"Worlds Collide [CD/DVD]" (released in Europe in September 2007; guests: Slayer's Dave Lombardo, Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Three Days Grace's Adam Gontier, Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann, Tomoyasu Hotei, Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia; Hear here; Read here)
"My Bloody Underground" (includes "Bring Me the Head of Paul McCartney on Heather Mills' Wooden Peg [Dropping Bombs on the White House]"); Hear here)
(a recordings, April 15, 2008)
Mariah Carey
"E=MC²" (producers: Jermaine Dupri, Carey, will.i.am, Rodney Jerkins; guests: T-Pain, Damian Marley; first single: "Touch My Body"; Read here; also available in deluxe edition)
(Island, April 15, 2008)
Child Ballads, The (featuring former Jonathan Fire*Eater vocalist Stewart Lupton)
"The Vegas Years" (featuring covers of "Rich Girl," "Kicks," "Our Lips Are Sealed," "The Boys Are Back in Town," "Southern Girls," etc.; producer: frontman Art Alexakis; Hear here)
"Hello" (producers: Martin Terefe, Sacha Skarbek; first single: "Madly"; Hear here)
(Virgin, April 15, 2008)
BTW: For "Hello," Prettyman tells P&P, she had no real goals, "other than to just make a great record. That felt amazing. I don't think I ever really have specific goals when it comes to music. I just like to let it take shape, in whatever environment is present. And hope that is doesn't suck."
As for working with Terefe and Sharbek, Prettyman calls them simply amazing. "My first record, I produced with my A&R," she says. "So until now, I haven't had any real experience of what a producer actually does. When I first went to England to meet with Martin and Sacha, we immediately hit it off. It was great. From there, we were on a roll and everything was easy breezy. They had amazing ideas, and knew exactly how to get the songs the way I wanted them to sound, but for the life of me couldn't explain in words how to get them there.
"From day one, we were on the same page; they had my trust and gave me confidence in myself and music to make a wonderful record. That's exactly what we did. It was one of the most rewardable and memorable experiences of my life."
"Cut and Run" (quintet scored the film "The Project," winner of the Slamdance International Film Festival; producer: The Lemonheads' Vess Rhutenberg; Hear here)
(Young American Recordings, April 15, 2008)
BTW: Caleb Lindskoog, frontman of The Silver State, tells P&P that the group was very focused on preserving the conceptual thread on "Cut and Run" and representing it appropriately.
"It made sense to be instrumentally sparse, for the most part, but we still wanted a kind of wide-open, dare I say dramatic, presence," he says. The recording studio "Queensize was undergoing renovations at the time, so the whole place was gutted, save our makeshift control room. It was perfect for harnessing that roominess we wanted to hear. We spent a lot of time on percussion.
"We also didn't use synth instruments or drum machines or any 'Pro-Toolery' on this record, and that was intentional. In a technical sense, it felt right to make this record the old-fashioned way, and I think it paid off. Creatively, once we narrowed down all that we didn't want to do with the songs, it opened us up to try stuff. Especially that dusty upright piano in the corner!"
Lindskoog says Rhutenberg has a remarkable presence and "always owns the room."
"He gave us great direction on utilizing Queensize's strong suits, not the least of which being the secret drumset recording location. He's a real gentleman. It was good to hang out with him again after being away from Indy for so long; same with all those guys!
"Andy Fry and LonPaul Ellrich were a huge part of the tracking process. Andy facilitated the whole week at Queensize to begin with, and despite his busy schedule with Margot&NSS he was able to be in the studio for a lot of that week. LonPaul was bunking right along with us and well; he is simply one of the most unique and talented individuals I've ever met. He's kind of like a wizard. All in all, it was a pretty incredible experience. Everything and everyone just fell in to place in those six or seven days worth of time. People were in and out constantly while the four of us kept tracking. My sister even ended up being able to sing with me on the last song! Everyone who was a part of that week at some point found themselves vocalizing how rare the whole thing felt."
Go next to April 22, 2008