Far From Country - New Steel - Daniel Lanois

Thomas Bohlen · Post by **Thomas Bohlen** » 22 Sep 2009 8:07 am

Hey Steelers!

The pedal steel and cosmic music aficionado in me just got my hands on Daniel Lanois new box set "the omni series" which features 3 brand new works and a postcard gallery of his celestial paintings. Beautiful stuff! Anyone whos a fan of his or just interested in hearing some ethereal music check it out! Been waiting for a new Lanois release for a while and this will keep me happy and content for quite some time.

I highly recommend his steel work in a not so country environment. It is really cool to hear the instrument outside of the norm, playing some beautiful and 'out there' music.

If you haven't heard Daniel Lanois before, I highly recommend him. He produced some of the best albums in the 80s from Bob Dylan, U2 and Emmylou Harris' "Wrecking Ball." He's also a steel player, guitarists and somewhat avant-garde jazzer.

He's rocking with Brian Blade and Brad Mehldau on this one. Very cool! The first disc entitled "Steel" is my favorite. Being a steel player I find his non traditional use of the instrument to awaken my creativity not only just on the instrument but on a full musical level as well. Just beautiful compositions here. Perfect for any Steel guitar fan.

Check it out!

Oh and if you're interested, I found a free contest on his website to win cool prizes from Lanois. Its a bracket contest where you just pick what you think are Lanois' best albums including the ones he produced. Fun to do, even better if you win!
http://daniellanois.bracketeers.com/

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 22 Sep 2009 9:04 am

i'm not crazy about his approach to steel....but..i just watched slingblade again the other night and he does a great job of assembling the soundtrack.

chas smith · Post by **chas smith** » 22 Sep 2009 9:36 am

A number of years ago I played on a bill where we followed his set. He was playing an LDG, that I rebuilt for him, into an AC30. The sound that came out of that amp was absolutely delicious. If you need to hear a lot of notes and chords, you would have been disappointed. If you love to hear beautiful sound, you would have loved it.

Nick Reed · Post by **Nick Reed** » 22 Sep 2009 11:24 am

Cliff Kane · Post by **Cliff Kane** » 22 Sep 2009 11:44 am

Lanois is cool in my book, he's an artist doing his own thing for the sounds as he hears them. He is an unconventional player on steel and on six string. I liked some of the records he produced, but he's very 80's sounding to me. He works with some great artists and hires great players. I think he will be the next Jerry Garcia on this forum. I would guess that a lot of his fans will say he is the greatest most amazing pedal steel player ever, and a lot of steel players will think he has no technique and limited skills. I have mixed feelings about him, but I do recognize his distinct sound and style.

Twayn Williams · Post by **Twayn Williams** » 22 Sep 2009 12:47 pm

Nick Reed wrote:YUK!

What are you, 2yrs old?

Thomas, is the "Steel" cd all new material, or is it selections from Belladonna?

Lanois' approach to PSG is very like his approach to 6-string: it's not technically complex, but it is quite unique. He seems to be more interested in the little sounds and textures. I'm convinced that you either get it or you don't.

Thomas Bohlen · Post by **Thomas Bohlen** » 22 Sep 2009 1:41 pm

The "Steel" album is all new, lots of solo stuff and then with a band. Yes, he does have a very different approach but I love that. I need steel in all areas of my life and hearing something different helps out with that

For me, its often that I don't need the most technically proficient player or someone who has a bunch of hot licks in his bag. Like in life, sometimes I need a sad country ballad and sometimes I need some atmospheric loose sound.

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 22 Sep 2009 2:07 pm

I was just re-reading an old GP magazine article about him and his studio, film scoring and production work. Although I'm not all that familiar with his steel playing, what I've heard I find refreshing and very interesting. I too enjoy another approach to the instrument such as his or say...Bruce Kaphan's.

I'll make it a point to find and listen to some of this new CD. Thanks for the heads up.

Cliff Kane · Post by **Cliff Kane** » 22 Sep 2009 2:09 pm

The man has been consistently making hit records for over twenty years. Even if his playing is not your cup of tea, he's got it going on and I'm sure has something to offer the considerate listener. I find the records he makes for other people (the hit records) over produced and his own records (Lanois as the artist) underproduced, but what do I know. I think it's cool that he is pursuing his passion of playing steel guitar. He could easily be done and fat and living on his island somewhere or what ever superstars do when they're done.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 22 Sep 2009 4:51 pm

i think it's good to have the steel guitar being treated as an instrument different people can express things with in their own manner. like the guitar...not just rock or jazz or (?)...it's whatever the person is. i love some guitarists and am bored or turned off by others. maybe the steel is finally reaching musical instrument status rather than weird country thingie!

Shawn Canning · Post by **Shawn Canning** » 22 Sep 2009 5:08 pm

I saw Lanois play at the local folk festival here a few years ago. He was last on the bill for the night and showed up on stage flanked by a couple of Marshall stacks and proceeded to tear it up. Man, you should have seen the exodus of indignant folkies. He alternated between his steel and a Gibson Firebird. It all sounded outstanding. I wish I could recall the story he told of how he came to play the steel as a kid...must have been something in the water that night.

Daniel Morris · Post by **Daniel Morris** » 23 Sep 2009 2:30 pm

Yeah, Daniel Lanois. He refers to his pedal steel as his "little church in a suitcase". BELLADONNA is a really fine CD, and a good place to start if you don't know Daniel's steel work. No, he doesn't produce straight ahead steel guitar instrumental albums, nor does he include steel on every track, but with an open ear, you'll find some lovely music. He played on Brian Eno's APOLLO-ATMOSPHERES AND SOUNDTRACKS recording, and it is gorgeous (try DEEP BLUE DAY for a lilting, nearly country space instrumental). And for further explorations with pedal steel, look up David Sylvian's GONE TO EARTH, with some really ethereal steel on a few cuts by BJ Cole, who really knows how to use the steel outside the box. Remember: many modern artists have tried to capture the primitive in their art (naive, child-like), so a musician that is not a pyro-technician may also offer a return to the wonder of childhood discovery. Lanois is decidedly not primitive, but he does offer a simple beauty; the beauty of the pedal steel guitar.

Mike Poholsky · Post by **Mike Poholsky** » 23 Sep 2009 4:00 pm

Came across this a while back. I like it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9yXDQaX8BI

Daniel Morris · Post by **Daniel Morris** » 23 Sep 2009 4:47 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZZAyYUo ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXVQbbGM ... re=related
Reminds me of why I decided to learn this instrument nearly 40 years ago. As much as I love experimental sounds, the simplicity and majesty of the pedal steel with just 2 pedals is always a joy.
And on Chas Smith's superb NIKKO WOLVERINE CD, the last track is a simple steel solo, beautifully played.
http://www.amazon.com/Nikko-Wolverine-C ... 083&sr=1-1

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 23 Sep 2009 8:57 pm

Thomas Bohlen wrote:It is really cool to hear the instrument outside of the norm

I agree.

Ask Kjaergaard · Post by **Ask Kjaergaard** » 24 Sep 2009 1:48 am

I think it's always great to hear, when artists go their own way. Lanois has his own and very distinct sound. Not only when he plays his pedal steel, but also when he's producing or writing songs. For instance, the two Bob Dylan albums, "Oh Mercy" and "Time out of mind", which he produced, are so incredibly tasteful and the "Lanois-sound" is all over those records. Isn't this really what most of us musicians are striving for? To create/develop our own unique sound/style. Lanois has done just that, and I admire him for it. He is an incredible musician in my opinion.

Daniel Morris · Post by **Daniel Morris** » 28 Sep 2009 2:06 pm

Sitting here listening to the just-delivered OMNI SERIES box by Lanois. Steel guitar is featured on more than just the STEEL disc, the music generally subdued and consonant. No vocals, just instrumentals. Would be a nice listen on a night time drive. Nothing earthshaking, but oh this is sweet.

Greg Gefell · Post by **Greg Gefell** » 29 Sep 2009 12:09 pm

Anyone know if he substitutes different notes for strings 9 and 7? In several of those videos it looks like there's some thumb strumming on the low strings going on, but I don't hear the D or F# strings in there anywhere?

Nathan Golub · Post by **Nathan Golub** » 29 Sep 2009 12:17 pm

Greg, here's an old thread discussing his copedent:

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... highlight=

Twayn Williams · Post by **Twayn Williams** » 29 Sep 2009 1:20 pm

Lifted from the previous thread

chas smith wrote:Back about 7 or 8 years ago, I did some work on a couple of his guitars, which were Sho-Bud LDG's with E-66 pickups. He was using the A and B pedals only, no knee levers and the tunings were:

E
D#
G#
E
B
G#
E
E
C#
B

I played on a venue, one time, where he went on before us and he was playing through a delay into an overdriven Vox AC30. The playing was conservative and the sound that came out of that amp was absolutely delicious.

Chris LeDrew · Post by **Chris LeDrew** » 29 Sep 2009 5:34 pm

Shawn Canning wrote: I wish I could recall the story he told of how he came to play the steel as a kid...

I saw him play here in NL around the same time, and he told that story. A traveling salesman came to his door when he was a young kid, and asked if any of the kids in the house had musical talent. When his mother motioned to Lanois, the salesman produced and accordion (I think) and a lap steel, and offered Lanois a choice. He picked the steel. (Something along those lines, anyway.)

He was playing a round front Pro 1 with an updated undercarriage the night I saw him (looked like MCI parts). He was running it through a Vox AC30. All AB pedals, and no lever use at all. His guitar tech/roadie put it in the case backwards after the show, so I went up and helped him put it in properly. Lanois is reputed to own several Coop'ed Sho~Buds as well, including a converted D10 Crossover and an LDG.

Lanois uses the pedal steel as he uses all other instruments: as a mean of expression. He couldn't give a rat's a@# about conventional playing. I met him, and he's really down to earth and friendly. He fit right in here in Newfoundland because he likes to have a drink!

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