With the help of a Wallflower, a Heartbreaker and others, Shelby Lynne has finished a new album targeted for a spring release. The singer/songwriter created initial tracks for the self-produced "Suit Yourself" in her home studio, then assembled a crack band in Nashville to finish the project.
Due May 24 via Capitol, the album features the talents of Wallflowers guitarist Michael Ward and Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, as well as Tony Joe White on guitar and harmonica, bassist Brian "Brain" Harrison, drummer Bryan Owings and multi-instrumentalist Robbie Turner. Harrison also engineered the all-analog recording sessions.
"It was probably the most enjoyable experience I've ever had, making a record with group of cats that just want to play music 'cause that's what they do," Lynne says. "We played music in a living room, set mikes up, pushed record and there you have it! It's not that complicated and I really don't think that music has to be.
"I love slick sounding records," she adds. "I mean, hell, I'm a Steely Dan fan, but I also believe in the heart of the moment, if you can get a heart of a moment on a tape, it's irreplaceable."
A prime example is "Johnny Met June," written immediately after Lynne heard the news of the death of country music icon Johnny Cash in September 2003. Lynne, who will play Cash's mother in the Fox Searchlight biopic "Walk the Line," decided her demo vocal recorded at the time of the song's inception best fit the finished work, despite attempts at re-recording the track.
Other songs on the album include a cover of White's "Old Times Sake," as well as "Go With It," "You Don't Have a Heart," "You and We," "Iced Tea," "You're the Man" and "Sleep."
"Suit Yourself" is the follow up to 2003's "Identity Crisis," which debuted at No. 5 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. In 2001, Lynne nabbed the best new artist Grammy Award in the wake of her sixth album, "I Am Shelby Lynne," nearly a decade after she won the Country Music Association's Horizon Award recognizing her as a top emerging talent.
Due May 24 via Capitol, the album features the talents of Wallflowers guitarist Michael Ward and Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, as well as Tony Joe White on guitar and harmonica, bassist Brian "Brain" Harrison, drummer Bryan Owings and multi-instrumentalist Robbie Turner. Harrison also engineered the all-analog recording sessions.
"It was probably the most enjoyable experience I've ever had, making a record with group of cats that just want to play music 'cause that's what they do," Lynne says. "We played music in a living room, set mikes up, pushed record and there you have it! It's not that complicated and I really don't think that music has to be.
"I love slick sounding records," she adds. "I mean, hell, I'm a Steely Dan fan, but I also believe in the heart of the moment, if you can get a heart of a moment on a tape, it's irreplaceable."
A prime example is "Johnny Met June," written immediately after Lynne heard the news of the death of country music icon Johnny Cash in September 2003. Lynne, who will play Cash's mother in the Fox Searchlight biopic "Walk the Line," decided her demo vocal recorded at the time of the song's inception best fit the finished work, despite attempts at re-recording the track.
Other songs on the album include a cover of White's "Old Times Sake," as well as "Go With It," "You Don't Have a Heart," "You and We," "Iced Tea," "You're the Man" and "Sleep."
"Suit Yourself" is the follow up to 2003's "Identity Crisis," which debuted at No. 5 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. In 2001, Lynne nabbed the best new artist Grammy Award in the wake of her sixth album, "I Am Shelby Lynne," nearly a decade after she won the Country Music Association's Horizon Award recognizing her as a top emerging talent.
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