FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
| MUSIC THE ANNE LOREE BAND For a hotshot songwriter, Anne Loree is too pleasant for words. The warm-spirited Calgarian could be hobnobbing with Nashville celebrities (who are currently knocking on her door in hopes of co-writing with her), but Loree is happy sipping on a coffee at The Planet - which we both decree is the best café ever. However, it's not as near-and-dear to her heart as the spot on 17th Avenue which was once home to Marty's Café, a place where she started to become the refined singer/songwriter that she is today, and the same place where Neil MacGonigill first heard one of her songs that would later appear on the album for a new artist he was working with: Jann Arden. The song that stunned MacGonigill consequently stunned the rest of North America. "Insensitive" flew to the top of the charts and is currently reaching a new audience due to it being featured on young country superstar LeAnn Rimes's latest CD. As you would expect from the caliber of "Insensitive," the rest of the songs on Anne's menu of acoustic soulfood are equally as delicious. Her new record, Beyond Cinderella, has a slew of more confiding songs from the heart. A captivating singer in her own right, Anne's delicate harmonies and heated lyrics show she's a woman poised to command more attention as an evocative songwriter. That's good timing considering intelligent songwriting is beginning to be reflected in the charts more, as people seem to be craving music with depth. Witness the huge contingent of people clamoring to snap up new albums from Liz Phair, Lucinda Williams or the Hank Williams box set - it's the intimate storytelling that draws legions of people into the songwriter's spell. The popularity of the genre has grown in response to brainless teenage rehashing of Cyndi Lauper songs where the artist is not doing anything new. It's the battle between music which challenges you to feel versus music which challenges you to not eject and throw the CD out the window of a speeding car. "Yeah, I think they're starting to pick up on it," Anne smiles as she confirms that music audiences are excited, responsive and getting the bug to hear original material. "There's been lots of songwriter series. The Engineered Air Theatre songwriter series that I was involved in really brought things to the forefront as far as songwriting goes." People are also picking up on more of Anne's material and it's no wonder. Beyond Cinderella features songs like "February," which proclaims a saucy rebuttal to a cold, dark month with the loneliest (or most romantic, but that's not important here) date, Valentine's Day. She charms the socks off her listeners in the up tempo song as she gives cupid the shaft: "It's a month I can do without/ If I could get my hands on every calendar/ I would rip every damn page out." She admits to being mostly autobiographical in her music and couldn't imagine anything else. She's attracted to personal stories, and that quality propels her to write music that's introspective and often full of humor. It all comes back to the fact that people are waiting for anything that is original and that comes from the heart instead of a remixing computer. "There's a lot of people out there who crave new material and new messages or just new sounds," explains Anne. "I think a lot of people are threatened by it in the sense that they don't want to see anything new, they don't want to think about it. They prefer to do something that's been done before because it's easier. I understand that, too, you go out to a bar... and you don't necessarily want to be challenged. You want to sit around and have some beers, talk to your friends. So I'm very aware of that when I go out and play now, I try to get a balance." After a whirlwind couple of years which have seen her getting more comfortable with her writing and performing, as well as moving into a new house (a far cry from the basement suite - a few blocks away from the café - where she taught herself how to play the guitar), Anne is now three years removed from The Hit. I ask her one, and only one question about the song that's given her so much: Did Jann Arden sing "Insensitive" right? Anne's eyes crinkle up with a heartfelt smile as she reflects on the question. She pauses for a moment before she warmly replies a completely satisfied "Yes." |