It was INCREDIBLE…
OK… I must say… seeing Bonnie Raitt and Lyle Lovett on the same stage at the CMT Crossroads taping last night was absolutely incredible. Definitely makes the highlight reel for 2005 for me.
Loved the room where it was shot at The Factory in Franklin. It had that cozy industrial loft feel and the set was amazing. It was also pretty intimate… I’d guess there weren’t more than 200 or so people packed in there. I’m sure it will look great on TV.
Lyle and Bonnie were on stage together throughout the entire taping. She’s so tiny! And, he is such a class act. They are obviously good friends. Talk about communicating musically! They were locked in all night and so were the bands.
First, they performed a few of Lyle’s songs with his band: My Baby Don’t Tolerate, In My Own Mind, North Dakota… and one more that I can’t think of right now.
Then they performed a few of Bonnie’s songs with her band: I Don’t Want Anything to Change, Something to Talk About, Thing Called Love… hmmm and the other escapes me again. (Drat!)
They combined members of both bands to perform “Do Right Woman” as the last song. They ended up doing three takes of it… they wanted to get it just right. All THREE takes were amazing. Very cool.
Bonnie’s voice was absolutely flawless. She has an unmistakable playing style that permeated all the songs. And… what a spunky lady. I’ll bet she’s a straight shooter, too. Besides that, she also gives props to the songwriter constantly. Bonnie said at one point in the night that she considers herself a fan of great songwriters… and that she wanted to get it right with so many of the “authors” in the audience. Love that.
Lyle’s voice and grace on stage are impecable… I’ve been impressed with him every time I’ve seen him. When he sings and talks, you feel like he’s singing / talking right to you. His songs are so expressive. Love the way he writes and delivers his songs. Yum.
Lyle’s spectacular band was made up of Viktor Krauss (upright bass), Russ Kunkel (Drums), Matt Rollings (keys), John Hagen(cello), Mitch Watkins (guitar)and James Gilmer(percussion). He didn’t have the horns / background singers with him on the gig, but it was great nonetheless. These players take Lyles incredible songs to the next level. They play with precision and feel and they are so locked in. One of the coolest parts of the night was Russ was playing a cajon (that he was using as his drum throne- like JTC does) while James played the cabasa inside that beat during North Dakota. They were so precise and there was so much space… but it didn’t sound stiff. It felt like a heartbeat. And, Matt Rollings was weaving his delicate piano moves in and out and between those beats. Incredible. I could feel myself out on the prarie in North Dakota as they played.
Bonnie’s groovey feeling band was made-up of George Marinelli (Guitar/Vocals), James ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (Bass/Vocals), Jon Cleary (Keyboards), and Ricky Fataar (Drums). When they hit the stage the vibe was loosley tight… if you know what I mean. They have an incredible feel like Lyle’s band, but in a completely different way. I wish I could explain it better, but they communicate musically so well together. They are one instrument when they play together… they read Bonnie like a book (and vice versa).
I’m sure the order and presentation of the night will change-up after the edit / post process is complete… but that is the gist of the set list. Can’t wait to see it in its final form on CMT.
Bonnie Raitt & Lyle Lovett
“Crossroads: Bonnie Raitt & Lyle Lovett”
The Factory – Franklin, TN USA
Recording date: December 14, 2005
Februrary 11, 2006 (aired)
HDTV Broadcast Recording
01 North Dakota (7:00)
02 Thing Called Love (5:22)
03 My Baby Don’t Tolerate (4:20)
04 I Don’t Want Anything To Change (4:38)
05 Angel From Montgomery (5:18)
06 Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (4:26)
Source: © Copyright Jeanne Petersen Blog
Raitt, Lovett team up to tape a CMT ‘Crossroads’ episode, to air in February
January 08, 2006
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Twenty years ago a lanky young country singer from East Texas headed to Milwaukee to open a concert for a raspy-voiced blues rocker.
Lyle Lovett arrived a day early for the show with Bonnie Raitt and got a call in his hotel room.
“She and her road manager and the fellow playing bass guitar with her were all up in Bonnie’s room playing cards, and they called me and said, ‘Hey, come on up. You want to play?'”
The two have been playing together ever since, even as their music and careers have veered in different directions.
Bonnie Raitt and Lyle Lovett perform together in Franklin, Tenn. Both have managed remarkable longevity with a sound grounded in traditional American musical forms. While Raitt leans toward rock and Lovett country, shades of blues, gospel, jazz and folk color both of their signature sounds.
They were in Nashville recently to tape an upcoming episode of the Country Music Television series “Crossroads,” a show that pairs country singers with performers from other genres, usually rock and pop.
For Lovett, 48, and Raitt, 56, it was more a celebration of long roads than of crossroads. The show airs Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. CST.
“We’ve seen each other through love affairs, breakups, many, many albums and here we are,” Raitt reflected as they sat backstage.
When they first met and began touring, Lovett had just released his self-titled debut album and was being promoted as a mainstream country singer. The album produced three Top 20 singles, including “Cowboy Man.”
By his second album, 1988’s “Pontiac,” Lovett, who writes most of his own songs, was experimenting with a big-band sound.
Raitt was intrigued.
“He’s an absolute original,” she said.
Lovett, whose songs possess a wry, offbeat sense of humor, has had gold records and won Grammy Awards, including one for best country album for 1996’s “The Road to Ensenada.”
He became a celebrity, perhaps reluctantly, when he married actress Julia Roberts in 1993. The marriage lasted about two years and drew intense publicity. To this day, Lovett won’t discuss it in interviews.
For much of the 1970s and ’80s, Raitt interpreted the classic blues of musical heroes like Robert Johnson and Sippie Wallace as well as contemporary songwriters such as John Prine.
“I was a huge fan of Bonnie’s before I’d even dreamed I’d ever get to go out and really play anywhere besides just around my home,” Lovett said. “She had that effortless, powerful voice and that searing slide guitar.”
Raitt’s career floundered during the late 1980s, then she released the 1989 album “Nick of Time,” which shot to No. 1 and became the first in a string of wildly successful albums, yielding hits such as “Thing Called Love,” “Something To Talk About” and the ballad “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”
When CMT asked Raitt about doing Crossroads, she didn’t have to think much about a musical partner.
“Of all the people I would have chosen, he was the only one I felt a connection with,” Raitt said.
Source Copyright ©: Lubbock Avalanche Journal
Visitors Today : 74
Now Online : 0
