Jann Arden brings new old songs to Windsor
Written by Vicki L. Kroll | | news@toledofreepress.comJann Arden often jokes about growing up on the prairie in Alberta, where Anne Murray’s “‘Snowbird’ was the only song on Canadian radio for 11 years,” as she wrote in her 2011 memoir, “Falling Backwards.”
In Springbank, Alberta, Arden listened to her parents’ and brothers’ records after school.
Canadian Jann Arden will play at Caesars Windsor's Colosseum on Sept. 21. Photo courtesy Bruce Allen Talent.
“You learn by just trying to sound exactly like your favorite singers,” she said during a call from Springbank, where she still lives.
In 2007, the singer-songwriter released “Uncovered,” which featured 10 tracks made popular by other artists. She had so much fun with that disc that she recorded 2011’s “Uncovered 2,” which includes “Dreams,” “This Girl’s in Love With You,” “Love Hurts,” “Misty Blue” and “Que Sera Sera.”
“Whenever people find out I’m doing another cover record, they think that this is the perfect opportunity to send me all their crazy requests,” Arden said and laughed.
“But Bruce Allen, my manager, he actually had a couple really great suggestions for me. One of them was ‘In My Room’ by The Beach Boys, which I’ve always loved … and then the Peggy Lee extravaganza, of course, ‘Is That All There Is?’ I think that is a fitting way to end the record.”
A disc of cover songs is a risk, the eight-time Juno Award winner admitted.
“When you take on these iconic songs, usually it’s a good idea to do songs of people who are passed away. That way, they can’t critique you,” she said. “I mean that with love in my heart.”
Her passion for the songs and artists is sincere.
“I think paying respect to these people is fun in its own right, but it gives you a chance to revisit your youth and just remember how fun it was to sing. Sometimes I forget how fun singing is because when you turn anything into your job, just that really beautiful sparkle sometimes diminishes, so it’s always great to revisit that.”
Arden began to shine in 1994 with her second disc, “Living Under June,” which featured the hits “Insensitive” and “Could I Be Your Girl.” She’s written several songs that made it big north of the border: “Good Mother,” “Where No One Knows Me,” “The Sound Of,” “Waiting in Canada.”
“I’ve always believed that music is about personal consumption; it’s a real personal relationship; that’s always the way I have felt about music,” she said. “It’s an honor for me to be in people’s homes, on their vacations, in their iPods. I mean, you think about what an intimate experience that is to be with somebody on a hike or in their van going on a holiday with kids and listening to my stuff, and that’s an honor; I don’t ever take it lightly.”
Arden will play a 9 p.m. concert Sept. 21 at Caesars Windsor’s Colosseum in Windsor, Ontario. Tickets for the 19-and-older show range from $31.86 to $82.71.
Tags: Caesars Windsor, Jann Arden
