JAMES’ singer Tim Booth has been talking exclusively about the bond’s new album, “Laid” , which is scheduled for release in September. He has also revealed that during James’ six weeks in Real Life Studios, Bath, with producer Brian Eno, they recorded a double LPof impravised material, which will be released early next year.
“Eno was wonderful towork with,” says Booth. ‘We’ve always wanted to. We first approached him when we were making our very first LP, ‘Stutter’, and he told us that he was busy for the next few years, but he’d get back to us. And he did – he got back to us!”
Booth considers “Laid” a departure for James. He says, “It’s very different, very naked, big, but also vulnerable.”
He describes the LP as less elaborate than the band’s last album, “Seven”, a development he says was heavily influenced by the James acoustic tour across America last year, supporting Neil Young. The idea for the improvised double album began in the studio, when James found themselves recording songs ata surprisingly prolific rate.
“At one stage, we had 38 songs, and I had three lyrics,” says Booth. “This put a lot of pressure on me. So we got two studios going at once, and we’d just go into the second studio and play, I’d improvise a lyric, and then we’d just knock it into shape later. It’s the most exciting and rewarding thing that James hove done for a while.” Booth has also talked about becoming friendly with Neil Young during James’ support tour, and suggesting to the grizzled one that they should work together.
“He said he’d love to do it, but he didn’t think his patience was up to it!” Booth reports.
James release a single, “Sometimes” , described by Booth as “like magical realism”, on Fontana on August 31
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