Product Description

When Brian Eno recorded his landmark ambient releases of the '80s and '90s, he transformed our perception of space, music, and performance. His collaborator on those albums, and on subsequent production work with U2, was Daniel Lanois. Lanois took the techniques he developed with Eno and went on to produce career albums for Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, and Emmylou Harris. Now the journey comes full circle on "Belladonna", an instrumental record that captures the often tense emotional dynamics of Eno's pioneering releases. Dense textures evolve into delicate Mexican melodies, capturing the disquieting serenity of American southwest landscapes. This is Daniel's defining moment.

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For years, Daniel Lanois has been producing lush soundscapes for his own projects as well as those he's produced. From U2's The Unforgettable Fire to Emmylou Harris's Wrecking Ball, Lanois's distinct floating-in-the-clouds sound is instantly recognizable to even the most casual listener. Direct comparisons to master producer Brian Eno are not just obvious, they are inevitable; Lanois admits to being Eno's apprentice through the ambient master's instrumental projects in the '80s and '90s. After making a few singer/songwriter discs, Lanois says he decided to go fully instrumental on Belladonna to allow all listeners to "use their imagination and build their own scenario" rather than having the story handed to them. In that, he has succeeded. The focus here is unquestionably on the music--long, languid compositions built largely around pedal steel guitar. Unlike Lanois's previous discs, which included guest performers from Emmylou Harris to Willie Nelson to Bono, no famous friends appear here. Instead, much like the Sling Blade soundtrack (which Lanois penned), this disc remains a dreamy collection best suited to yoga, candlelit baths, and other moments of dusk fading to darkness. --Denise Sheppard