Planting seeds
NEW YORK (AP) — Every so often, Ron Sexsmith runs into the music executive who curated Bob Marley's "Legend" disc — the prototype for a phenomenally successful career retrospective — and the man asks if it's time to give the Canadian singer-songwriter the same treatment.
It might not be a bad idea. Sexsmith, whose ninth album is out this week, does just well enough to fly under the music business radar with work that is respected by peers and a devoted cult audience, yet not successful enough to keep him from scuffling.
Put together 15 or 16 of his best songs and people might better appreciate him. Sexsmith has resisted, in part because of a lingering prejudice that such sets are for people at the end of their careers (or worse, dead).
But he admits that if he could afford to, he wouldn't mind sitting out a few years to see how time affects his reputation.
"I'm getting all my groundwork in," he told The Associated Press. "I'm planting the seeds so that hopefully in my lifetime there will be a full garden that people will see."
Sexsmith, 44, is best known for his songs "Secret Heart," "Hands of Time" and "Gold in Them Hills," the latter a duet with Coldplay's Chris Martin. His songs have been covered by Rod Stewart, k.d. lang, Feist and Raul Malo.
But he's found the music business circa 2008 can be tough to navigate. "I know that people don't listen to albums the same way but I still do," he said. "It's kind of sad to see some of the label people you meet. They're all excited about ring tones or whatever. Music's not meant to be heard on a cell phone or an iPod commercial."
Fellow Canadian singer Feist, with whom Sexsmith writes a song that appears on his new "Exit Strategy of the Soul" disc, saw her career explode when her song "1234" was chosen for a memorable iPod commercial.
He doesn't begrudge her that success; his managers work for similar magic placements.
One of his songs was considered for a soft drink commercial overseas and he even rewrote it at the sponsors' request before it was ultimately rejected.
Sexsmith wrote music for a Deborah Winger movie, but all of it was cut out due to a feud between producers.
He salvaged two instrumentals that bookend the new album.
He has also travelled to Nashville in an effort to break into the country music writing market.
Teamwork is prized there, so a man who seems to consider songwriting a very personal experience is asked to sit in a room with a stranger to see if they could come up with something together.
He'd love to hit the jackpot so he doesn't have to do it again.
"As far as fame is, I'm fine with the level or lack of fame that I have," he said. "But if I had my way, my financial picture would be brighter, like most people. I'd love to not have to worry about that so much, especially these days."
Sexsmith said his new disc almost felt like a gospel album to him, with some songs taking a spiritual tone.
He usually maps out his songs carefully, but this time did more stream-of-consciousness writing. He'd write a verse of "This is How I Know" and that would suggest where the next verse was going.
His London-based producer, Martin Terefe, has a yen for Cuban horn sections and Sexsmith was surprised when he suggested a trip south to add some brass. Hmmm. An acoustic or gently rocking artist from Toronto and a Latin American horn section. It certainly hadn't crossed Sexsmith's mind before.
He worried it would sound like something unnatural was being grafted on to his music.
For the most part, his involvement was shuttling between watching the horns play and the bar downstairs from the studio.
"I was actually pleasantly surprised," he said. "It's not a Cuban record. There's nothing Cuban about our music, but it gives a whole other sort of flavour. I'm worried now because I have to tour (behind) the record and I can't afford to bring out horns. That's the frustrating thing about being on my level is that I have this vision of the show I want to put on and it's not always possible to do."
Sexsmith has always been proud of his work but felt out of sync with the times. What sustains him are the chance encounters — a nice e-mail from a fan or being recognised on the street.
"It's always when I least expect it," he said. "People will come up to you in the grocery store and it will totally turn your day around."
