![]() ![]() “And his is helping find lyrics that don’t sound trite on the melody.”įor “Love Only Knows,” Rubin heard Groban’s piano and voice rendition and then instructed the guitarists to adapt the piano part for the introduction. Then after sleeping on it a night, they’d reconvene to finish the words and fill out the music. Generally they’d sit one day to come up with the melody and musical ideas with a few lyrical ideas sketched out. ![]() That and the other Groban-Wilson teamings came very naturally in bringing out the talents of each. With the core band’s tracks recorded all in one take - Groban’s vocals included - it mixes intimate warmth and grandeur as Groban makes a heartfelt plea not to hide true love or one’s true self. The song “Hidden Away” is a prime example. I didn’t try to better the classics he gave me, but wrote songs that were more me.” So, I went into a hole and wrote feverishly. “He said he’d be fine making a covers record with me, but if I wanted to do something special I should write songs that speak for me. “Rick picked a few songs he liked for me and said, ‘Beat these,’” Groban said. Rubin right from the start challenged Groban to tap deeper into his full range of talents than he had before, as a singer, musician and writer. We wanted the looseness of that, the rawness of an intimate folk record and the power and warmth of a classical record.” "We started out thinking we’d do a little folkie record. That grandness was something we wanted to embrace. This from Rick’s view was to be a fine art record. “We wanted to find our line … and walk past it. “From Day 1 it wasn’t about anything to prove, but two people finding a place to work together - two scared people,” Groban said. But no one really knew what to expect when he teamed up with Rick Rubin to produce Groban's fifth album. Groban immersed himself in the album by co-writing 11 of the 13 cuts and venturing into completely new musical territory on nearly every song. It included the power of an all-girl drum corps - the only drums on the album. Most of the recordings were done live in a casual setting with Groban playing piano and singing alongside acoustic guitarists Matt Sweeney and Smokey Hormel and, on some songs, iconic organist Spooner Oldham.įrom those sessions, orchestrations were crafted by David Campbell for nine songs and James Newton-Howard for two, while Brazilian great Carlinhos Brown created the dynamic setting for “Voce Existe Em Mim (You Exist In Me)” in his Bahia home. "Illuminations" might have been three years in the making, but the writing and recording came in bursts of creativity, maximizing the spontaneity and personal touch, say Groban's publicists. He's dabbling in movies (catch him in "Stupid, Crazy, Love"), television (he sang the 10 best "Rejected by Josh Groban" song list on David Letterman this past week) and making personal appearances, all the while writing and recording. "It's been like a dream so far," he said. Since he was discovered as a teenager, thrown into performances that would have intimidated the most seasoned artist, and ended up singing "The Prayer" with Charlotte Church at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, he's been wowing fans and musical peers. Groban has never backed away from a challenge. The "Straight to You" 2011 tour is also a chance for Groban to speak to and interact with his fans, something he tried out during last year's "Before We Begin" shows where he asked fans to help him choose songs for his set list. He focused on letting his voice speak to his fan's hearts. 4 on Billboard's Top 200 chart and sold 191,337 units in its first week.įor Groban, known in Utah as an inspirational singer who touches a spiritual chord with his powerful voice, "Illuminations" took work, talent, inspiration and collaboration between fine artists. I’m going to get a text message about every one." “Every one of these songs, someone’s going to know it’s about them. ![]() NEW YORK - It took Josh Groban three years to put together "Illuminations." ![]()
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