Grammy Award winning producer David Kahne has compared Regina Spektor's natural musical prowess to that of Sir Paul McCartney. And, Kahne would know—he has worked with both.
On Far, Spektor collaborates with another producer who has a history with McCartney. This time around, however, the producer has worked with not just McCartney, but George Harrison and Ringo Starr as well—his name is Jeff Lynne.
Jeff Lynne and Three Others Produce Songs for Regina Spektor on New Album “Far”
In 2008, The Washington Times named Lynne the fourth greatest record producer in history. Not only has he worked with three of The Beatles, but he was the leader of Electric Light Orchestra and has co-written songs with the likes of George Harrison and Tom Petty.
Lynne is one of four producers Spektor recorded with for Far. She also reteamed with David Kahne (she previously worked with him on Begin to Hope, 2006) and recruited hip-hop producer Mike Elizondo and rock producer Garret "Jacknife" Lee.
Spektor works with as many different people with unique talents and perspectives as possible, which potentially causes her own musical styling to keep evolving. At the same time, Spektor never loses her refreshing and distinct individual sound and charisma.
In the Rolling Stone article, “Regina Spektor Finds Strength in Numbers for ‘Far,” posted March 20, 2009 on www.rollingstone.com, Spektor explains, “I wanted to learn from as many people as I could. If I had more time, I probably would have used six more producers."
Music Producers Mike Elizondo and Garret “Jacknife” Lee Bring Unique Experiences and Background to “Far”
Elizondo has worked with the likes of Dr. Dre, Eminem, and 50 Cent; but, he has also collaborated with Fiona Apple, Alanis Morrisette and Maroon 5. On her last album, Begin to Hope (2006), Spektor infused a hip-hop sound into the single “Fidelity.” Elizondo is fully capable of helping Spektor further explore this sound, and it will be interesting to see what their combined talents give birth to on Far.
Garret “Jacknife” Lee has worked with Weezer quite a bit recently, but he has also collaborated with the likes of Snow Patrol (Eyes Open, 2006 and A Hundred Million Suns, 2008), R.E.M. (Accelerate, 2008) and U2 (How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, 2004).
Regina Spektor’s Tracklist for New Album “Far”
No final tracklist has been set for Spektor’s upcoming album as of March 21, 2009; however, various articles have spoken of songs that were recorded for Far and could potentially appear on the album.
Die hard Spektor fans will recognize titles such as “Blue Lips,” “The Wallet,” “Folding Chair” and “Genius Next Door,” which have existed as highly accessible concert bootlegs on the internet for some time now. But, two titles unheard of by even the most passionate Spektor fanatics, “The Calculation” and “Laughing With” have reportedly been recorded for Far as well.
Pitchfork describes “The Calculation” as a, “sure-to-be hit” in an interview published on their website (www.pitchfork.com) on March 16, 2009. Furthermore, in the aforementioned Rolling Stone article, the magazine mentions “Lynne's ELO-style strings on ‘Blue Lips’ and the rockabilly groove of ‘Folding Chair.”
Max Neibaur - I like baseball and Abbott & Costello movies. I'm a media scholar, a sports buff/historian and my favorite color is orange. Op/Ed is ...
