Isobel Campbell Walks The Line
Wednesday April 12, 2006 @ 02:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

by Elizabeth Chorney-Booth

It's the couples that you least expect to get together that always seem to work the best. OK, that's not necessarily true when it comes to love (sorry Brigitte Neilsen and Flavor Flav), but sometimes creative inspiration lurks amongst strange bedfellows. Take ex-Belle And Sebastian singer Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, formerly of The Screaming Trees and sometimes member of Queens Of The Stone Age. Despite a seeming difference in aesthetics, the two have just released Ballad Of The Broken Seas, an album of (mostly) duets that's been winning comparisons to the likes of Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra. ChartAttack talked to Campbell (who masterminded the project) about working with Lanegan and challenging her fans' expectations.

Mark Lanegan & Isobel Campbell

ChartAttack: Was Mark Lanegan familiar with your solo albums or your work with Belle And Sebastian or The Gentle Waves before you sent him a song asking for his input?
Isobel Campbell: He said he was. When I sent my song to his record company they said, "Oh, he's a fan," and I thought he was just being polite. So I don't really know. He's got quite a diversity to his music and so do I. I really don't like labels in music. I just think you have good music and bad music. It wasn't a problem for me.

Had you been plotting a full album of collaborations or did the idea come to you once the opportunity to work with Mark came along?
I think I've always been a fan of that sort of thing. I think it's quite romantic, really. I'm such a sucker for anything romantic. I like duets. Johnny Cash and June Carter were really special people anyway, but when they were together it was just like magic, wasn't it? I've been a fan of duets for as long as I can remember. But it wasn't really that conscious a thing, it just kind of came out the way it did.

Did you write the majority of the songs on the album or did you co-write together?
I wrote the majority. He wrote "Revolver," Hank Williams wrote "Ramblin' Man." My guitarist wrote "It's Hard To Kill A Bad Thing." I wrote the rest.

The whole record has such an Americana feel. Where does that come from? Were you listening to a lot of country music?
A wee bit. I was listening to [Johnny Cash's] When The Man Comes Around a lot. But I've always loved things like Bobby Gentry and Glen Campbell. I love some of those songs. Like "Gentle On My Mind" or "All I Have To Do Is Dream" and things like that. I just love them.

It's just that you're so often identified with the classic Scottish pop sound and this doesn't sound very Scottish at all.
You know what, I'm so happy to be Scottish and I'm really proud to have that Celtic blood. I've never really thought about being Scottish, but because I've traveled around a lot I know people from most places. It sounds weird, but I've always wanted to be bigger than that. The world is bigger and people are friendly. Scotland's OK, but you know how it is.

Isobel Campbell

The last time I saw you in Toronto you were playing your last-ever show with Belle And Sebastian and you weren't looking particularly happy. Do you find now that you're not in B&S you're having more fun with your music?
It's still really hard work. It's really hard work and I'm missing things sometimes, like I miss my family. But I'm having a good time and I am having fun, I suppose, but sometimes it doesn't really feel like it.

Is there anyone else you're planning to work with? Or will the next record just be you on your own?
No, I think that would be really boring. I really love getting together with people who I love — if I love their singing or their writing or whatever — and sharing stuff. ‘Cos that's the best, really. There are so many people I'd like to work with, but I can't really be bothered asking anyone. It depends on who might ask me, really.