Jennifer Warnes – The Well Warnes – The Well ... something akin to the meaning of the term ......
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Jennifer Warnes – The Well CLASSIC 2001 ALBUM RECEIVES A NORTH AMERICAN RE- ISSUE ON MARCH 18 th , 2016 “Her voice is like the California weather, filled with sunshine but there's an earthquake behind it.” Leonard Cohen THE WELL, Jennifer Warnes' most personal album, receives a long overdue North American re-issue THE WELL finds Warnes performing striking original songs alongside exquisite interpretations of Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Allen Toussaint, Jesse Winchester, Arlo Guthrie, Billy Joel & Cindy Walker. THE WELL is a unique mix of Texas roots and Los Angeles studio craft: “Americana” before the term existed. Jennifer Warnes needs little introduction: The Los Angeles based singer and songwriter has topped the charts, sold millions of records and won a record 3 Oscars for Best Song (Norma Rae, An Officer And A Gentleman, Dirty Dancing). Warnes' biggest hits include 'Right Time Of The Night' in 1976, 'the classic power ballad ‘Up Where We Belong' with Joe Cocker in 1983, and '(I've Had) The Time Of My Life' with the Righteous Brothers' Bill Medley in 1988. As a recording artist she has worked with many of the finest musicians in contemporary pop and rock: The legendary session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew played on her debut album, Velvet Underground’s John Cale produced 1972's Jennifer while Leonard Cohen was so enamoured he hired Warnes to sing on his 1972 and 1979 world tours and upon seven of his albums, including recent works presently in production. Warnes is an extremely astute performer of Cohen and her 1986 album of Cohen compositions, Famous Blue Raincoat, is a masterpiece of interpretive song. Famous Blue Raincoat also featured guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, a buddy of that album’s co-producer Roscoe Beck. Her experience of living in Austin, Texas in the early 1980s, inspired Warnes writing and recording of The Well. Working with Vaughan's mentor, Doyle Bramhall Sr.in Austin, Texas and arranger Martin Davich in Los Angeles, Warnes created an album inspired by America at its most epic and questing: the album's title track refers to an underwater cave in central Texas named Jacob's Well, a natural springs, inspiring Warnes to sing about the earthy mysteries, the beauty and renewal found in nature. “Doyle was pure Texan. I come from Southern California. What we created on The Well sits somewhere in- between both cities, something rather unique. 'Americana' wasn't a musical term that existed when we first met. But The Well, through its Texan earthiness and
Transcript of Jennifer Warnes – The Well Warnes – The Well ... something akin to the meaning of the term ......
Jennifer Warnes – The Well
CLASSIC 2001 ALBUM RECEIVES A NORTH AMERICAN RE-
ISSUE ON MARCH 18th, 2016
“Her voice is like the California weather, filled with sunshine but there's an earthquake behind it.” Leonard Cohen
THE WELL, Jennifer Warnes' most personal album, receives a long overdue North American re-issue THE WELL finds Warnes performing striking original songs alongside exquisite interpretations of
Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Allen Toussaint, Jesse Winchester, Arlo Guthrie, Billy Joel & Cindy Walker.
THE WELL is a unique mix of Texas roots and Los Angeles studio craft: “Americana” before the term existed.
Jennifer Warnes needs little introduction: The Los Angeles based singer and songwriter has topped the charts, sold millions of records and won a record 3 Oscars for Best Song (Norma Rae, An Officer And A Gentleman, Dirty Dancing). Warnes' biggest hits include 'Right Time Of The Night' in 1976, 'the classic power ballad ‘Up Where We Belong' with Joe Cocker in 1983, and '(I've Had) The Time Of My Life' with the Righteous Brothers' Bill Medley in 1988. As a recording artist she has worked with many of the finest musicians in contemporary pop and rock: The legendary session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew played on her debut album, Velvet Underground’s John Cale produced 1972's Jennifer while Leonard Cohen was so enamoured he hired Warnes to sing on his 1972 and 1979 world tours and upon seven of his albums, including recent works presently in production. Warnes is an extremely astute performer of Cohen and her 1986 album of Cohen compositions, Famous Blue Raincoat, is a masterpiece of interpretive song. Famous Blue Raincoat also featured guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, a buddy of that album’s co-producer Roscoe Beck.
Her experience of living in Austin, Texas in the early 1980s, inspired Warnes writing and recording of The Well. Working with Vaughan's mentor, Doyle Bramhall Sr.in Austin, Texas and arranger Martin Davich in Los Angeles, Warnes created an album inspired by America at its most epic and questing: the album's title track refers to an underwater cave in central Texas named Jacob's Well, a natural springs, inspiring Warnes to sing about the earthy mysteries, the beauty and renewal found in nature.
“Doyle was pure Texan. I come from Southern California. What we created on The Well sits somewhere in-between both cities, something rather unique. 'Americana' wasn't a musical term that existed when we first met. But The Well, through its Texan earthiness and
some of my favourite American songwriters is, I think, something akin to the meaning of the term Americana.” Warnes laughs and adds, “Or perhaps, it’s more like Dorothy of Oz-- colorful dreams that arise from the vast flatlands of the Midwest.”
Originally released in North America in 2001, The Well got blocked (then buried) by what Warnes describes as “a chaotic time in the music industry.” Having put her heart and soul into recording The Well only to see it seemingly disappear, Warnes stepped back from her career as a solo artist, preferring to sing on other artists' albums. “I consider myself an instrumentalist, I approach music much like a horn player does, I try to bring ease into these melodies.” Warnes has not released a new album since The Well but since regaining the rights to her masterpiece, she has overseen its reissue and is working on a new album for release on BMG International in late 2016, creating once again with Famous Blue Raincoat co-producer Roscoe Beck.
“ Getting inside of a song, giving it life is what I do,” states Warnes, “and on The Well I believe I achieved this in a way quite unlike any other.” She pauses then adds, “I hope music lovers get to hear The Well this time. It's a unique recording that doesn't exist elsewhere.”
(Jennifer Warnes speaking in January 2016)
Tracklisting
1. The Well
2. It’s Raining
3. Prairie Melancholy
4. Too Late Love Comes
5. La Luna Brilla
6. Fool For The Look In Your Eye
7. Invitation To The Blues
8. And So It Goes
9. The Panther
10. You Don’t Know Me
11. The Nightingale
12. Patriot’s Dream
13. The Well (Reprise)
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