Corrs news

[Harry]

Those who care to follow my obsession for The Corrs will be interested in a few items of news here.

First, the group has been planning and compiling a new album (one year after their last one, BORROWED HEAVEN). This new album is to be called HOME and will feature a lot of Irish tunes favored by their late mother, so it's sort of a return to their "roots," with some of the tunes in Gaelic.

The Corrs official website has some details and a track listing here:
http://www.thecorrswebsite.com/news/aug05/aug03.htm

From what can be gleaned from Internet buzz, the album will be released on September 26th in the great bulk of the world, with no planned US release. It seems there's been some turmoil at Atlantic Records, with the Corrs falling under Atlantic UK. Amazon in the US is now listing the import available, and you can click here to pre-order the import from them.

The album was produced and recorded in Ireland with full orchestra, the same one used for both LIVE IN DUBLIN and UNPLUGGED, under the direction of Fiachra Trench. The first single from the album is due to be a new studio recording of a song they've been doing for years in concert, Phil Lynott's "Old Town." (Phil Lynott, fellow Irishman, was the lead in the Thin Lizzy band). That new single has been "world premiered" on the Terry Wogan Show on the BBC2. During this current week, you can listen to it archived online and can access that stream by going to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/wogan/

There, click on "Tuesday" and then when the show starts, click on the plus fifteen minutes button (+15) four times. That brings you to the one-hour mark. Then add five more minutes (click on +5) and wait about two or three minutes for the start of "Old Town".

Harry

 

[jimac51]

Yes,Harry,with the forced exit of Atlantic's Chariman and CEO,Jason Flom,the US version of this album is highly doubtful to come under the Warner umbrella. Jason founded Lava Records which in turn,is the reason why the Coors were in the US anyway. Lava was immediately absorbed into Atlantic with Flom's exit and ,as we have seen before,anything resembling the old regime is treated like a dead fish. A shame for more than this act,for though Flom is not someone who possessed great ears,he trusted others in his fold to bring him material and he was great at exploiting the merits of a signed act. He was possibly the last sane person actively involved in Atlantic Records(Ahmet Ertegun's name on any current Atlantic roster is only there for legal reasons). The right thing would be for Warner to put this project under the Nonesuch label,where real artists like Brain Wilson and Emmylou Harris have bloomed years after industry suits wrote off their marketability with the public. A prestige pop act doing music they know and love best-what a concept! Mac

 

[Harry]

The new HOME album is out now. I got my copies from both the UK and Japan. The UK version is 12 tracks, with the Japanese naturally getting a bonus track, in this case an instrumental called "Return To Fingall".

This album is largely the mellower, folkier side of The Corrs, as one would expect. Two songs are sung in Gaelic, and one even has Sharon Corr singing the lead vocal.

I don't believe that the grand plan was ever for this album to top any charts, much like Sergio Mendes' PRIMAL ROOTS. This one has the feel of being a contract-fulfilling album, especially since there are no songs composed by The Corrs themselves - they are all covers. Also, manager John Hughes has been shopping around for a new deal among the record labels.

Nonetheless, HOME is a great listen, especially if one likes the "Irish"-ness of The Corrs. A number of fans have mentioned that the first single, "Old Town", doesn't seem to fit in, yet it's probably my favorite as it's the closest to the poppier side of the group.

The album won't be released in the States any time this year, if ever. So if you want it, order it from overseas or Canada, or look for it as an import in larger stores.

Harry