New album from Andrea??

[DazedOblivion]

Thanks to Scott (Andypandy) of the Andrea Corr Heaven Messageboard for bringing my attention to this, but according to this NEW ANDREA INTERVIEW by Sam Leith in the Guardian, Andrea plans to do a follow-up album! ;D

She confirms that there is a follow-up album on the blocks, but "I can't really talk about it now, with my situation with the record company. I just can't."

There is a lot more interesting information in this album about Andrea's attitude towards acting, towards her years with the Corrs, and her feelings about Ten Feet High not being commercially successful. One of the most substantial interviews of a Corr in quite a while.

About this article:
Andrea Corr talks about reinventing herself as a stage actress in Dancing at Lughnasa
This article was first published on guardian.co.uk at 00.01 GMT on Wednesday 25 February 2009. It appeared in the Guardian on Wednesday 25 February 2009 on p21 of the Arts section. It was last updated at 15.27 GMT on Wednesday 25 February 2009.

www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/feb/25/andrea-corr

I am very happy to hear about another album from Andrea. There is so little real news about the Corrs that it's hard to know where their minds are with respect to music. This article is enlightening in that it shows an Andrea distancing herself from those days when she "sang and did the, whatever, vixen stuff."

[DazedOblivion]

This is another very interesting Andrea quote from the interview when she talks about being the lead singer and getting most of the attention in the media:

"Very early on it felt ... it made me more self-conscious. I wanted to stay in, reading. I felt like a caricature or something," she says. "Nobody really knows me, to be honest. I stayed very, very quiet within the band. Yes, I sang and did all the, whatever, vixen stuff around the stage. But I didn't speak that much. I didn't have a particular persona."

[Simone]

Thank you... something new at least !

It's a great article, she seemed to be happy with the play and still upset about her first album... it's good that she actually still think that it's a good album, that's better for her and will give her confidence for the new one.

I agree about that second quote, Steve... it's very interesting, because in a way, I've always think that about her... In the beginning, I thought she was a bit "snob", then I thought she was more shy... then I saw the concert in Lansdowne Road ... that's why she can make a good actress

[Nyoman]

Thank you for posting, Steve!

Very intersting to hear there's possible of a second album from Andrea. I really like her first album, TFH so I definitely welcome her on this one also.

And the last part of that article is very sweet, absolutely the most thing I like from Andrea.

[cw]

Hhhmmm,

I will take the risk of being lynched with my opinion on a future Andrea solo album.

Firstly, I wish her well in her acting endeavours (and it seems DAL and her efforts have gone over well and I thoroughly understand where she was coming from re her "previous" stage persona.

Regarding a 2nd solo album, I would sound a somewhat cautious note. To be brutally frank, and this is looking through the stark commercial realities of the music industry, Ten Feet High "tanked".

This may have been due to any number of factors, some outside her influence although I suspect she was poorly advised.

- Certainly the release was poorly promoted by the label BUT was there a sell-through hit on it ?? Methinks not.

- My comments re poorly advised relates to the production. Mr Hewson may be a dear friend and gave the Corrs a great steer when he suggested When The Stars Go Blue as a duet but he gave Andy a "bum steer" when he recommended a producer for this album. The ultimate indictment on MISTER Nellee Hooper's work is the fact that the songs from this album were shown to best advantage and ultimately promoted in acoustic form.

- What are Andrea's vocal qualities and how are they shown to best advantage? Whilst there is (was) some range to her voice and "some" strength, she has never been a "diva". I may be controversial in this view, but I thought in the later times (esp BH) I thought she may have been going "off" vocally. She was certainly "oversinging" a lot and seemingly singing a lot more in her upper register which has limited strength and was straining. Personally I've thought her "money voice" was in her mid range which is far richer and warmer with occ visits where warranted to the higher range ( a study of the best of the Corrs material will most likely bear this out). From what I listened to from TFH, it seemed the same syndrome was in play; much of it was set high and to my mind, not showing Andy to best advantage.

- Another factor to consider is the enormous artistic debt that she owes to her siblings. Andrea's voice is indeed a very effective and emotive instrument but it was shown to prime advantage through sensitive and astute arrangements (cue applause for insensitive and offensive big brother) and her sister's were "the backing singers from heaven" as regards to oh so subtley surrounding and supporting her voice. Ask yourselves, why indeed are many of their acoustic performances so treasured ??

- We then get to the key factor ...... the material. Timing may have been a factor but realistically TFH was NOT commercial !!!! Facts are that she has been out of the musical "big time" for a while and record labels being the harsh commercial entities that they are (esp in these times) are playing tougher and tougher versions of hardball on what they will release and promote.

- She certainly has the talent to attain success outside the Corrs. What it will take is the luck of "the right song"; the question being is "will she find that" and indeed where she now sees her professional future , music or elsewhere. She may also be better served working with those she is comfortable with and whom she trusts implicitly.

[cw]

Apparently, a little more on this proposed new album. From a BBC Radio interview with Andrea on Sun morning. Here is the link (interview starts at @42 min)
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00jsjk7

Make of it what you will but I am still rather cautious about any such undertaking. Sadly TFH did NOT do wonders for her musical "market value" and she will need a quality product ... and luck for this to go anywhere. It's all very well to find scapegoats and yes, the label didn't exactly extend itself but you also need to look closer to home. One can argue either way about the quality of the material but DID the recording show her voice (and the songs) to best advantage ?? As I stated above, I think the fact that she ended up selling it "acoustically" (with her old crew) gives a fair indication.

In short, if this 2nd effort is just another TFH (and with the same "creative team") then my commercial judgement is to back Sharon's effort before her's.

[DazedOblivion]

Well expressed, Wombat. Interesting to hear her thoughts on this. The truth of the matter is that times have changed. In this day and age, to rely on the record label to do the job is to set one's self up for failure. Record labels are in free fall due to several factors: illegal downloading, corporate control of who/what gets media exposure, the economy, It's a matter of limited funds. Gone are the days when a musician can kick back and leave it to the label to do the promo work. Truth be told, Andrea didn't do enough on her own to engage and energize her fans. A forum was created, but she never visited and it even went so unmonitored that it fell victim to spammers. I think that Sharon has learned from this and is trying to communicate with her fan base.

This is what I wrote a couple weeks back at Scott's site:

I am excited about Andrea's album, too!

Andrea is a great songwriter and a superb lyricist, and I have every confidence in her abilities to make an outstanding album.

I hope that Andrea will have gained confidence in her own judgment after the first album. In my estimation, Nellee Hooper - regardless of his unquestionably successful track record - somehow did not "fit" with Andrea. I did love "Ideal World"! But, to be completely honest, I never liked "Hello Boys," and "Shame On You," though lyrically very provocative, never was a favourite. And yet, when these songs were stripped of their technopop production and Andrea performed them acoustically with Anto Drennan, they were so much better. I can't say for sure, but Hooper's style seemed to involve imposing his vision for Andrea on Andrea. Contrast that with Mitch Froom's work with Missy Higgins on the album On A Clear Night, where Froom's style seemed more geared towards bringing out the heart and soul of Missy Higgins' songwriting.

It may have been difficult for Nellee Hooper because Andrea is a very complex person as musicians go - extremely intelligent, capable of projecting vixen-like image (that he tried to bring out with "Hello Boys"), but perhaps more vulnerable than he realized. I could be way off base with these impressions.

Though not entirely satisfied with the album, I really feel that the Ten Feet High experience helped me understand more about Andrea, and it made me more of a fan to see her venture out of her comfort zone and take the chances that came along with going solo. I feel confident that Andrea will have some great things in store with a new album.

[Andypandy]

I share some of your same concerns. I hope she gets a better backing from her studio and gets a different producer. I do have high hopes for Sharon's album though.

[cw]

Apr 14, 2009 15:23:26 GMT 1 Andypandy said:

I share some of your same concerns. I hope she gets a better backing from her studio and gets a different producer. I do have high hopes for Sharon's album though.

Not sure you have it the right way round. Perhaps you were meaning getting better backing from her RECORD LABEL, rather than her studio - which is just the location that an artists chooses to record material.

When it boils down to it, many of the "issues" with TFH are ones that were under HER control. An artist and/or their management makes the choice of their creative partners - ie production/collaborators. In some cases, labels can be active in this area but that was clearly not the case here.
Essentially SHE chose to go with Nellee Hooper (or allowed herself to be persuaded).

The record shows that the recorded version was essentially "dumped" and the material "re-sold" acoustically with members of her old crew. That sort of decision is not taken unless their is a clear lack of confidence in the release and basically speaks of a rescue mission. Again, the artist SHOULD have power of veto artistically, which she does not appear to have exercised with that recording. Ditto with musicians; her live performances make it self evident that she works best with people with whom she is comfortable - another poor call.

Steve nails it on the head with regards to "selling" it. The labels/record company job is to facilitate success/provide openings in markets but it is the artist's job to SELL the material. Frankly she appears to have forgotten the lessons of the band's success. The point about the net is pertinent; this was a major "backdoor" way to energise the fanbase and .... zero effort. Realistically, she made the requisite "contractual obligation" appearances on TV but you need to do more.

Sharon MAY have gone to school on Andrea's experience but then again, the evidence so far indicates that she is exercising clear control over the operation (artistically/who she's working with) and also being proactive in engaging the fanbase.

Sorry to say it but whilst I have empathy for Andrea's disappointment about TFH; I feel that IF she is going to go ahead with another release then she needs to get her head out of the sand and take stock of what went wrong with TFH. Scapegoats are convenient but sadly, with many of the "issues" the buck stops with her !!

[DazedOblivion]

The problem is that we don't really know the full story of what happened. I do remember that the album - in its first encarnation - neared completion in the summer of 2006 - almost 10 months before before the eventual release in late spring of 2007. Stylorouge had even leaked that it was working on EPK material for an album called Present that was to be released in the Fall of 2006. This was before Hooper was called in, I believe. Someone at the label put this to a stop and mandated that Andrea go back into the studio.

If you look at this post from 2006 HERE, you will see evidence that the acoustic piano version of "Hello Boys" - the one with Andrea at the piano inside a red-curtained theatre - had ALREADY been completed well before Nellee Hooper came on the scene through the influence of Bono.

HQ

In an article from Summer 2007, Andrea is quoted as saying in regards to "Hello Boys":

"I'd done it as a slow, melancholy goth ballad. Nellee took the song away for a week, and when I played what he'd done I was amazed to hear this growling sex kitten. I was, 'That's BRILLIANT!'"

I have to say that I liked Andrea's piano version of "Hello Boys" - it had a more languid, "burned-out cigarette" feel to it, if that makes any sense. Many fans that I have talked to say that they prefer these acoustic versions at the piano or with Anto. Some of these do appear to be artifacts of the FIRST version of the album.

We don't know but that Andrea may have just cause to have some resentment against the label for nixing her FIRST opus (Present) and forcing her to go back to work to create something "poppier". This might help explain how it seemed that, at the time, Andrea's words talked up the album out of necessity while her actions betrayed a sense that she had somewhat disowned it. It also might help explain Andrea's recent comments in the radio interview about her disappointment: "They didn't believe in the record I made; I believed in the record I made."

Just another perspective on Andrea's recent comments.

[cw]

Thanks for posting that Steve, I was not au fait with the timeline and it does put a different slant on some aspects and more credence to her comments. I confess that this project was not something I followed closely, as I was not part of the Corr netlinks at the time. I heard word of a solo project but the first exposure were tracks from the actual release which frankly turned me off sufficiently NOT to buy it. It has only been later going back and looking at the acoustic clips that has led me to reconsider .... to a degree.

Getting back to the matter at hand, I can now better understand her viewpoint but I still suggest that there are aspects she may have handled much better. It's her artistic credibility on the line ... and that is what bears the damage with flawed product on the market.

[bernard]

Aie, Aie, Aie,I just returned from a mission for my work and I discovered lots of things after one month of abscence.
I don't know if I understood everything what Dawie has to note on this post, but if I understood well Dawie says to us that Andréa has no voice; my kept silent friend shall have to listen again to all the titles of The Corrs especially when they are in concert, because it's there that I I became a fan of this group when I saw to Lansdowne Road and it is the voice of Andréa that my fact to love the Corrs.
If Andréa had to make one piece of news album I have nobody on these capacity vocal, and I am sure that it will be as well as the first one (Eh! Yes, I have a lot to like the first album of Andréa); On the other hand I think that she shall have to change producer and make a little more promotion, it is what what made defaut for the first one, then I agree with Steve on record companies and on hacking.
Now Dawie I maybe badly understood what you wrote, because as me said I'm French and in spite of my little progress in the language of Shakespeare my English is still average; In these conditions apologize my friend; But I shall like to hear a new album of Andréa.
Friendly; Nanard

[cw]

Bernard,

I think that you have misunderstood me. I will try and make it clearer.

- I DID NOT say that Andrea does not have a singing voice. I TOO was at Lansdowne Road, I was also in the audience at Unplugged so I am very aware of the quality of her voice.

- My point with her voice is that on the Borrowed Heaven tour and with Ten Feet High, she is singing much "higher" than before and sometimes seemed to be forcing her voice (what is called oversinging). That gave an impression that either she was losing some of her voice OR she was getting away from what I, and others, have thought was the "magic" of her voice; that beautiful warm "easy" tone . She sounded OK on "Home" so it seems an artistic decision of hers.

- In the other music section, Steve and I have been comparing Andrea to some of the great women singers we grew up with and love to listen too....... that is how highly I rate her but Ten Feet High DID NOT show her voice at her best.

Hope you now understand that I was not saying that Andrea is a bad singer or has no talent. What I was saying is that I have not been a fan of her singing on shows like Geneva .... and on Ten Feet High.

Understand yr probs with English .... it's my second language and had to learn it fast when I first came to an English speaking country. I may have Hugenot ancestry but sadly my French is only "ordinaire" with much of it from a menu ..or rude !!

Peace.

[bernard]

May 19, 2009 11:17:34 GMT 1 cw said:

Bernard,

I think that you have misunderstood me. I will try and make it clearer.

- I DID NOT say that Andrea does not have a singing voice. I TOO was at Lansdowne Road, I was also in the audience at Unplugged so I am very aware of the quality of her voice.

- My point with her voice is that on the Borrowed Heaven tour and with Ten Feet High, she is singing much "higher" than before and sometimes seemed to be forcing her voice (what is called oversinging). That gave an impression that either she was losing some of her voice OR she was getting away from what I, and others, have thought was the "magic" of her voice; that beautiful warm "easy" tone . She sounded OK on "Home" so it seems an artistic decision of hers.

- In the other music section, Steve and I have been comparing Andrea to some of the great women singers we grew up with and love to listen too....... that is how highly I rate her but Ten Feet High DID NOT show her voice at her best.

Hope you now understand that I was not saying that Andrea is a bad singer or has no talent. What I was saying is that I have not been a fan of her singing on shows like Geneva .... and on Ten Feet High.

Understand yr probs with English .... it's my second language and had to learn it fast when I first came to an English speaking country. I may have Hugenot ancestry but sadly my French is only "ordinaire" with much of it from a menu ..or rude !!

Peace.

OK my friend; apologize; I misunderstood you.
Now I understand better what you said; and it's true that I'll just meets what you said.
I didn't know that you to speak a little bit French, it's indeed; I would be curious to see Its
You also belonged to "Lansdowne Road", it's great, where was you? Me, I was on the lawn approximately 20,30 metres of the stage; which magnificent memory, isn't it?
Finally, I hope you will forgive me this little misunderstood .
With quite my friendship
Bernard

[Nyoman]

LOL, It's funny how I always thought that Live In Gevena is their second best performance so far on DVD, after Live In London (my favorite!).

For me, it shows how powerful is Andrea's voice at some songs especially "Angel" and "Goodbye". I agree in "Long Night" she sounds too forced her voice at some levels, but the rest of the songs she sang perfectly, IMO. This DVD is also showed how Andrea do a lot of moves, jumping, and running while singing and I sometimes ignored her mistakes on "singing perspective", while she fascinated me by the whole of her performace, LOL! ;D

And about her first solo album, yes I really like it. She takes really differ style from Corrs style, and it works,...well at least for me it is works. My favorite song from the album is "This Is What It's All About", what a great romantic song. The rest of the album is great too although some of them I rarely heard it now. That's why if she would do the second one, I really curious what kind of style she would take now. And yes I agree if she should try to co-work with one of the old producers like "R. Mutt Lange" on In Blue, maybe? (once again, my favorite Corrs album) and of course Promotion and a lot of interact with the fans through her website is really important things also.

Just my thought..