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Soul Mining: A Musical Life
Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, U2, Peter Gabriel, and the Neville Brothers all have something in common: some of their best albums were produced by Daniel Lanois. A French-speaking kid from Canada, Lanois was driven by his innate curiosity and intense love of music to transcend his small-town origins and become one of the world’s most prolific and successful record producers, as well as a brilliant musician in his own right.
Lanois takes us through his childhood, from being one of four kids raised by a single mother on a hairdresser’s salary, to his discovery by Brian Eno, to his work on albums such as U2’s The Joshua Tree, Bob Dylan’s Time Out of Mind, and Emmylou Harris’s Wrecking Ball. Revealing for the first time ever his unique recording secrets and innovations, Lanois delves into the ongoing evolution of technology, discussing his earliest sonic experiments with reel-to-reel decks, the birth of the microchip, the death of discrete circuitry, and the arrival of the download era.
Part technological treatise, part philosophical manifesto on the nature of artistic excellence and the overwhelming need for music, Soul Mining brings the reader viscerally inside the recording studio, where the surrounding forces have always been just as important as the resulting albums. Beyond skill, beyond record budgets, beyond image and ego, Lanois’s work and music show the value of dedication and soul. His lifelong quest to find the perfect mixture of tradition and innovation is inimitable and unforgettable.
240 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2010
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302 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
January 7, 2015
If you're considering reading this book then I can help you out - you should.
It's almost a bunch of short stories and disjointed thoughts stuck together between 2 covers - maybe you'll see it that way and you'll still like it - but there's a steel thread that runs through the whole thing that speaks to a purity within Lanois that forms the basis of all of his work.
I'm not going to ramble, just read it. You'll probably be familiar with the artists he works with and you'll likely know a lot of the records that he shares stories about. You'll probably have already absorbed them from a number of different perspectives and think you're done with them - this book will give you another perspective to revisit them from and you might even start fresh.
It's almost a bunch of short stories and disjointed thoughts stuck together between 2 covers - maybe you'll see it that way and you'll still like it - but there's a steel thread that runs through the whole thing that speaks to a purity within Lanois that forms the basis of all of his work.
I'm not going to ramble, just read it. You'll probably be familiar with the artists he works with and you'll likely know a lot of the records that he shares stories about. You'll probably have already absorbed them from a number of different perspectives and think you're done with them - this book will give you another perspective to revisit them from and you might even start fresh.
May 23, 2018
French-Canadian record producer Daniel Lanois talks about his childhood and beginnings and how he went from being a slide guitar player and guy who had a recording studio in his mother's basement to working with Brian Eno, U2, Bob Dylan, The Neville Brothers, Jimmy Cliff, Billy Bob Thornton, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Robbie Robertson, and others. He also talks a lot about his theories of sound, soul, originality, focus, depth of field, being prepared, concentration, invention, one-source signals, using limitations, and many other topics relating to making records. An interesting look at an original and exacting talent. - BH.
September 20, 2012
I love Dan Lanois. I admired and studied his work for decades, met him recently, and now I know that he's the real deal. A true artist's artist; he's easily my favourite Canadian. If his music (obviously including production) has ever moved you in any way, read this and listen to those tracks again. Truly inspirational for any intelligent and passionate musician.
December 4, 2011
"...there are moments of epiphany. It's laboratoy work, really, and any scientist will tell you that research is trial and error, and sometimes by products are more interesting than what you thought you were supposed to be going after. Doubt is just part of the recipe... So there I was... wondering what the hell it was all about, banging into brick walls, hoping to find a way to make it all work. I was not about to be a casualty of mediocrity. Innovation is costly - it eats away at your life, your time. It makes a mockery of you as stand there with your pants down, as you make noises in the studio. It laughs at every failure and has no patience for dreams. I still suffer the blows of insecurity, as I get it all wrong twenty times, but on the twenty-first time I may get it right, and the gray clouds will let sunshine through."
April 27, 2019
Daniel Lanois is many things: a musician, a poet, a producer, an inventor, a nomad, a philosopher, a motorcycle enthusiast, a builder - the list goes on and on. Oh, and he's the author of this biography, Soul Mining: A Musical Life. Like his long list of diverse talents, this "biography" is a little bit everywhere. It is fascinating, especially to hear about his musical and producing adventures with U2, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, the Neville Brothers, and many others. But basically rootless, living his life wherever his next record production takes him, the reader is required to move around time periods and locales and the author's ever-changing moods and aspirations.
October 7, 2011
A very well written book by a great musical presence, both for his own work and his production of Dylan, Willie, Emmylou, Gabriel, U2, the Nevilles, and many more. Sort of a twin to Bob Dylan's Chronicle's volume 1.
contains this gem: "These early pioneers had invented a sound that would speak to the world and that held the four vital ingredients—sexuality, godliness, joy, and groove.” Daniel Lanois on early reggae, from his book Soul Mining, p159
contains this gem: "These early pioneers had invented a sound that would speak to the world and that held the four vital ingredients—sexuality, godliness, joy, and groove.” Daniel Lanois on early reggae, from his book Soul Mining, p159
December 1, 2011
He's not as good a writer as he is a producer, but he "gets 'er done". Sometimes he drones on about equipment he uses that only an audiophile would care about, and yet it gives insight into how thorough and specific he is in his craft. His stories made me go back and revisit albums I had liked and I was able to then know why a little better. If I ever got to meet Lanois, I'd thank him for the gift. My kinda guy.
January 5, 2016
Loved this book - would like another from Lanois, and a new Black Dub album too come to think of it...
June 22, 2014
I read this memoir by Daniel Lanois while going through a bit of a Lanois binge (albums, concert, stage interview). Lanois' production elevates the music of some very talented artists (Peter Gabriel, the Neville Brothers, U2, Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, et al), and his solo albums are filled with mood and atmosphere. So is his book. This isn't a tell-all autobiography. Some personal aspects of his life aren't discussed at all. It's a quilt of a memoir and the creation of music is the thread that holds the story elements together. Daniel has a very strong sense of place. His stories of growing up are thick with atmosphere. I loved his descriptions of turning a former theatre into a recording studio when he was making music for the movie Slingblade, and creating music in the rural outskirts of Oaxaca. Tavel is very much a theme in this book, both literally, as he's always on the move or riding motorcycles for pleasure, as well as personal voyage, as Daniel searches for new ways to move forward artistically. It lays on a little thick the 'wide-eyed Canadian kid plays in big leagues,' but I suspect that's how Daniel sees himself. Highly recommended if you like the music if Daniel Lanois or are interested in the process of making music -- or the creative process in general.
May 20, 2019
You quickly realize how many great albums he has been part of, from U2 to Dylan to Emmylou to Willie to the Neville’s to his own wonderful solo albums .
... you hear his (and mentor Brian Eno all over the soundscape) ... the book is a bit uneven in its writing but a fun ride for music geeks like me ...
... you hear his (and mentor Brian Eno all over the soundscape) ... the book is a bit uneven in its writing but a fun ride for music geeks like me ...
May 27, 2011
While might not have been the best music autobiography I've read, but it's still a really interesting look into one of my musical heroes. Lots of fun stories and thoughts.
February 3, 2023
There are gems and real insight in here, as you would expect, even if Lanois coyly says on a couple of occasions that he doesn’t want to give away his secrets, but you have to work for them, through a slightly idiosyncratic narrative and a really off-putting prose style, which verges from the unjustifiably hieratic and exalted (‘His soul was intact, and I am thankful to James May for his gift.’ or ‘The Lee Perry sound would become the pedestal at which the likes of Bob Marley could stand and let their sermons be heard.’) to the affectless tone of an apparently uniformed bystander. I assume the ghostwriter, Keisha Kalfin wanted to do more with this, indeed make it more digestible but was overruled.
Still, fascinating. I read it for the chapter on ‘Time Out of Mind’ with the release of ‘Fragments’ imminent but there was enough interest to entice me to read the whole thing. It could have been an even better book though.
Still, fascinating. I read it for the chapter on ‘Time Out of Mind’ with the release of ‘Fragments’ imminent but there was enough interest to entice me to read the whole thing. It could have been an even better book though.
January 28, 2024
‘𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩. 𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭-𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦. 𝘙𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢, 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦’
A random find at a Bookfest two weeks ago, I had no idea this book existed, but Daniel Lanois and I had been circling each other for years. As producer on two of my favourite Bob Dylan albums (Time Out of Mind and Oh Mercy) and his work on Emmylou Harris’s stunning Wrecking Ball album, his unique approach and thought process applied to his craft has always fascinated me.
I wanted to deduct a star for his work with the bloated and over rated U2, but mercifully they did not feature heavily. And, for the story of Neil Young and his wife Pegi slow dancing in the studio, upon a first listen to Emmylou’s cover of Neil’s own ‘Wrecking Ball’, well he more than made up for a U2 tale or two.
A random find at a Bookfest two weeks ago, I had no idea this book existed, but Daniel Lanois and I had been circling each other for years. As producer on two of my favourite Bob Dylan albums (Time Out of Mind and Oh Mercy) and his work on Emmylou Harris’s stunning Wrecking Ball album, his unique approach and thought process applied to his craft has always fascinated me.
I wanted to deduct a star for his work with the bloated and over rated U2, but mercifully they did not feature heavily. And, for the story of Neil Young and his wife Pegi slow dancing in the studio, upon a first listen to Emmylou’s cover of Neil’s own ‘Wrecking Ball’, well he more than made up for a U2 tale or two.
January 3, 2020
Étant donnée la grande connaissance et expertise de ce musicien-producteur, je m'attendais à des anecdotes fortes, des récits de vie musicales de grandes ampleurs. Le livre n'est pas à la hauteur du talent de Lanois. Terne et mat, il est intéressant une seule fois. Peut-être que dans un futur, il y aura une suite ou une réécriture qui suscite un grand intérêt. / I didn't reat it in English, only in French. I found the book a little grey, annoying a little bit. Read it once in a life it's okay, not twice!
October 15, 2017
Disclaimer: I have worked as a musician/recording engineer/producer and I'm a big fan of Daniel Lanois and his approach to music. So yes, I may be biased.
This is a must read for any Daniel Lanois fan and by extension fans of U2, later era Bob Dylan, etc.
It reads like a collection of anecdotes, short stories and memories hobbled together, but the underlying theme is that of purity
This is a must read for any Daniel Lanois fan and by extension fans of U2, later era Bob Dylan, etc.
It reads like a collection of anecdotes, short stories and memories hobbled together, but the underlying theme is that of purity
November 14, 2019
What comes across most of all in Daniel Lanois' book is that he loves music. He loves sounds, and melodies, and experimentaion with recording, and everything about it.
One part reflection and one part philosophy, Soul Mining was interesting throughout, because of his passion.
One part reflection and one part philosophy, Soul Mining was interesting throughout, because of his passion.
May 6, 2020
I had listened to a lot of music he had produced, but never as an artist. Since reading his story; I would argue because I read his story, I now own his entire catalogue. I love his unapologetic bridging of Canada’s two solitudes. If you like musicians’ autobiographies, check this one out!
July 30, 2024
An interesting book by an interesting man. Lanois has always walked his own path, very in touch with the universe through his lens of creativity. His artistic DIY ethic has led him to create some of the most amazing pieces of music on the planet while never compromising his own values.
January 15, 2017
Similar to Bob Dylan's "Chronicles Vol. 1" Lanois' "Soul Mining" presents remembrances of various times of his life in short chapters. It could be 20 pages on his first recording studio (in his mom's) basement, the time he first met Brian Eno, 3 pages on recording U2's "Beautiful Day", recording "Oh, Mercy!" or (my personal fave) "Wrecking Ball". Each story is well written with lots of musical production facts that are of interest to a layman like me.
recommended if you like the work of Daniel Lanois.
recommended if you like the work of Daniel Lanois.
October 5, 2023
“Soul Mining” is a captivating read from start to finish, providing detailed accounts of legendary Canadian producer Daniel Lanois’ most noteworthy collaborations.
Lanois’ memoir succeeds at its main goal of inspiring creativity, while also providing a wealth of fascinating insights into the world of music.
Soul Mining is a must-read for aspiring musicians, offering a comprehensive overview of Daniel Lanois' music recording and production techniques, detailed descriptions of his instruments and equipment, and a plethora of invaluable pieces of advice for young artists and producers.
Lanois’ memoir succeeds at its main goal of inspiring creativity, while also providing a wealth of fascinating insights into the world of music.
Soul Mining is a must-read for aspiring musicians, offering a comprehensive overview of Daniel Lanois' music recording and production techniques, detailed descriptions of his instruments and equipment, and a plethora of invaluable pieces of advice for young artists and producers.
December 7, 2011
"Soul Mining: A musical life" is a trip through Daniel Lanois' travels, friendships, dreams and inspirations. Hard to believe this Canadian was a candle maker in Gainsville, Florida, for a while, then not too long after that he was producing albums for U2. If you play and record music yourself, you'll love his stories from the studio, and most likely gain knowledge and insights. Some of them are simple, perhaps obvious, but to hear them coming from the source, they gain heft and height.
Lanois speaks: "There is a term that I like to use: liftoff. Liftoff is when all the ingredients gel and harmonic interplay works in your favor."
Yes, liftoff, sometimes it happens and who can explain the mystery? Or the luck? Make sure you hit the record button on every take, even the rehearsals.
Occasionally, Lanois drifts — or choruses — into politics. Fine with me. His sensibility: "There are those of us who do not appreciate Jamba Juice butted up against Target, butted up against Taco Bell, butted up against Burger King, with condos on top."
His sentiment on mixing music is especially refreshing, and he mentions that his mixes are "greasy," rather than "perfect." It's a little hard to translate that, exactly, but I think it would be obvious when heard.
While I liked this memoir a lot, one anecdote was quite sad and hit me hard, an unexpected sucker punch.
Lanois produced Bob Dylan's "Time Out of Mind" album, which won three Grammy awards. What the album did not produce was a certified radio hit.
But, as Lanois tells it, "I felt relieved when the ultimate conclusion to our work turned up on television. 'Love Sick' had become the theme for the new Victoria's Secret sexy women's underwear campaign. The penetrating sound of my Goldtop Les Paul and Bob's Telecaster had reached the masses. I felt it had all been worthwhile — Bob and I had had our hit."
Oh, the penetrating dismay.
Did anyone remind Dylan that he wrote "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"? Did anyone ask him if he wanted to be remembered for pushing pushup bras?
Did anyone at Victoria's Secret listen to the song before they bought it? There is nothing uplifting about it. The feel is more, "This dirge is killing me — I've got to buy a basic black suit so I can attend my own funeral."
Money, honey. Selling out was never sexier. Or more disappointing.
Lanois speaks: "There is a term that I like to use: liftoff. Liftoff is when all the ingredients gel and harmonic interplay works in your favor."
Yes, liftoff, sometimes it happens and who can explain the mystery? Or the luck? Make sure you hit the record button on every take, even the rehearsals.
Occasionally, Lanois drifts — or choruses — into politics. Fine with me. His sensibility: "There are those of us who do not appreciate Jamba Juice butted up against Target, butted up against Taco Bell, butted up against Burger King, with condos on top."
His sentiment on mixing music is especially refreshing, and he mentions that his mixes are "greasy," rather than "perfect." It's a little hard to translate that, exactly, but I think it would be obvious when heard.
While I liked this memoir a lot, one anecdote was quite sad and hit me hard, an unexpected sucker punch.
Lanois produced Bob Dylan's "Time Out of Mind" album, which won three Grammy awards. What the album did not produce was a certified radio hit.
But, as Lanois tells it, "I felt relieved when the ultimate conclusion to our work turned up on television. 'Love Sick' had become the theme for the new Victoria's Secret sexy women's underwear campaign. The penetrating sound of my Goldtop Les Paul and Bob's Telecaster had reached the masses. I felt it had all been worthwhile — Bob and I had had our hit."
Oh, the penetrating dismay.
Did anyone remind Dylan that he wrote "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"? Did anyone ask him if he wanted to be remembered for pushing pushup bras?
Did anyone at Victoria's Secret listen to the song before they bought it? There is nothing uplifting about it. The feel is more, "This dirge is killing me — I've got to buy a basic black suit so I can attend my own funeral."
Money, honey. Selling out was never sexier. Or more disappointing.
November 14, 2014
I have loved Daniel Lanois as a producer and songwriter for decades - he's taken me from my core listening in 1980s modern rock (legendary records by U2, Peter Gabriel) into spooky dirges by Bob Dylan and the space-age country of Emmylou Harris's WRECKING BALL. I have more records that he's played on, written, sung, produced or engineered than anyone else on the planet. Needless to say I loved this book but I didn't always like it. You have to accept Lanois' voice - musical, yearning, frustrated, discursive - and value it rather than wishing the text was more structured or chronological. You have to grant that he's written the book as (to borrow from his collaborator Dylan) "a series of dreams," with stories jumping from his impoverished childhood in Quebec and broken family to recording with U2 in Dublin to the mountainsides of Oaxaca and cheap recording studios in Toronto. He jumps around and seemingly aspires more to evocative vignettes than chronological coherence. The reader will still get tremendous insight into Lanois' vision as a record producer, and lovely gossip into his collaborations. But gearheads will wonder if he could provide more detail on his recording philosophies and techniques. Music geeks like me will want more about the songwriting behind his own beautiful records. And fans of tell-all music biographies will want more about the boldface names that Lanois has worked with over the past decades. So everyone might be a bit disappointed but the overall reading experience is still eminently worthy. You just wish the book came with a CD or Spotify playlist to hear all the music he helped to make and describes in such vivid detail.
February 4, 2011
I've worshiped at the sonic altar of Danny Lanois for 15 years or so now, so I was overjoyed a few months ago when I found out that he was putting out a book.
This book is basically an auto-biography, but much like Bob Dylan's "Chronicles, Vol. 1" it sort of jumps around in time and space. It's not arranged chronologically at all. In both books, this kind of bugged me a little bit.
Still, Lanois' writing is poetic, atmospheric, personal. No surprise to those familiar with his production techniques.
I've heard some reviewers who were disappointed that Lanois didn't divulge any of his recording secrets here. First off, a good recording gig is a rare things, so those who are established in the industry will fight tooth and claw to keep their jobs. You're not going to find any recording engineer worth their salt who's going to publish their signal chain in a book.
But more than that, I think, it misses the point that what has always set apart Lanois' records from the rest of the pack is "feel". It's intangible. You're not going to get the Lanois sound by copying the microphones or effects he uses. His albums are way more about what he gets out of the talent and the area around them.
All in all, a solid read for anybody who is into music, recording, and subscribes to the belief that a producer is one part musician and another part psychologist.
This book is basically an auto-biography, but much like Bob Dylan's "Chronicles, Vol. 1" it sort of jumps around in time and space. It's not arranged chronologically at all. In both books, this kind of bugged me a little bit.
Still, Lanois' writing is poetic, atmospheric, personal. No surprise to those familiar with his production techniques.
I've heard some reviewers who were disappointed that Lanois didn't divulge any of his recording secrets here. First off, a good recording gig is a rare things, so those who are established in the industry will fight tooth and claw to keep their jobs. You're not going to find any recording engineer worth their salt who's going to publish their signal chain in a book.
But more than that, I think, it misses the point that what has always set apart Lanois' records from the rest of the pack is "feel". It's intangible. You're not going to get the Lanois sound by copying the microphones or effects he uses. His albums are way more about what he gets out of the talent and the area around them.
All in all, a solid read for anybody who is into music, recording, and subscribes to the belief that a producer is one part musician and another part psychologist.
February 7, 2016
Wonderful telling of Daniel Lanois' life story in his original voice.
Of course it contains many details of the main albums he produced and encounters with the artists. And what wonderful albums these have been. All of the masterpieces have a very specific Lanois sound fabric and would not be so great without him.
The real surprise is how well written this book is. It is not at all a chronological re-telling of his life. It is more like impressionistic painting with words. Yes, there are stretches of chronology but the amazing thing is that Daniel is able to use word-based sketches that somehow make the sound fabrics come alive.
I have never browsed through albums on iTunes/Amazon just based on the producer, disregarding the artist almost altogether. Highly recommend to everybody to do that. I made some real wonderful audio finds after finishing book. Neville Brothers ! Willie Nelson even ! (never owned a Willie album, not being a country music fan). But Daniel Lanois' work with these artists brought out something very, very special.
Great book !
Of course it contains many details of the main albums he produced and encounters with the artists. And what wonderful albums these have been. All of the masterpieces have a very specific Lanois sound fabric and would not be so great without him.
The real surprise is how well written this book is. It is not at all a chronological re-telling of his life. It is more like impressionistic painting with words. Yes, there are stretches of chronology but the amazing thing is that Daniel is able to use word-based sketches that somehow make the sound fabrics come alive.
I have never browsed through albums on iTunes/Amazon just based on the producer, disregarding the artist almost altogether. Highly recommend to everybody to do that. I made some real wonderful audio finds after finishing book. Neville Brothers ! Willie Nelson even ! (never owned a Willie album, not being a country music fan). But Daniel Lanois' work with these artists brought out something very, very special.
Great book !
November 4, 2013
Were it not for Daniel Lanois being such a great influence, I might have only given this a 3 star rating. From a literary perspective, it could have used a little nip/tuck from an editor. However, as it is stream of conscience, it also revealing.
His phrasing and storytelling abilities are on display as he weaves together tales of the creation of many seminal records he's left his fingerprints on. He refers to his studio as a laboratory and his life's work as 'in search of sounds.'
I particularly love how he mixes his song lyrics throughout the narrative. Instead of telling the reader what the song is about, he hints at it or let's the scenery do the talking.
When I was 13, I thought I was a U2 fanatic. And I was and still am. However, as time passed and albums were released by Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris and Danial himself, it became evident that the man twiddling the dials was the central figure.
His phrasing and storytelling abilities are on display as he weaves together tales of the creation of many seminal records he's left his fingerprints on. He refers to his studio as a laboratory and his life's work as 'in search of sounds.'
I particularly love how he mixes his song lyrics throughout the narrative. Instead of telling the reader what the song is about, he hints at it or let's the scenery do the talking.
When I was 13, I thought I was a U2 fanatic. And I was and still am. However, as time passed and albums were released by Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris and Danial himself, it became evident that the man twiddling the dials was the central figure.
October 31, 2013
This was a wonderful read, especially for a recording geek like me who has also been recording since I was a teenager bouncing mixes between two reel to reel tape recorders in my mom's basement.
Not only is Lanois a world class producer who has recorded many of the best albums by many of my favorite artists, he is also a great storyteller and musical philosopher on the written page.
His book reveals an intensely organized, focused and imaginative mind at work. His life and work experiences have brought him into close relationships with some truly gigantic artistic personalities and he has a way of sharing insight into their methods and ways without ever coming off as gossipy or intrusive.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Not only is Lanois a world class producer who has recorded many of the best albums by many of my favorite artists, he is also a great storyteller and musical philosopher on the written page.
His book reveals an intensely organized, focused and imaginative mind at work. His life and work experiences have brought him into close relationships with some truly gigantic artistic personalities and he has a way of sharing insight into their methods and ways without ever coming off as gossipy or intrusive.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
July 18, 2015
Daniel Lanois writes in a confusing, overly poetic style that often leaves you adrift mid-paragraph or even mid-sentence. You are hurtling through time and space, first in California then in Canada then in New Orleans. What year is it? Who knows? He uses odd metaphors as the building blocks for his stories about originality and the artist as martyr upon the altar of commerce, although being one of the more successful producers in modern history, one has reason to doubt his bona fides as a suffering artist. I found it hard to get through this short book, and am only awarding three stars because he included some technical/music production detail, which I did find interesting (maybe 15-20% of the book).
September 7, 2015
Since Lanois' songs and music production have such beauty and depth, I was a bit disappointed that his writing didn't have the same impact. He writes about his humble beginnings, about his messy but loving family, but the memoir goes into minimal detail about the production work. Sure Lanois keeps meticulous notes, to-do lists for the production, but I keep wondering when he'll talk about how he mines the musicians' souls. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, two other superproducers since the 1980s, have the DHM (Deep Hidden Meaning) behind every song. How does Lanois mine soul in each song? I feel the soul of his music, but I wish he could have written more about it.
August 31, 2011
Amazing. One of my favorite musicians/producers discusses the hows and whys....how he recorded Willie Nelson's "Teatro", why he chose to decorate an abandoned porn theater with Cuban styles couches and lights to set a mood...then record live with Willie and Co for 5 days. Riding motorcycles with Bob Dylan in New Orleans....his childhood....his crazy philosophies....his idea of composition....its just great. You might need to be a fan to really love it...but any artist would enjoy the way he discusses his craft and the thoughts that drive him mad and to near perfection.
July 23, 2012
With a resume like Lanois', how could this book not be captivating? The behind-the-scenes tales of producing U2, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Peter Gabriel, and the Neville Brothers (among many others) reveal a man who not only is at the top of his craft technically speaking, but also is an unflinching seeker of musical innovation, enthralling atmosphere and soulful moments from the artists he produces. Much more than a mere knob-twirler, Lanois is a skilled soul miner -- and repeatedly strikes gold for good reason.
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