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Christine Collister
Christine Collister is one of the most esteemed female vocalists in contemporary British folk-music. She first attracted attention as a member of Richard Thompson's band in the late 1980s. Then she became one half of the Gregson-Collister duo, Clive Gregson being the former leader of British rock band Any Trouble.
Embarking on a solo career in 1992, a number of outstanding recordings have emerged. Her first one, Live 94, recorded in her home town has calmly but relentlessly achieved cult status. Not just because it’s deleted, and not solely because of the outstanding musicianship, but probably because of the extraordinary clarity and precision of the recording.
She’s attracted extraordinary accolades from critics “A true original with a passionate voice and an amazing range” being one of the milder ones – yet curiously she ha not generated a large audience.
In this exclusive interview with Howard Popeck, CC gives her views on over-familiarity with songs, critical accolades and low sales, stepping out from behind Richard Thompson, and more.
You’ve been described as ‘one of the world’s finest white female singers . . .’ How did you feel about that?
It made me laugh. It’s great. You can’t help feeling good about yourself – for a while.
Barbra Streisand was recently reported as saying that the effort of recording was so great - and so draining - that she was not inclined to sing those recorded songs again in concert. Yet you manage to sing your songs with great enthusiasm, night after night. How do you maintain that enthusiasm in the face of that deep familiarity?
Well, she’s been doing it for far longer, and at a far higher level than I have. And she’s done far more concerts too. Perhaps there is a point where you wear thin of certain songs. But I’ve not had any hits, so I'm not faced with demands from fans to hear them. I choose what I want to play on tour. There are some stalwarts that stay in the shows for years, but eventually they move on. It takes me a very long time to fit into a song; sometimes a year after I’ve recorded it. So if a song has some depth to it then there’s always the opportunity to connect with it on a different level.
Does Richard Thompson give you guitar lessons?
No! But he has written out chords from time to time. And he’s always incredibly kind about my playing.
Is the ratio between your self-penned songs and covers likely to change further in the future?
It’s unlikely, but it’s a nice idea. The fact that on the previous two albums I’ve had half and half is a miracle as far as I'm concerned. I'm not the most prolific of writers. I always say I’m a singer first, and a writer someway after that.
What music are you listening to currently?
I don’t really listen to much at all. But recently I did buy a whole pile of CDs – the great writers from the 1920s to the 1950s. Great recordings, great arrangements, warmth in the performances. Ella Fitzgerald, Billie holiday. For a couple of years I played a lot of Glenn Miller.
Which musicians do you most admire?
Well Richard, of course. He’s just fantastic. John Surman, who I’ve worked with. He’s such a fantastic musician. God, I don’t know. Helen Watson, fantastic. Rory McFarlane, Howard Lees – all great musicians.
Which singers do you most admire?
Helen Watson. She’s so light, but so connected. Fantastic articulation. She finds her own way in and out of a song. She’s just extraordinary.
Do we put her under the category of ‘criminally ignored’?
Absolutely. Of course there are many recordings and artists who have had a great influence on me as a performer. A list would have to include : Bonnie Rait, Lowell George, Little Feat, Emmylou Harris, Glen Miller, Richard Thompson, Billie Holiday, Julie London, The Eagles, Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner, Jennifer Warnes, 10cc, Elvis, Steely Dan, Karen Carpenter, Byonce!!! The list is endless really.
Favourite CDs, in no particular order?
Lowell George: Thanks I'll Eat it Here. Kate Bush: The Hounds of Love. John Martin: Solid Air. Peter Gabriel: So and The Passions. Jeff Buckley: Grace. Helen Watson: Somersault. Joni Mitchell: Heijera. Cassandra Wilson: Blue Light Till Dawn. Sting: Brand New Day. Martin Simpson: Leaves of Life. Lal Waterson and Oliver Knight: Once In A Blue Moon. Emmylou Harris/Dolly Parton/Linda Rondstat: Trio. Judee Sill: Heart Food. Fleetwood Mac: Rumours.
Can you offer a little background on a few of the standout tracks on your CDs? For example:
Waiting for my Prayer
It’s a self-penned song. It’s about confronting your own negativity. Feeling you can’t go any further, and then by sheer dint of a leap of imagination or faith you manage to get through. Slightly autobiographical. You have to ask something of life. Then I realised that if I didn’t ask – not necessarily of myself – I wouldn’t get. So it’s a song about part of my life journey.
Full of Grace
Fabulous song. Sara McLaughlin. We didn’t have enough songs for an album. David Suff sent it to me on one of his compilation cassettes. Not necessarily to get me to record it. He thought I’d like it anyway.
An Equal Love
That’s about Bob, my boyfriend. A delightful man. It says everything I feel about him. We really do have an equal love. It’s incredibly liberating. The imagery there is quite literal. It’s a story I used to tell on stage. Somebody sent me through the post four glow-in-the-dark angels. One-inch tall with Hong Kong stamped on their bottoms. I had them hung up over my bed in a sort of fishnet thingy, with purple cotton, which was all I had. You’ll find that in the lyrics.
Extra Care
I co-wrote this with Helen. At the time, we were both single. On that day, we were bemoaning the fact to each other, trying desperately to remember what it was like to fancy somebody. I had the words and the humming tune you can hear on the studio version. Helen wrote the top line, then we wrote the words together.
In the Beginning
Angelo Palladinio. Looking to get a track to augment the others on an album. Heard it, liked it, recorded it.
Dirt in the Ground
Again, this is David Suff. His influence. It was on a cassette. I put it on a list of things I wanted to try. I'm really happy with the studio version. The live version is good fun. I try to get the audience to sing along. Sombre words with a grin. A bit of entertainment for me when I'm looking out into the audience. As I said earlier, audience reaction and my interaction with them is what drives my live performances.
Black Eyed Dog
Again, David Suff. I'm not a huge Nick Drake fan. Not my taste - but well loved by many. He was actually on that recording with us because when we had a go at it in the studio, it was very spontaneous and through our headphones when we were getting the first layer of drone he was singing to us, so we had the same length of song. That vocal is the very first time I’d sung that song.
Point Scarlett
This is a place on the Isle of Man. It’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s actually called ‘Scarlett Point’ a wild and fabulous place. I went there on a wild day with Daphne’s Flight, when we were recording our album there; Helen fell in love with the place. I had a guitar tune but couldn’t think of any lyrics. So I gave them to Helen Watson and she came up with the most beautiful lyric that absolutely captured the wild essence of this extraordinary landscape. Working on it with John Surman was perfection itself!
You really should hear Helen’s version. Again, a pure example of Helen’s lyrical ability. Fantastic imagery, totally connected emotionally.
Free Will and Testament
Again via David Suff. Written by Robert Wyatt. If you listen to the original, it’s utterly different. Robert Wyatt heard a copy. He liked it. He was amazed I was able to decipher his lyrics. An obscure lyric that encapsulates a certain kind of madness.
Venus Proud
Seems a radical departure from the CC norm. What’s the story there?
Oh, I don’t know. I was doing some kind of free-form stream of consciousness. I did the first verse, then the rest kind of wrote itself. I wanted a kind of Steely Dan approach. I love them, so that what we ended up with.
And Moon River?
Hmm, yes. Desperately trying to come up with another track. Tried Smoke Gets in your eyes, but it lost out to Moon.
Are there tracks which on reflection you never want to hear yourself – or anyone else for that matter – singing again?
No, I can’t think of anything
Your current all time favourite CD track?
Really difficult. Changes from day to day. Depends on my mood. If I had to choose I’d pick Jeff Buckley’s version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. I love it!
What songs would make your all time Top 10?
I find these sorts of questions so difficult, I’m afraid to say anything in case I leave something really obvious out! What a wimp! Erm . . . Heijera by Joni Mitchell, Heard it through the Grapevine Marvin Gaye, Beeswing Richard Thompson, Bridge Over Troubled Water Paul Simon, I’m Mandy Fly Me 10cc, Band on the Run, Paul MaCartney, ok I’m faltering now . . . If you asked again tomorrow I’d come up with a different list! So fickle!
What would you do differently in your career if you knew then what you know now ?
I’d have been more open when I was younger. Tried harder, maybe. Said yes more often.
Does it irritate (as it does most of her fans!) that far less talented singers get recognition in the music industry?
It doesn’t pay me to think about it. It’s not about talent. It’s about image, selling, marketing. I find all of those things quite spurious.
So you can still walk, unapproached, through Sainsbury’s, right?
Right.
Via your website you allow your fans to get pretty close. You respond to them. It’s a growing trend. Richard Thompson does it, Country Joe Macdonald and so on. What was the thinking behind this?
It’s to generate more energy, more interest. It’s all about getting more people involved. It’s my way of connecting with as many people as possible. I have to sell myself. That’s the reality. I should have understood that earlier. Been less precious about the commercial side.
Are you likely to be working with Richard Thompson again in the foreseeable future, or are the days of being a backing singer long gone now?
No, I’ll get up with Richard anytime. I love being the honorary chick singer for a night.
I saw you last year at his gig at the union Chapel last year. A great roar went up when you were introduced.
Yes, that’s me. Pity they don’t come to my gigs though. Obviously fans have personal allegiances. That’s life.
Maybe that’ll change in 2004. Certainly hope so.
Me too. And thanks.
Rachel Fuller
Without doubt, one of my three most played CDs last year is the debut album from Rachel Fuller – ‘Cigarettes & Housework’. It’s my personal choice for 2004.
Her music is hard to categorise. I hate putting music in pigeon holes, but occasionally an indication of genre helps. It is, I suppose, hybrid rock/pop. Carefully crafted lyrics with an edge, mainly poignant, of a quality that makes most other popular music I heard last year sound vacuous.
From an audio perspective which, after all, is the catalyst for these newsletters, this is an outstanding album. Great, clean uncluttered production and top notch backing musicians. Every now and then, coming out of nowhere, a debut album arrives which is so fresh, so vivid, so compelling and so confident that you wonder about the chemistry that created it. This CD is one of that rare breed. I went to investigate.
Rachel – how happy are you with your debut ‘Cigarettes & Housework'?
Very. It took around 18 months to complete and was really hard work! But overall I'm pleased with it. It’s only been launched in the US so far. We’re hoping to release in the UK this year.
How do you respond to reviews?
Well . . . . . . I pretty much try to ignore them. You have to be a bit distanced from this sort of thing. In the main, the reviews have been positive – but of course there have been a couple of negative ones too.
Do the negative ones hurt?
(Laughs) No, not really. They’re just one person’s opinion, but I do try to look for the constructive elements in a less than enthusiastic review.
Who’s your target market?
I guess the same people who listen to Norah Jones and Dido.
Once the recording was completed, were you sick of it and wanting to start on the next one?
No, not really. Its very hard to be detached when you’re in the middle of it, but I then didn’t listen to it for six months or so and then I came back to it pretty fresh, and I loved it. I'm proud of it. Not too many faults.
Would you correct anything now?
No.
There’s no filler, the songs are strong. How did you achieve that?
I had 25 self-composed songs to pick from which I’d been composing for some while. I start with the arrangement on the piano and I pretty much hear any orchestral parts in my head. Then I write the lyric, although recently I’ve been inspired lyrically first. I guess my writing is quite structured and disciplined, never used to be.
You wrote them with you as the singer in mind – presumably?
(Laughs) No, not initially. I never really saw myself as a singer. No way. Not ever. Well . . . . . . I used to sing in the car and the bath! I would sing along to the radio, a bit of mimicry I suppose but nothing serious. So . . . . . . never say never!
Okay, I’ll come back to that later. Meanwhile – you aren’t a newcomer to music really – right?
True. I started performing when I was 12. Not rock though, and not singing either. Classical piano music.
Were you a prodigy?
(Slightly uncomfortable shifting on the chair) Well . . . . . . . . . yes I suppose so. Not sure I like the word. But yes, I was confident and very competent at the piano at an early age.
So . . .?
So from a very early age I was performing recitals of Romantic composers such as Chopin, Beethoven and Debussy. I'm still inspired by classical music, especially I love the romantics.
Rumour has it you were teaching piano when you were 12
Yes, true.
And you were composing too, even then?
Well yes – orchestral works.
Were any performed?
One was performed by the London Philharmonic at The Royal Festival Hall.
How old were you then?
(Laughs) Ten. I was petrified!
Were you influenced by non-classic music as a teenager?
Pretty much, yes. I grew up listening to Abba and the Carpenters. Then when I was in my early teens and started to buy my own music I was a big fan of Joni Mitchell, Prince, early Stevie Wonder and the Beatles. I’m a bit of a geek, still listen to the same stuff!
Did you intend to follow a music career?
I won an Organ Scholarship to Oxford University, but I didn’t go. It was definitely time to rebel, shave my head, wear Doc Martins and hang out with reprobates.
How did the crematorium period come about?
Well, the local crematorium needed an organist and I needed a job. I liked it, and it was better than working at MacDonald’s. I was there on and off for two years playing for funerals, sometimes 11 in one day. God, I was only 17, looking back it was a bit of a dark thing to do but I got to wear a lot of black and it suited my teenage angst. (And was really well paid).
Did it have a lasting impact?
Yes – well – sort of. ‘Lament’ on my CD is part of that, but only a bit. I started writing it sometime before, as a teenager. I was inspired by the film Amadeus. Dying young, unrecognised, misunderstood genius. (Laughs) It wasn’t a death wish though.
Did you take requests at the crematorium?
(A slightly withering look) Well of course mourners or the deceased sometimes want a favourite song played, so yes I did take requests – (laughs) – and there was limited scope for occasional improvisation too.
So you left, and then . . .?
I drifted around a bit, for a few years in fact, doing studio work as a pianist and things like that. I became an arranger and orchestrator.
I sense that was the beginning of another significant path – right?
I was invited to orchestrate a Scarlatti harpsichord sonata on Pete Townshend’s ‘The Lifehouse Chronicles’ which was definitely a different challenge. He overheard me singing and liked my voice. He encouraged me to record my own songs, so with his help, I recorded a demo.
But you hadn’t seen yourself as a singer?
Not up to that point, no. I had a lot of confidence in my arranging and composing; orchestration etc – but very low confidence in my own voice. I had no thoughts of performing live. Not at all. Never. I’d been entertaining the idea of becoming a film composer. Not a performer.
So what happened then?
Pete introduced me to a young producer called Ashley Alexander and we started to produce some demos together. My confidence grew and on a trip to New ~York, Universal Records signed me as a solo artist after they heard the demos. It happened very quickly which is very unusual, I still hadn’t ever done a live performance. I was given a budget, and I started work.
The CD is remarkably self-assured. Not just the lyrics and the singing, but the backing band. How did that come about?
It fell together. My partner introduced me to Pino, the bass player who knew the drummer, who knew the keyboard player – and so on. All of them unbelievably talented musicians and great guys.
The ‘Cigarettes’ bit I can understand; but housework?
It’s an emotional thing really. I liked tidiness. When I lived on my own, the first thing I did in the morning was the housework – trying to make sense of it all.
Naked?
Naked!
Err – quite a striking image
(Big grin, big pause) Lots of women do their housework naked!
Right, err, moving swiftly on – so, here you were, with songs initially written for other vocalists with a new band. Was your vision corrupted, diluted, enhanced – or what?
Not diluted or corrupted. No. definitely improved.
Is that usual?
No idea. I can’t speak for others but it may have something to do with my demos. My demos are full blown productions, not rough sketches. It’s planned, laid out, defined. At a pinch, they could probably be officially released.
So what’s happening in the US with the CD?
Barnes & Noble heard a sampler of the album and Steve Riggio, the CEO, contacted me to do a special promotion in 600 of their stores across America.
What about the UK?
I’ve been talking recently with the record company here and we’re hoping to release before the summer. It’ll coincide with a VH1 show that I worked on with Jerry Hall (my friend and neighbour).
Any live dates?
I'm doing two gigs in the USA at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. After that, probably a 25 gig tour in the UK.
Are your nervous?
Not as much as I was initially, no. My first proper gig, apart from friends and crew at the studio, was at ‘Joe’s Pub’ in New York which holds about 150 people. My nervousness vanished as I started to perform. I recently performed one of my songs at Ronnie Scotts. It was a cabaret evening hosted by Eddie Izzard which is scheduled to air on Radio 2 this Easter. I played a song called Around This Table, which was a ‘Country Recitation’ with Jerry Hall. Singing with a spoken overlay.
After that?
Well, hopefully the 25 gig tour. Nothing huge. Low key, simple places that hold around 150 people. I like the idea of my first shows to be fairly intimate. After that, well who knows?
What are you listening to these days?
Still Stevie Wonder, the man is a genius. Alison Krauss, Tori Amos. Her new album didn’t get too good a review, but I like it. Mainly I surf the music channels but I’m still a geek.
Any thoughts re the follow up CD?
I’ve got around 30 songs written now. I’ll probably start work in September or October on a second album depending on how things work out.
You’ve not abandoned your classic roots though?
Not abandoned, no. I'm focused on this career. I love it. But the classical stuff runs pretty deep too.
Could you be described as having two musical careers then?
I suppose so. Two parallel careers.
Do you still teach piano?
No. I haven’t done that for a long time.
How do you feel about the fact that music in schools isn’t on the curriculum?
I didn’t know that. I'm shocked. It’s (pause) insane. That’s the best word.
So music isn’t just a business for you?
It’s a major part of my life.
Is music a civilising force?
I think it depends on the music but you have to hope that a person who loves romantic classical music must be okay, at least to some degree (although I think a lot of psychopathic serial killers have liked classical music?). My belief is that people find the music they need. Like the music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It’s not my kind of thing but I do recognise how brilliant he is at what he does and it appeals to a large market. These people have found something in his music.
‘Cigarettes & Housework’ on an ordinary home system. Any thoughts?
Well, a lot is lost, especially on the bass when compared to the playback in the studio. I love solid deep bass and it’s hard to get that impact in an ordinary domestic situation.
What’s the thinking behind the final mix of your CD?
The mix is aimed at my target market, so it reflects to some extent the quality of the equipment they’re likely to be listening to my music on. So play-back in the car is important for example. I’ve got a reasonable car stereo. Nothing exotic. So on a personal level I want the finished mix to sound at least reasonable on a car stereo. Then it should sound reasonable on a typical home system. I'm not aiming for the hi-fi ‘nut’.
But your CD sounds superb on an upmarket home set-up.
Thanks. My wish is for my next album to be recorded on analogue tape though, although no one makes tape anymore! Might have to go underground to find some.
Why?
Because I can hear the difference on playback. Analogue is more natural, warmer . . . . . . more organic.
Thank you Rachel
Thank you too
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