Re: help: trying to get stories straight
On 18 Apr, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Any one recall Shania Twain re-recording or remixing "Still the One" for pop airplay? Something about deleting the fiddles or so? [The writer obviously isn't much into country from her citing of LeAnn Rimes as an artist who has enjoyed a "lengthy career"!. Whilst spellchecking my OCR output, the checker suggested "Celibate Dijon" for "Celine Dion".] COUNTRY STAR ENTERS FRESH CONSTELLATION. ALICE RAWSTHORN SAMPLES AN AMBITIOUS US REMIX. Financial Times. 16/2/98 Any US country music lover who enjoys humming along to Come On Over, the latest Shania Twain album, may feel rather bewildered if they buy another copy in Europe when it goes on sale today. The songs have the same titles as those on the US album, but they sound completely different. Ms Twain and Mutt Lange, her record producer husband, have remixed the original album by softening the country style that has made her a star in the US into a more melodic sound. In next few weeks, Mercury Records, a subsidiary of PolyGram, the Dutch entertainment group, will launch a lavish promotional campaign for the new version of Come On Over throughout Europe and Asia in an attempt to turn Ms Twain into a global superstar. Country music is big business in the US, worth roughly $1.8bn (UKP1.07bn) last year, or 14.4 per cent of record sales, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. At a time when consumer taste in rock and pop is increasingly unpredictable, and even superstars can no longer expect to churn out hit after hit, country stars, such as EMI's Garth Brooks and Warner Music's LeAnn Rimes, are among the few artists who still enjoy lengthy careers and sell millions of albums. Yet very few country acts have sold well internationally. The Woman In Me, Shania Twain's 1995 album, sold 11.5m copies in north America, and only 500,000 elsewhere. Before releasing Come On Over, Ms Twain appointed a new manager, Jon Landau, who made his name working with rock stars such as Bruce Springsteen, to take her into the international market. In the US, Ms Twain is regarded as a crossover star, whose fans include general record buyers as well as country enthusiasts. Even so, Mercury decided Come On Over was too countrified for a foreign audience, and Ms Twain and Mr Lange remixed it. "Shania's music has never been hat and boots country, but it needed a poppier approach to sell outside the States," said David Munns, senior vice president of pop marketing for PolyGram International. Mercury also changed the album cover. The raunchy pose and red velveteen donned by Ms Twain for the North American version, was changed to a sultry smile and silvery grey outfit for the international One. Ms Twain is now being presented to the media in Europe and Asia as a US star with a broad appeal similar to that of Celine Dion, the Sony Music singer who is the most successful vocalist of recent years. According to Mr Munns, PolyGram is making a similar marketing expenditure and management resource investment in promoting Ms Twain internationally as in an established star such as Bryan Adams or Jon Bon Jovi. If its investment pays off, PolyGram may add a steadily selling superstar to its roster of edgier, but possibly more ephemeral, acts such as All Saints and Hanson. If it fails, Ms Twain can return to her loyal North American fans who have already bought more than 4m copies of the original Come On Over since November. -- Brian Debenham [EMAIL PROTECTED] (home) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (work) StrongARMed and dangerous ! Chelmsford CAMRA: http://homepages.enterprise.net/briandebenham/camra.html
Re: help: trying to get stories straight
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Any one recall Shania Twain re-recording or remixing "Still the One" for pop airplay? Something about deleting the fiddles or so? Plus, I seem to recall the Dixie Chicks being asked to make some sort of similar compromise to be on some TV show but refused? Do either of these scenarios sound right? Foggy. Neal Weiss What? you mean the original You're Still The One has fiddle on it? The one released in the UK for the pop audiences has organ and guitar, but no fiddle. My sister bought the single (out of curiosity because we don't get many country singles released over here, nothing else, ahem) I think the Dixie Chicks thing was for MTV, and they refused to take out their instruments from the video. Louise -- If you like rocking country music, check out the Okeh Wranglers web site at: http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/bluesmoke
RE: help: trying to get stories straight
Any one recall Shania Twain re-recording or remixing "Still the One" for pop airplay? Something about deleting the fiddles or so? I have a real vague recollection of this - vague enough that I'm not sure whether it's at all accurate. Plus, I seem to recall the Dixie Chicks being asked to make some sort of similar compromise to be on some TV show but refused? This one is a definite; it appeared in print in at least one place, maybe Country Music magazine. The culprit here was VH-1, which wanted a fiddle-less version of one of their videos. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
RE: help: trying to get stories straight
Louise says: What? you mean the original You're Still The One has fiddle on it? The one released in the UK for the pop audiences has organ and guitar, but no fiddle. Same as the album cut then; there's steel on it (Bruce Bouton), and mandolin (Eric Silver), but no fiddle credit. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
RE: help: trying to get stories straight
From the 3/1/99 Blue Chip Report: The rumble is that VH1 wanted to play The Dixie Chicks' "Wide Open Spaces", but wanted to edit out the fiddle parts. The group refused. Guess the banjo didn't bother them. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
Re: help: trying to get stories straight
some sort of similar compromise to be on some TV show but refused? Lucinda refused to not "lie on my back and moan at the ceiling", on some morning tv thing.
Re: help: trying to get stories straight
In a message dated 4/19/99 12:42:37 AM !!!First Boot!!!, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: some sort of similar compromise to be on some TV show but refused? On a similar note, Gravel Train refused to be the cheesy "Robert Palmer ripoff" band on Shania Twain's latest video. Mitch Matthews Gravel Train/Sunken Road
Re: help: trying to get stories straight
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: passenger side [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sunday, April 18, 1999 6:53 PM Subject: help: trying to get stories straight Any one recall Shania Twain re-recording or remixing "Still the One" for pop airplay? Something about deleting the fiddles or so? Plus, I seem to recall the Dixie Chicks being asked to make some sort of similar compromise to be on some TV show but refused? Do either of these scenarios sound right? Twain's international release of COO was re-mixed; some fiddle and steel removed, while other parts just diluted into the background. "You're Still The One" was released internationally as a pop single sans countrified treatment and was a hit in Europe prior to the single being played in the US. Album cover is even different for the international version. Tera Foggy. Neal Weiss
