The Musical Box

Aside from reinventing the music (and, in some cases, the careers) of U2, Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, The Neville Brothers and a sizeable army of other pop and rock vets, Daniel Lanois has quietly forged his own sound of ethereal grace.

The spiritual elements he employs are undeniable, but tend to become part of a backdrop that draws on the adaptability of pedal steel guitar - or, as he call it in a spoken interlude on Here Is What Is, “my little church in a suitcase.”

As is the case with Lanois’ five previous solo albums, pedal steel is removed from its stereotypical Nashville setting and placed in the middle of a far larger country at the feet of a far larger muse.

Aside from pedal steel, Here Is What Is adopts echoes of gospel, assorted ambient soundscapes, subtle but pronounced percussion patterns and vocals that are often no more than contemplative whispers. It then whips all of that together with bits of conversational narrative into soundtrack music for a documentary on the very art of making music.

Of course, Lanois making music differs considerably from most artists assembling records. The film is essentially a journey both literal and figurative that begins in Toronto and winds up in Morocco with longtime pal and fellow production innovator Brian Eno discussing God, music and the links between them. In terms of conventional documentary, it strives to define - or, at least, illuminate - a creative process more than it attempts to offer a detailed biographical portrait.

Among the CD’s spoken passages, which are lifted wholly from the film, is Beauty - an artful and amusing reflection on creating something from nothing. Other moments grab hold of the music that Lanois confronts during his journey, such as a ragged but suitably righteous performance at the Zion Baptist Church in Shreveport. La. of the spiritual This May Be the Last Time. Yet even in this gospel outpost there is an almost familial link to Lanois’ work. The church performance is presided over by the father of drummer Brian Blade, a longtime Lanois musical co-hort.

The record begins with a touch of the familiar: a version of Where Will I Be, the tune Lanois wrote and fashioned, with Blade’s help, as the introduction to Harris’ groundbreaking Wrecking Ball album over 12 years ago. This version is driven by a shimmering march-like groove and keyboard/guitar colors that warmly envelope the music.

Not Fighting Anymore then recalls the crafty quiet Lanois fashioned for Dylan’s 1989 Oh Mercy album. The music’s regal melancholy - “that far away lonesome sound,” as it is termed - also ushers in the pedal steel.

From winding runs on Blue Bus that make the instrument sound positively celestial to the way guitar notes mingle and dance with delicate percussion, Lanois takes the pedal steel out of what was once a single-minded roots music environment and opens it up - almost, literally - to the heavens.

In becomes, in essence, the “what it is” sound at the heart of Here Is What Is‘ musical quest.