INTERVIEW TO CHRIS CATENA
It's showtime. This clamorous project (of which you surely have already known on glennhughes.com), is about to be revealed in its details. We had the pleasure to meet Chris Catena to make him explain how he could combine togheter this heaven of rock artists.
Question. Christian, tell us about this new album.
Chris. Well, this project was born in march 2002, and Glenn was the first person I contacted. From then on, I decided to realize the record of my dreams. I got a job in music, I'm the director and founder of a Management of classical music and opera, since 1993 when I was 23. Before that, I used to sing in metal and hard rock bands, experimenting even on the Italian pop/rock scene. As you well know, the situation of Italian musicians is really cloudy, and many times I've been approached by major labels that asked me a lot of money to produce my album. This made me "to keep off the grass" many and many times.
Q. Now you made us curious... tell us something more about your musical career.
C. I sing since I was born, my father is an important tenor with more than 30 years of successful and respectful career. Music has always been my passion. Maybe I could have more chanches if I would decide to take on a baritone career, but this kind of life didn't suit to me. I prefer the easy way... my musical life started in Strasburg when I got really impressed by the maestosity of the screenplay of the Manon Lescaut by Zeffirelli, in which my father was the First Tenor. I was only 3. My brother, instead (now opera director, but always been a rocker), made me listen Deep Purple - In rock when I was 5. It was astonishing, and then I started to search among his LP. I found that the music he listened was exactly as the Speed King that threw me against the wall. Then I started to listen Sweet, Grand Funk, Slade, and others.
Q. So you discovered Glenn in the Deep Purple songs.
C. Yes. In 1977 I listened for the first time to his voice. My brother - always him...- put Stormbringer on the turntable and selected Holy Man. I knew Glenn in this way, and for years I followed his career in his changes, I hated him because he had changed his way of singing in the Eighties. I really did not liked his performances with Gary Moore and Phenomena, so I decided to rediscover his first years, buying in the USA every Trapeze LP. Then I screamed "Miracle!" listening Burning Japan Live. Glenn seemed to be cut out, weighted down and not much reactive. But he knew how to rewind his life tape 'til Deep Purple masterpieces and Play Me Out. And he is a complete artist. A great bass player able to recreate the typical "black" grooves, and what voice... THE voice. I have no words to describe what I listened to during the Italian HTP tour.
Q. How do the recordings proceed?
C. At the moment Doug Wimbish, Myron Doves and Salas are recording at their home, and it seems that also Cindy Blackman will join them on the drums (she is Lenny Kravitz' drummer). She will play probably on the Gettin' tighter cover. Mixing will be done in California, by Tony Franklin. Tony is a great person, a gentleman and a bass phenomenon.
Q. Tell us the details of the participating artists.
C. Apart from who I already said, I wanted to underline the Rome Philarmonic Orchestra and the Florence Chamber Orchestra. I will include a song in which I duet with an international famous soprano. In this song my vocals are obviously soul-oriented. It's a song in a classic style, "Summertime" by George Gershwin, read as the arrangement made by Janis Joplin and Big Brothers And The Holding Company, to make it a never-released-before version with the Moog, the Hammond, clavinet, bass, orchestra, strings, flute and two electric guitars. It's been a pleasure having played a Whitesnake classic as "Sweet Talker" with the twin guitars that made great this band, Bernie Marsden and the slide of Mickey Moody.
Bernie also co-wrote two songs called "Lady Starlight" and "Desire". In the last one the rhythm section has been given to Stephen Ferrone - drummer of Duran Duran in the first nineties, of Michael Jackson but better known as member of the Average White Band - and John Taylor - the sex symbol of the eighties.
Then Mickey Moody. He played his slide on a song a-la Whitesnake (easy-rock W. style) called "Follow me". In another song, "What you're gonna do when your love's gone", I decided that I MUST insert a black bass player, so I thought to Doug Wimbish,from Living Color. He also played with Rolling Stones in "Bridges of Babylon" and with Madonna in "Erotica". I decided also to call up Salas on the guitars, it's the best choice for a Funky-freak song. He performs many songs of this album, he has a great taste and can be considered a sort of "Hendrix 2K". This song features a women choir and a moog solo by David Spurio.
The guitar in "Take me away" is played by Yugoslavian Marko Pavic, author of the song, and he alternates soloing with Johnny Olhin. At the bass there's Nobby, also member of Dyonisius and ex-Nation. Great Hammond work by Cosimi.
"Move away from the towers" it's the opening piece, and features the drums of Sir Tommy Aldridge (an armed tank), and the duelling guitars of two greats as Johnny Olhin and the funny great Japanese guitar hero Kelly Simonz.
On "The stronger you are the harder you fall" I had the satisfaction to make feature Eric Singer and Bruce Kulick, an half of Kiss of the "Revenge" years!!!, and Chuck Wright on the bass.
But I want to spend more than a word on "Freak out tonight". Some people that listened to it said that this is an hit single. Its chorus is really penetrating and will make you move your ass... And Glenn Hughes sings really great. He duets with me in this song but it's hard to believe that my idol sings on a piece written by myself! And... the bass lines are really superb with Tony Franklin, the guitar solos of Bruce Kulick can fit every song, from heavy to funk.
I think that one of the best songs of my album is the slow piece "To a friend", composed in memory of my greatest friend Stefano Luciani, that we missed on 25 august 2002. The song has been written with Max Spurio, that created the arrangements. It's a piece in perfect Hughes style, and for some reasons it is a tribute to Coast to Coast. Max plays a very inspired solo and works on every guitar of this song. Myron Dove reveals himself as a great fretless bass player.
The casting of collaborations is not complete. In those days we are deciding who will participate in the remaining sessions.
Q. Yeah, you put up a great cast of actors...
C. You're right, but there are not only the big names... as always the glory goes to the greats, but behind the scenes there are many people that make the things greater... so I want to thank Yuri Roveri, my friend and guitarist, axe of many battles and author of some songs (Hey man, Lady starlight, Follow me, Don't stop runnin'). Other musician who will give their hand (or that also given it) are Marco Capasso on guitars, Max and Davide Spurio, co-authors, arrangers, musicians and great partners in the economy of the project (and in the sound you will listen to on the CD). Davide Spurio for example gave me great artistical inputs and he knew how to stop me when the ideas would overtake me. He is the great artistical director of this album. A man that's able to stand up until 6 in the morning to complete a job or solve a question; Paolo Patrizi on the drums, Mauro Munzi on the drums, Federico Bailo on the guitars, the soprano Eteri Lamoris, ecc....