Footsteps
Footsteps
by Chris de Burgh
Label: Ferryman Productions Ltd, Starwatch
Year Released: 2008 - Click here for a full chart of release dates by country!
Catalogue number: EAN 5051865193029
First radio single: Turn Turn Turn
Chart Positions
Reviewed by Jacqueline Ebner
Click here for the UK version of this album!
Click here for the special edition of this album!
Tracks:
| 1. First Steps | |
| 2. Turn, Turn, Turn | |
| 3. The Long And Winding Road | |
| 4. Africa | |
| 5. Without You | |
| 6. Where Have All The Flowers Gone? | |
| 7. Sealed With A Kiss | |
| 8. Blackbird | |
| 9. We Can Work It Out | |
| 10. All Along The Watchtower | |
| 11. Corrina Corrina | |
| 12. Polly Von | |
| 13. American Pie | |
| 14. The Last Thing On My Mind | |
| 15. Footsteps |
Comments:
In order to win a place on his new album, Chris de Burgh selected the songs he recorded by applying three critical principles: he had to love them, have sung them many times before – and, perhaps most relevantly, they had to have inspired him.
As a result, and by any measure, the 13 ‘covers’ on ‘Footsteps’ represent a deeply personal and candid appraisal by Chris of songs which have influenced and affected the way he has crafted his own particular musical imprint.
There is little doubt that these songs and songwriters provided solid cornerstones for him to build upon. Equally, there is no attempt by Chris to disguise, in his selection, the creative models and ideals he aspired to – and still does.
“Listening to the great songwriters was the inspiration for me to try and become a good songwriter myself,” he readily admits. “I’m talking about the likes of Lennon & McCartney and Bob Dylan; people as good as that just don’t seem to exist any more. I learned my trade, my craft, almost at the feet of the Great Masters. And that is my musical journey. Those songs are my footsteps.”
Two new pieces, ‘First Steps’ and ‘Footsteps’, explain in greater depth his musical journey, his dreams and aspirations, and his sense of achievement from hopeful beginnings to the success of today.
The process of short-listing the songs which potentially ‘qualified’ for inclusion on the album was an involved one.
“There were hundreds and hundreds of titles, which all got narrowed down to the ones I recorded. They are all, in my opinion, great songs – and each one has a resonance with me for a very particular reason.
“When I was growing up in my father’s castle/hotel, I would sing a lot of these songs, to the guests. For example, ‘The Long And Winding Road’, ‘Sealed With A Kiss’, ‘Where Have All The Flowes Gone?’, ‘All Along The Watchtower’...
‘American Pie’, for me, used to be the one that, when I was singing in a restaurant, would make people stop eating and clap along. I still enjoy performing it, to this day. ‘Corinna, Corinna’ is a song I frequently sing in my soundcheck, as I do ‘The Last Thing On My Mind’. ‘Polly Von’, the song by Peter, Paul and Mary, is one that, probably, gave me some indications about writing story songs. ‘Spanish Train’, ‘The Tower’...many of those songs from my early days owe something to ‘Polly Von’.”
Once the songs were chosen, recording them took no time at all, perhaps surprisingly so, given the necessary vocal range; from low notes to high, requiring both subtlety and strength.
“I like to wear a song like I’m wearing a coat and wanted to to fit into each one of these songs,” Chris explains, “and a lot of them are singer’s songs - they really stretch the singer - but we made the album very quickly. It was all recorded live in the studio, with me singing together with the orchestra or together with the band. It took us eight days – and that’s including all of the vocals and all of the backing vocals. All in all, it was a real pleasure, a complete thrill.”
Chris feels that the process of paying homage to his influences may be far from over. “I have to stress that to nail it down to just the songs recorded was extremely difficult. There are so many other great writers; Jackson Browne and Paul Simon, to name but two. However, I didn’t believe that certain songs would work on this record. So I might come back with longer footsteps, another time...”