Search - Daniel Lanois :: Cool Water

Lanois Live

Freddy Frontloader | California | 08/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a good quality live concert CD, mostly Lanois solo or duo with another guitarist. Some good versions of songs from his 1st two albums. The guitar goes out of tune here and there but the songs and the singing are beautiful. A must for any Lanois fan. Interesting also are 3 songs from the soundcheck, where you hear Lanois giving instructions to the soundman and the other musician."

Spare, sublime and powerful

Bruce Whitehouse | Bethlehem, PA United States | 08/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lanois is probably most respected for his role as a producer, and he creates exquisite blends of sound on the albums he's produced (from U2's "Joshua Tree" and Peter Gabriel's "So" to Emmylou Harris' "Wrecking Ball"). When he records his own music, it bears the same signature sound as those other artists' albums--a rich layering of instruments and audio textures.



In "Cool Water," a recording of two 1993 live performances of his own songs, Lanois is stripped of his usual array of producer's gadgets, the digital effects and synthesizers, the polished mixing that he's mastered over the years. He performs in pared-down arrangements with just two or three guitars and voices. And he seems to go out of his way to deliver an unpolished final product: amps buzz here, lyrics are flubbed there. Yet the result is on par with his studio recordings in terms of aesthetics, beauty and emotional power. The first of two different renditions of the song "The Maker" on this album, featuring Lanois and one other musician playing guitars and harmonizing their vocals, is especially impressive. The instrumental "Sonho Dourado" soars, raw and minimalist though it is compared to the studio recording. Listening to "Cool Water" makes me admire Lanois' qualities as a performer every bit as much as I've admired his production chops; it also makes me respect his songwriting skills, since not every song can survive the shift from highly produced studio recording to bare-bones live perfomance as well as these do. And oh by the way, if you don't want to pay through the nose for this rare CD you can always check out the artist's website for more economical means of procurement."