Most végighallgattam és végignéztem minden dalt és videót, amit még nem volt alkalmam, vagy nem akartam...
Véleményem szerint nem lesz ez olyan rossz album, mint a The Graduate, így az acoustic verziók alapján, sőt. Mondjuk, az előzőről is azt hittem, hogy valamivel kreatívabb lesz, mint amilyen valójában lett, mert az azon lévő 1-2 EREDETI daltól szabályos hányingerem volt, vagy épp van (The right side, Everything's illuminated, I don't want to go out; pedig az acoustic verzióik verhetetlenek...).
Szóval én már tűkön ülve várom az új szellemi táplálékot. :)
"It has been weeks since Nerina Pallot released the video for Put Your Hands Up (The Reflective Inklings review) yet I still am gushing over the fact that it remains to be one of the year’s best tracks. Nerina Pallot’s album, Year of The Wolf, is now set for a June 13 release date – yes, the release date was moved by two weeks. Bad news aside, I would like to say that I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to ask some questions to Nerina. The questions tackle various topics such as her album and its tracks, her working experiences with Kylie Minogue and Diana Vickers, and many more. As usual, the questions will be in bold format.
Hello Nerina! How are you?
I am very well, thank you. The sun is out and I’m having an ice cream.
I was fortunate to have heard your album and I have to say I really like it. What was the first track to be recorded for the album?
If I recall, Put Your Hands Up was the first song we started work on.
How was the recording process for Year of the Wolf? How long did it take?
It was easy, by far the most enjoyable album making experience of my four albums and really really fast. (For me, anyway! It normally takes me 4 years between albums, this one is coming out 18 months after my third album.) We rehearsed all the songs and cut most of them live in a week. A really great experience, not least because I got to work with Bernard Butler who is an amazing producer and generally brilliant bloke.
I was really intrigued with one track in the album which is Turn Me On Again. Is the track really about sex? If so, what inspired you to make a track about sex?
Ha ha! Well, I meant that all good pop songs should really by 3 and a half minutes about sex in general, not just the ‘act’ itself if you know what I mean. TMOA is about flirting, really, about the thrill of the chase – that’s sometimes the most fun part I think.
While I was looking at my copy of Diana Vickers’ album, I saw your name in the writing credits. I have to ask how was the working experience with Miss Vickers?
Diana’s lovely, really talented and a joy to work with. She was fresh off the X Factor when she came into the studio to work with myself and my husband, Andy Chatterley, and we really enjoyed her enthusiasm and work ethic.
I also noticed that you actually wrote the title track of Miss Kylie Minogue’s Aphrodite. How was it working with Kylie? What inspired you to write Aphrodite?
Kylie started working with myself and Andy based on hearing ‘Better Than Today’ which ended up being her last single, and from that we wrote some more tracks, one of which was ‘Aphrodite’. I wanted to write something for Kylie that celebrated all the things I think she radiates, and all the reasons I have been a fan since I was a kid; femininity, love, her goddess quality. She’s a true icon and I wanted to give her a song to represent that.
I have to say that I still love listening to Put Your Hands Up. What made you decide that it should be the lead single off the album?
It was the song everyone involved in my album was whistling every time they heard it!
At the end of the Put Your Hands Up video, I heard a reference to the Arsenal FC. I also saw a recent tweet of yours about your joy at the recent Arsenal result (Arsenal just won 1-0 against Manchester United). Are you an Arsenal FC fan?
I am a huge Arsenal fan, although it’s been a story of sadness and disappointment for the last few years. I think of Arsenal as that boyfriend who treats you badly a lot of the time, but when they’re good to you there’s nobody else in the world you’d rather be with. For the last few years though, this boyfriend keeps forgetting my birthday and only takes me out for dinner once a year.
Why name the album as “Year of the Wolf”?
I wrote and recorded the album while I was pregnant with my son, Wolfie, so it’s named after him.
What do you feel about Joe McElderry? Is it true that you said that you are “to blame” for Joe’s career not taking off?
I feel bad for Joe because he only won the X Factor 18 months ago and yet it already feels like his career is not going very well. I think the show these days seems to exist to boost TV ratings and make the producers and TV companies loads of money but the actual contestants themselves get thrust into the limelight very suddenly and with minimal support. I also have issues with the way the contestants’ albums have release dates before they’re even made – so the albums are rushed out and not always representative of what the artist is really like. While I was flattered that one of my songs was chosen for Joe’s album, I think he should have taken a bit more time and made something with a bit more of ‘him’ in it. I think that’s what I meant when I said I felt partly to blame. Having said that, the X Factor can be amazing for the contestants, Diana Vickers has used the show as a great springboard for her career, but she also took a lot of care over recording her first album and going on tour with it. Also, when there is so little music on TV these days it’s still better that the biggest slot of the week on TV is a show given over to music. (Well, most of the time, I’m not sure Wagner counts as music!) But I get grumpy when I see the press giving these kids such a hard bloody time. People shouldn’t be shot down and made fun of just coz they have hopes and dreams, everyone has something they cherish but are a bit too scared to go for. Admittedly, some of the performers early on in the series could do with learning how to actually sing!!
What should your fans expect from your upcoming album?
Just songs with heart, really. A tune you can whistle and thoughtful lyrics. (And I don’t sing the word ‘baby’ once. Oh. Actually I do, in the song ‘Grace’ but it’s in the literal sense, not in the ‘ooh baby, baby’ way ;o))
Any message for your fans, Nerina?
I am so so lucky to have an incredibly loyal fanbase. So many have been with me since my first album TEN years ago! I truly would not have kept going without them – whenever I wanted to give up or thought nobody would really care if I made music or not, I would get a message from someone telling me what my songs meant to them and to please make another record. I’m now on album four, and I think it’s largely to do with that level of support from fans. So my message is thank you, thank you, and although I put myself into my albums 100%, I make them for YOU.
Thank you so much for answering the questions, Nerina!"
Before I first met Nerina, I wasn't even aware she was pregnant. Then she turned up as big as a house and said, "I want to make a record." I said "Yeah, right, see you in six months – or six years."
Making this record turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I've had. She trusted me completely from the first day we met. It was just so easy. She's not 14 and silly about it, she just wanted to make a terrific record whatever it took.
With the baby coming, time was of the essence and I realised the only way to record it was to do it live. We booked into Konk Studios, in Crouch End, Ray Davies' place and one of the few remaining great studios left. We recorded eight songs in seven days, then on the eighth day, she had the baby. It really was unbelievable.
I didn't want to be patronising, getting her tea every five seconds, so I just did what I would normally do – energetically and enthusiastically listen to the music very loudly, with a guitar hanging round my neck. Every now and then I'd catch a glimpse of her, sitting there about to give birth and think, "Well, she chose this."
I didn't say this to her but I knew it could only have a remarkable effect on how you are as an artist. She was in a very blissed-out state – she seemed almost stoned some of the time. It was the eve of her creating this new life – the greatest thing you'll ever achieve – and as a producer I was reaping the rewards. I remember recording the final track, a beautiful song called "Grace". We set it all up and I pressed record and looked out of the window thinking, there is nothing I can do to change this or make it better. It was a completely beautiful moment, one of the great moments in the job that I do.
Igaz, hogy a _ToTo_ nevű szerző lazán lenyúlta a szövegemet az Indavideo-ra feltett video alól, de hát kicsire nem adunk, ez Magyarország, és a lényeg ugye mégiscsak Nerina Pallot. :)
Csak azt nem egészen értem, az "egy"-et hogy lehetett "nagy"-nak olvasni, de hát ez sem nagyon számít, bár azért van különbség... (Ha a nagy részét töltötte volna ott, akkor ott nevelkedett volna, és nem Jersey-t tekintené az eredeti otthonának. Nem véletlenül használtam az "egy részét" kifejezést. Ehh...
Eredeti: "de gyermekkora egy részét anyja családjánál Allahabadban töltötte"
A cikkben: "Gyermekkora nagy részét édesanyja családjánál Allahabadban töltötte")
De a lényeg, hogy SP és hasonló nagy "sztárok" mellett azért van, aki odafigyel másfajta (vagy egyáltalán) zenére is.
Hajrá Nerina, hódítsd meg a magyar füleket is végre! :)
Ja, hát ez Rejtő Jenö szövege, legalábbis az eleje. Az Elveszett cirkálóból van, amikor Piszkos Fredék ellopnak egy cirkálót (konkrétan a Radzeert) a brit haditengerészettől, és nem szabad szem elé kerülniük, de azért kimentenek vele pár hajótöröttet, akiknek a hajója egy nagy viharban elsüllyed:
"- Miféle cirkáló ez? - kérdezte ámultari Bradford: - Köszönjük kérdését - felelte Fred -, nagyon jó. De úgy Iátom a maguké kissé meglazult a túlnyomóan nedves idôjárástól."
A Hold járására utaló dolgot meg én tettem hozzá. A lényeg az, hogy a fene se tudja, miért tolták el két héttel az album kiadását. Talán akkorra tudják legyártani és akiszállítani a boltokba, talán ütközött volna valami nagy , jelentős, a heti piacot letaroló más kiadvánnyal, talán... Akármi is lehet. Vagy csak úgy. Csakért. :)
Azt még én is éreztem, hogy valahol hiányzik belőle a koncepció, pedig én nem foglalkozom olyan mélyrehatóan a zenei világgal, mint Te, én csak hallgatom és értelmezem. :)
Én konkrétan a nedves időjárás és a kedvezőtlen holdjárásra lettem volna kíváncsi...
A népek szeretik a Put Your Hands Up videót, a rádiók (főleg a BBC Radio2) játssza a dalt, és Nerina is feltűnik most itt-ott a rádió studiókban. A netes lapok is írnak róla néha, mostanság. De így, mire az album megjelenik, már újra csend lesz körülötte, már talán pont lecseng ez a beindított marketing-felhajtás.
Két hét a nyár eleji időszakban pont elég lehet arra, hogy zátonyra fusson a promó stratégia.
Aztán tehet ő is olyan felháborodott, rosszalló nyilatkozatot, mint azt Kylie Minogue tette a két utolsó kislemeze kapcsán. Minek a reklám-stratégiáját, az időzítést, mindent jól elszúrtek szerinte a lemezkiadójánál. (A legutolsóban Nerina is eléggé érdekelt volt, anyagilag is rosszul érinthette a Better Than Today vártnál gyengébb szereplése a listákon.)
Elvileg a lead single (a hozzá készült klippel együtt) az albumot promózza, és ehhez jönnek az élő szereplések a tévékben, rádiókban. De ezt az egészet jól kell felépíteni, jól is kell időzíteni.
Itt meg mintha össze-vissza kapkodnának, kihozták a videót, azután a magas nézettség miattgyorsan előrehzták a single digitális (iTunes) megjelenését, de a fizikait, a CD-t azt nem, viszont ezzel ellentétben az album megjelenését két héttel még későbbre is tolták.
Ez így nem adja az optimális hatást, attól tartok.
"Review: Nerina Pallot showcases ‘Year Of The Wolf’ album in London
April 21st, 2011 by Silvan
WAPS was lucky enough to attend last night’s Nerina Pallot showcase at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre, where we were joined by our roving reporter Mark B.
Mark kindly jotted down his thoughts aftewards, so for all the goss on Nerina and her first major ‘Year Of The Wolf’ show, read on…
No splash-zones or pyrotechnics were required last night to guild the pure brilliance of Nerina Pallot. Not only did we get a complete ‘Year of the Wolf‘ album showcase but the full-on Lady Chatterley experience.
There was a distinct waft of mothballs with the audience being a bit “Radio 2”, but there was clear adoration for her talent, humour and an interaction with a crowd that you don’t get from many performers (after gig opener and biggest hit “Everybody’s Gone to War” she declares “That’s the obvious done with – now you can piss off”).
The new tracks are what you would expect of Nerina – clever, witty and even saucy lyrics set to both infectious pop beats (“Turn Me on Again”/”Put Your Hands Up”) or haunting melodies (“History Boys”). There is a reason why the likes of Kylie Minogue (Aphrodite/Better than Today) rake through her back catalogue or call on her writing abilities. She is a self confessed lover of pop, hates pretention and naively wonders why she has lasted in the industry for 4 albums?
She can easily compete with the likes of Adele for soaring vocals or heartfelt sentiment (“Will You Still Love Me”) and you get the impression that after a glass of wine (or five) it would be hard to keep her off the dance floor.
From ‘Year of the Wolf’, Nerina performed: • Put Your Hands Up • Turn Me On Again • All Bets Are Off • If I Lost You Now • Butterfly • This Will Be Our Year • I Think • Will You Still Love Me • I Do Not Want What I Do Not Have • Grace • History Boys
And the following crowd pleasers all made an appearance:
• Everybody’s Gone To War • Butterfly • Idaho • Real Late Starter • Geek Love • It Starts • Sofia
Be sure to check out Nerina’s new single ‘Put Your Hands Up‘ (out 23rd May 2011), followed by the album ‘Year of the Wolf’ on 30th May 2011."
Nerina Pallot szombaton a BBC Radio2 Dermot O'Leary Show vendége volt, mielőtt az ünnepekre elutaztak volna Jersey-re. A műsorban a beszélgetés közben élőben előadott két dalt (az egyik az új single, a Put Your Hands Up volt, a másik pedig - ha minden igaz - egy Beyoncé dal feldolgozás).
20-án Nerina koncertet adott a Bloomsbury Színházban.
A videó az előkészületeket mutatja, és feltűnik rajta Nerina férje Andy Chatterley a kicsi Wolfie-val, valamint... ki is az a gitáros srác ott? Jé, csak nem Katie Melua együttesének szólógitárosa, Luke Potashnick? :)
(Szerencse, hogy volt pár nap szünet Katie turné-körútján, és csak 22-én folytatódott a koncert-sorozat, így éppen belefért Nerina koncertej is Luke-nak.)
A single megjelenési dátumát előre hozták egy hónappal (új dátum: április 24), mert nagy az érdeklődés és jók a visszajelzések. Nyilván nem akarják megvárni, hogy elmúljon az új videoklip hatása.
