Stina predictions for 2008

[sound world]

On 'Controversy' (the Prince tribute) I see that in addition to Stina,Susanna and the Magical Orchestra are doing a cover of 'Condition of the Heart',which just happens to be my favourite Prince song-as much for the extraordinary arrangement as anything.Have to check this out.
I wonder if Stina is happy about the 'Tribute' aspect.I'd be surprised if she did 'Purple Rain' as a tribute,since the PAS project started out as covers of 'crap' (her word) songs.

[RobB]

since the PAS project started out as covers of 'crap' (her word) songs.

I thought the PAS project started as a contractual obligation filler!

[paul-pgss]

I doubt that PAS was a contractfiller. Warner Music made quite a deal in The Netherlands on the promotion of this album, after the album got very positive reviews here and landed in the Moordlijst (which is an albumlist of most critical acclaimed albums). Warner placed adverts for the album in most musicmagazines and some dutch newspapers. I won't believe they would do that when it's sure that Stina's contract is going to be ended.

[RobB]

I guess I'm just naturally suspicious (cynical?) when an artists final album for a record company is a 'covers' album or a 'best of' album.

It always makes me think that they're hanging on to their best songs* for a new company / contract and opting for a relatively easy project in order to fulfill that final album obligation.

*Which is born out by the quality of the material on her next album,'This Is Stina Nordenstam'.

Doesn't mean that PAS was a bad album of course and I'm not surprised that EastWest got behind it as it has/had plenty of commercial potential. Fans of the artists covered would obviously show interest and I believe PAS received more press coverage than any other Stina album.

But with only one song to write for it (and that may have been a left over from a previous project) Stina didn't really have much to do other than to choose/arrange the songs and turn up for the sessions.

[future]

It's always good news when Stina's music has been selected for compilation projects,especially when its inclusion brings her music to the attention of new listeners / fans.

I totally agree If it wasn't for the Prince CD i wouldn't have been opened up to Stina!!

[sound world]

Hmm,I'm going to dispute your last sentence,RobB.
As someone whose main area of work is as a musical arranger,I'll say straight away that arranging is no doddle.In the case of PAS,Stina has completely altered the music of the originals,mostly bearing little or no relation to the song they take their text from.Really they have been thoroughly recomposed,added to which Stina has obviously spent a good deal of time in the studio trying various approaches (what gets called 'production' in the rock world).It's an incredibly experimental,playful album.There are all kinds of different instrumentations,ambiences,reverbs,noises off,splices,inserts.The focus continually shifts.
Meanwhile the actual music on 'This Is' is a pretty thin brew by comparison,and the band is like an LCD of a studio band.There's a few nice touches thrown in,but not many,and not that special,and every song is a fait accompli without any development in it.
Take a song like 'I Came So Far for Beauty' from PAS,and you hear that it goes through a very intense musical journey in its 4 minutes,building from very humble beginnings to something that justifies the title.

[Franck]

I agree with you, Dave. PAS is a really strong album to me, the re-arrangement or even re-writing of the songs is just unreachable in its inventiveness. It's not a cover album, it's pure Stina material based on words form others.
And I never thought it was a contractfiller either.

It's an incredibly experimental,playful album.There are all kinds of different instrumentations,ambiences,reverbs,noises off,splices,inserts.The focus continually shifts.

And that's why it's pure genius.

Maybe she needed to go to a rather simplified style after, as a reaction, or just to write her own perfect pop(py) album with This is.

[RobB]

Hmm,I'm going to dispute your last sentence,RobB.

Nothing new there then?

To re-use a little analogy,PAS still reeks of a painter & decorator who's bought in another p&d to do their place up in readiness for selling when they could have so easily have done their own decorating and made a better job of it.

[sound world]

I think your analogy fits better with This Is,where Stina has more or less handed over the reins to Mitchell Froom,who has taken a lot of warmth and dirt out of her songs and reduced them to ciphers,vignettes.

Ultimately it boils down to different preferences/musical taste; but I think Stina has often been at the cutting edge of songwriting,with an original and poetic approach,pushing the musical boundaries.For me,'This Is' represents a step backwards to the middle mainstream-a concession to the industry,almost.'TWIS' was a return to her own 'painting and decorating' and much better for it,if you ask me.

[RobB]

For me,'This Is' represents a step backwards to the middle mainstream-a concession to the industry,almost.

Funny,I saw it as a step forwards.....sort of Mitchell & Blake telling Stina to have confidence to not keep burying her songs and vocals in heavy instrumentation and just focus instead on giving the voice and melodies prominance.