We wrap up Anre’s interview with the “problem child” of the album, a panic attack, and a collection of musical snippets as we celebrate the completion of his debut album, “Worth Waiting For”, and await its release date on May 7th!
[“When She Smiles” plays in the background]
ACB: So, “When She Smiles” is a song that I wrote probably in 1991. But that version was very different—it sounded like a different sort of pop song back then—it had a totally different sound. So, when I brought this song to my partner’s attention in January of 2019, she heard the original version and she liked it. And it’s gone through many makeovers since then. What you’re hearing is different forms of Latin music, specifically slow rhumba, and it was the hardest song I have ever arranged.
Keren: This one is the problem child.
ACB: This one is a problem child, a labor of love. This one, too, [like “Breathless”] goes through a lot of musical changes, crosses different musical genres, and it was a test.
Keren: It was a test? Of what?
ACB: Well, this one was one of the first ones that I started working on. I mean, there were many days of frustration, so we’re talking about MONTHS to get it right in terms of writing and arranging.
Keren: The original version didn’t have all of these different… sections.
ACB: No, the original version was pretty straightforward. There were certain elements that it had, like in the prehook there was always a cello, but the way the strings are, they are… it’s how I hear that song now. ‘Cause there’s no way that I could have done this version 30 years ago.
Keren: Why not?
ACB: Again, when I play something, it is my feelings, my experiences, my emotions. And at 50, I don’t feel the same way; I don’t love the same way; I don’t experience joy the same way.
[“Mystique” plays in the background]
Keren: It’s called “Mystique” now?
ACB: It’s called “Mystique”, but its original title was “The Way You Move Me”. There was an interesting aspect of the first version. The ending of the song I wrote while having a panic attack, so when you hear it, it sounds kind of maddening, but in a cool sort of way. And there’s NO way I could have recreated that because now I’m in a different place, different space, and I didn’t want to say that now.
Keren: So what took its place?
ACB: A really groovy ending. One of the things that’s really interesting about my music is… it goes back to when I was a kid, listening to music all the time. I always LOVED the ending of songs. You know, that chorus right after the guitar solo or whatever? And the singer’s singing and he or she starts ad libbing and the song starts to fade out, and there’s all this really cool stuff. And it’s like “NOOOOO! Don’t fade out now! That was so cool, I want to hear more of that!” To me, it’s like the ending of the song is the last part I write. So all the JOY, that I am completing a song, comes out and all these really cool ideas. “Ooo, I can do this!” “What about this?!” And I hear so many different things that the favorite part of most of my songs is the end, ‘cause that’s where I’m having the most fun. :D
So, what replaced it was elements of that sort of anxiety-fueled ending, and… the way I feel now. And I think “Mystique” is a much better title, because there is a certain part of it that is mysterious.
AND, I’ve gotta talk about the bridge. The bridge is SO 70’s, late 70’s soft rock. And I LOVE soft rock, and when I write slow songs—those sweet songs—I love the way soft rock songs were produced. I just do. That’s one of the reasons most of my songs, there’s an electric piano in it; because that’s what was there in the 70’s, early 80’s. They used Fender Rhodes—I still want one. [laughs] But the bridge, when someone hears it, I want them to be transported back to that time period. And also, they’re hearing this really mysterious song and then all of a sudden there’s like this rainbow of sound, that’s the bridge, and then it goes back in to that mysterious mode, and then all of a sudden it just goes into that groove at the end. But it was a lot of work getting it that way.
[“Desert Rain” plays in the background]
Keren: This is a perfectly brilliant driving song!
ACB: It is… I’m remembering when I wrote it back in 2001. It was very different from anything I ever did. It was kind of like… I can’t even remember what came first—how I started writing it—but, it’s just like that motion. When I started working on it, I kept seeing driving out in the desert in San Diego’s back country. It’s just a very unique song for me.
Keren: Did you set out to write something completely different?
ACB: Back then I had so many different snippets of things I would start and go, “Oh, that’s kind of cool. I’ll just save that for another day.” And this started off that way, but it was like “I really, really like this” and I kept working with it and it just grew. The chord progression came first, which is very simple. And then the hi-hat came second. And that sound made me think of wind… car… and when I was putting it together I just kept thinking about travel on the road. The version that’s on the album is really close to the original, but it has a lot of different elements that are me now, not me then.
Keren: What genre influences are here?
ACB: Well there is jazz, lots of jazz. And definitely, again, elements from the 80’s. See, the thing that’s really cool about music from the 80’s is when you look back at it and you think of all those different sounds that were coming out of the 80’s, you had more musical freedom than you do now. Like in commercial music, there are rules, there are constraints. You can’t have your own sound. You have to sound like this person—this person just came out with this great record, so you have come out with one that’s just like it. And it all sounds the same. That’s why I like the 80’s so much, because it was more free and more creative, I think.
Keren: Well, thank you so much for talking with me, and congratulations on your dream come true! I look forward to listening again on May 7th. Where will your album be available?
ACB: On my website, anrecbellmusic.com, Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Napster, TouchTunes, Tidal and more.