ROGER KNOTT - "Step Out Into The Sun
" CD
Step Out Into the Sun
"Listening to my first recordings, I hear things that tell me I was still
on a learning curve," explains a thoughtful and self-effacing Roger Knott.
"I think this is the record where things turned out totally right," he adds
with a laugh. "It's the record that seems to have that combination of elements
falling into place."
On "Step Out Into the Sun" - his third album release - the British
singer-songwriter steps forward with a varied collection of catchy melodies
and warm longing ballads. Textured with a deft blend of acoustic and electric
guitars with supporting keyboards and vocals, Knott moves easily from the
country swing of "I Can't Find Anybody" and the exquisite ballad "The Sound
of Your Name" to the homesick melancholy of "Seeing Ireland Again" and the
mid-tempo country-rock of "Late Bloom." "The thing that I'm really happy
about on this record is that all the songs have good grooves and there is
more of a pulse to it," says Roger, "and you can actually dance to some of
the songs!"
Recorded by Knott in Nashville under the direction of producer Clive Gregson
over two weeks during early 2007, Step Out Into the Sun also marks the
continuation of the artist's recent track work with Thomm Jutz (Mary Gauthier,
Nanci Griffith). Knott first worked with the Nashville-based German musician
when Jutz provided acoustic & electric guitar colourings, flute and dobro
on Roger’s 2006 album, "Dust and Promises." Impressed with what he heard
in the studio, Knott soon found himself back at work with Jutz on this new
album.
Describing the preparation for the "Step Out Into the Sun" sessions, Knott
explains: "I approached Clive during his folk club tour with the suggestion
that we make a record with him as producer and I had these new songs, and
he accepted. We routined and arranged the material in my local village hall
in the English countryside." Rough demos from these rehearsals with Gregson
were subsequently taken to the sessions in Nashville, the "music city" where
ex-Any Trouble leader Gregson had lived for a decade.
In addition to Knott himself - who provided the guide acoustic guitar parts,
and the aforementioned Jutz and Gregson, the album's team of players include
Pat McInerney (Nanci Griffith, Don Williams) on drums and percussion;
singer-songwriter Le Ann Etheridge on bass guitar and backing vocals; additional
backing vocals came from Nashville stalwarts Cathryn Craig and Nancy Moran;
plus contributions from ex-Whiskeytown steel player Mike Daly and saxist/flautist
Jim Hoke.
Engineer on the album was Dan Spomer, originally from San Francisco and now
in much demand as a sound technician in Nashville. "I know a reasonable amount
about how studio computer software works," says former IT consultant Knott,
"but I knew I was in good hands with Dan. Once in a while I would suggest
or ask something of a technical nature, but generally I was glad to be able
to focus solely on the performance".
Written during the months just prior to release, the songs heard on Step
Out Into the Sun stemmed from a period of personal upheaval and romantic
dissolution. "There were some pretty significant changes at the time," says
Knott of those tumultuous days. "So suddenly after 20 years, I was living
on my own. The fortunate thing was I had music through which I could give
expression to my feelings."
The resulting songs found Knott mixing life's hard facts with messages of
prevailing hopefulness, as on such tracks as "Call Me Back," "The Devil Riding
By," and "Laugh At The Rain." Others, like "Good Times Have None To Spare"
and "I Thought You‘d Always Be There," were touched with a more pervasive
sense of sadness. "In many of my songs," he explains. "I suppose I'm offering
reassurance to myself, really, and thereby to others."
Stepping off that path, the almost hymn-like "Here‘s To A Free World"
was written as Roger's response to recent public statements made by some
world leaders. "I have no desire to be overtly political," says Knott, "but
I couldn’t help commenting on the apparent over-simplification of what
freedom means. That's where the song started for me. From there, I got in
to just trying to write a song about how freedom has no close definition
and none of us can be described as free so long as certain things remain
in the world, because the people of the world are so inter-connected. It‘s
not Utopian, just realistic. An attempt to find context and perspective,
perhaps."
Beyond Step Out Into the Sun, Knott remains ever in tune with his songwriter's
skills and expects to continue growing and discovering. "I think I'm singing
better than ever now and the songs... they keep coming at a fair pace. So
I still feel like I'm coming in to my own."
Leg Room Records LEGCD108
