last thing. This project was steeped in a hearty brew of laughter, jokes and camaraderie. We ate a lot of Whole Foods salads had a lot of fun putting this thing together; hopefully some of that warmth has spilled over into the sound. 1. Jennifer 2. Perfect Rainy Day 3. The Girl Who Rocks Your World 4. This Kiss 5. You Came Along 6. Bittersweet Lane 7. Will Santa Come 8. Surrender 9. Someone Like You 10. Why Don’t We Run Away 11. I’m Leaving 12. Further Down the Road 1. Jennifer Songwriting- This is a song about slowing down, choosing optimism, and remembering what’s important. When I say “You’ve got today to live life over,” I do believe we can “recreate” our past with the choices we make today. Also, my mother’s lilac bush in Colorado is one of my favorite things from my childhood and it made its way into the bridge portion of this song. Recording- The Beatles were discussed. I think Dan’s guitar fell over and broke during the recording of this song, like a gift to the gods in exchange for musical genius! 2. Perfect Rainy Day Songwriting- The inspiration from this story came from having known many families, over the years, where fathers left. It is also a reminder that our quest for “eternal sunshine” can keep us from experiencing the gorgeousness of a perfect, rainy day. Recording- It ended up being a musically pensive song that slowly builds, crescendo-ing in Dan’s full-blown orchestral outro. Listen for the lovely, swinging “perfection” of Dennis’s horn section. 3. The Girl Who Rocks Your World Songwriting- This song is intended to be a fun, confident, pop homage to rockin’ girls’ crushes. Recording- Beach Boys and Bacharach lightness sitting top ‘o the rock-solid house that Eric, Dan, Matt and Rick built. 4. This Kiss Songwriting- In the novel “Prep,” by Curtis Sittenfeld, there is a scene where the young protagonist becomes intimately involved. It made me think about “first kisses,” what we bring with us to those situations, and what we take away. Recording- Dan’s SK-1, Eric’s background vocals, and Max’s cello are all intended to give this song a lovely, ethereal vibe. (I got a dollhouse-piano cameo appearance in this one.) 5. You Came Along Songwriting- This is a song about the humbling, revealing and transformational power of real love. In these cynical times it’s hard to be a romantic, in any sense of the word. But my children’s arrival into this world helped me to believe that love conquers all. Recording- Musically we always wanted to draw heavily from a driving-the-coast-in- a-1970’s-movie-way. Jose-Miguel handed us the pitch-perfect piano, while Dennis drove the Bacharachian horn section. 6. Bittersweet Lane Songwriting- Many of my songs contain multiple stories lines from my own life or of those around me. Then the song evolves in my mind, into a fictional narrative with a life and characters of its own. This song is just one such story about a “poisoned” (Oleander are poisonous flowering shrub) summer romance. Recording- Intended to be a languid event, with a super-slow, sad drum line, a crying cello, melancholy piano, metronomic guitar melody, lamenting latino horn section (!? ) So sad. Really! 7. Will Santa Come Songwriting- This song is about the emptiness and longing that can come of not being a part of the picture-perfect Christmas. Recording- From the beginning we chatted about using “Carole King Keys” somewhere in the CD. Paul really delivered that for us here and it is the central sonic theme, for me. But, let me say, Dan really knows how to work the harp and the bells without upstaging the rest of the crew! 8. Surrender Songwriting- I have always felt a bit guilty for writing a “quitter’s song.” But somewhere along the line, I decided some battles were just not worth the effort. I felt slightly vindicated, though, when my husband, Brad, reported after hearing the Dali Lama speak last year, that his Holiness believes sometimes it is better to just “Walk away. Quietly.” I am still working on the last part of his advice. Recording- Kevin’s harmonium intro sets this song up perfectly, in my mind. We hoped to get a Joe Jackson/Squeeze type of vibe. Matt’s drums were a huge part of that, as were Kevin’s other keyboard parts. Eric’s background vocals and Dennis’s “Mary Tyler Moore” horns round it all out in to be a retro-esque affair. 9. Someone Like You Songwriting- This song was inspired by the many unrequited loves of my misspent youth. I have a wish to hear Willie Nelson sing this song. Recording- I felt very vulnerable, vocally, in this song and wanted to hide behind lots of smoke and mirrors. Dan felt it should be treated as a jazz-standard with minimally engineered vocals backed by a tight trio. Jose-Miguel, Thomas and Richard came in and brought it. For the record, I think Dan was right. 10. Why Don’t We Run Away Songwriting- This song is about hoping and dreaming in spite of all that has been lost before. Recording- I always think of this as my “depression- era song.” Then Max played his “old soul” cello (used in the making of the original soundtrack for “Gone With The Wind”) and Eric added his beautifully simple “mando” parts played on a gorgeous and very old mandolin. Dan’s SK-1, while more modern, adds to the nostalgic, longing vibe we were shooting for. 11. I’m Leaving Songwriting- In my younger years whenever I had a failed romance, (which is embarrassingly too often to say) and had finally reached the “I’m Leaving” point, I would head out to The Bay Area. While California was never my literal home, it always a spiritual home I could go to “get my head straight.” Well at least “straight-er.” I chose Stinson Beach as the destination for my heroine in this song, partly because Janis Joplin/Kris Kristofferson had already used Salinas in “Me and Bobby McGee,” and Stinson Beach seemed like perfect place to run away to. While recording this song I read a quote of Todd Snider’s where he remarked on his choice for a healthier life, saying something to the effect of, “Why be Bukowski, when you could be lying by a river next to a woman you love.” The final lines I had been searching for were inspired by this thought. Recording- This was one of the last songs we recorded. Eric and Kevin helped to summon up a little laid-back southern-rock feel. Then at the end, we added Sarah’s background vocals, Tommy’s pedal steel and Bobby’s fiddle. Each of the performances added the perfect restrained sweetness to this long open-road song. I think this could be my favorite of the CD and makes me want to work with all of them again. (Post-recording I took Brad and the kids to Stinson Beach, CA to show them the destination spot in “I’m Leaving.” It was such a cool journey to share with them.) 12. Further Down the Road Songwriting- While an admitted romantic, I am also not so much a glass-half-full person as to know life and love are not always just a walk in the park. This song is literally about endurance motor sports and the story my husband and I were living while he (and occasionally we) was working in that world. As the song says, we spent a lot of time “Down, dirty, broken and battered.” Figuratively, this song is about knowing there will be breakdowns and letdowns, but never, personally, truly giving up. Recording- This song was a blast to record. I relied on my rock star compatriots Dan and Eric to “heavy up” this song. We had so much fun with it. Brad got in on the act by finding a great “Race Day PA” recording for us to mix in. As a final note, awhile back, I met Rod Kennedy, a legendary Texas music promoter, and also a racing aficionado. He told me that he loved both the racing and the music industries because they were so much alike. Everyone lived on the edge, often they worked together for intense short bursts, then hit the road again not knowing when, or if, they would see each other again. Well, one of the lines that I wrote in honor of that racing experience has now become my own music experience. So to everyone I worked with on this project, Pack it up the carnival’s over The race is run it’s time to go So say goodbye 'cause the show must move on, friend I hope to see you I hope to be with you Further down Further down the road Anne