The Country Side Of Volume 1 CD

From Paul CarrackI039ve always wanted to make a country album A lot of people detect the influences of soul in my music but I039ve also always loved country Growing up, I was hungry for any kind of music but I would listen to people like Chet Atkins, The Everly Brothers, Hank Williams and I particularly loved Ray Charles, who is predominantly known for his soul and jazz stuff, but could also sing really great country I have an older brother, John, and one Christmas we were given toy guitars, we used to sing along with skife, people like Lonnie Donegan and songs like Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley. We really loved The Everly Brothers and would try to sing the harmonies. Cathy039s Clown was a favourite. Then in the 80s, when I was in a band with Nick Lowe, touring America on the bus we would always have George Jones and Willie Nelson playing, and people like The Osborne Brothers. It just seemed right listening to that when you039re on the road in the USAOver the years, I039ve done little bits of country on different albums but then out of the blue, a guy from North Carolina emailed me and said 039Hi, I039m Steven Wood, I039m a country artist and I039d like to cover your song, Lighten Up Your Mood. Would that be OK and if so, would you like to maybe play on it or sing a few lines039 I told him I039d always wanted to make a country album and he said 039Well, why don039t we collaborate on something 039So, that was the beginning of this record.We talked a lot about country music and what it means, because it039s such a massive subject. I like the older stuff, the authenticity of it and I didn039t want to pick obscure songs for the sake of it. I wanted familiar songs that I039d always loved with an early 60s70s vibe so, after some very long conversations we chose tracks by people like George Jones, who039s a genius basically, and Merle Haggard, who I love. We even do a Hank Snow song, which is one of my favourites, and one of my grandson039s too. And of course, we do some Ray Charles and Hank Williams. We also included a couple of tracks I039d had a hand in writing that we wanted to try in a country vein. There039s Love Will Keep Us Alive, which I wrote with Peter Vale and Jim Capaldi and which was a hit for the Eagles. I039ve recorded a number of versions but this is a Steven Wood production, which adds something fresh to the song. And then there039s In The Cold Light of Day, which I wrote with Chris Difford from Squeeze with his typical dry approach to lyrics. I have a great respect for Steven and what he does so I basically let him run the show. He provided the initial tracks, I laid down vocals and he assembled an amazing band of the best Nashville players to record the live instruments. On a few tracks, Steven added some perfect Nashville style strings at Starstruck Studios with the Nashville String Machine and the arranger, David Shipps. We knew what we wanted to do. We picked the songs and we did it.I hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed making it.