On his sophomore disc Leavetaking, Peter Bradley Adams builds upon the cinematic and ethereal sound of his 2006 solo debut Gather Up. The disc was recorded in Nashville and co-produced by Peter and Lex Price.
The unusual title and theme of the album is inspired by a line from the Mark Strand poem titled “The View:” “He’s always been drawn to the weather of leavetaking.” Peter elaborates, “the word 'leavetaking' resonates with me and these songs on a couple of levels - on one hand there's the call to wander and the choice one makes to search and to live in that motion; and on the other hand the price of that choice, and the feeling of loss that accompanies it. And it's a theme you hear in so many traditional songs... some of them traveling songs, or gospel songs, or love songs... they've got that old longing in them that I'm really drawn to.”
In 2006, Peter left Los Angeles, moved to Nashville and immediately began his collaboration with Lex Price. “I had met Lex on tour a year earlier, and after hearing him play and the music he’s produced, I knew I wanted to work with him.”
Assembling a small group of Nashville players, the duo recorded a bulk of the songs in two separate Decembers – ’06 and ’07. For the mixing, Peter called upon Kevin Killen (Peter Gabriel, U2, Elvis Costello).
“We mixed in Los Angeles at the studio of TV composer Mike Post, a friend and supporter since eastmountainsouth. Kevin came out and we mixed 13 songs in seven days. But at the end, I felt that only nine fit this album. So I decided this was just going to have to be a short record and not apologize for it.”
With the exception of the instrumental track “Song For Viola,” Adams builds upon the signature vocal harmonies crafted with Kat Maslisch as the duo eastmountainsouth and carried to his solo debut (featuring Epic Records artists Sarah Bareillis on “Teresa” and Susie Suh). Peter explains, “[Nashville singer/songwriter] Katie Herzig and I met on the “American Songwriter” magazine tour in 2007 and I knew she would be perfect for these songs. But I also feel like I'm using harmony vocals differently than I have in the past - more as a support and color to the melody than a clearly defined 2nd part. It’s a progression from my previous record and eastmountainsouth.”
Also included is a reinterpretation of the song “So You Are To Me,” originally recorded by eastmountainsouth. Adams wrote it for his sister’s wedding,and it lives on as a popular wedding song to this day. “It was difficult for me to re-record the song because Kat sang it so beautifully. But, I think Lex and I found another way into it, so I'm really glad it's on the record.”
See Peter Bradley Adams in concert - June 13 - Memphis House Concert - Memphis, TN
http://www.myspace.com/peterbradleyadams
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