Legendary Producer / Singer-Songwriter, Chris Birkett Releases She’s My Guitar Album
Just like sea captains with their ships, musicians love to think of their instruments as women. Heck, B.B. King even named his Lucille. But few players have ever made the connection between an axe and a lover as overt as Chris Birkett does on his new single and the title track of his latest album “She’s My Guitar” —a hymn of devotion that’s positively hot-blooded in its fretboard-caressing metaphors.
“Looking at her body every night/So clear and so bright, she treats me right” Birkett rhapsodizes, conjuring up an image of his perfect lover until we can practically see her ourselves. “Running my fingers through her strings/I know that everything will be all right”. He just loves that pearl-inlaid lady of his, and he wants the world to know it. “My guitar, she sings to me so true/ I can hear sweet melodies from you.”
The song came out of Birkett’s participation in The Acoustic Guitar Project, a global initiative that supplies musicians with an acoustic guitar and a simple recorder and challenges them to write and record an original tune within the space of one week. (No editing allowed!) They then have to sign the guitar before passing it on to the next artist on the list, so the process can start all over again.
To Birkett, it seemed natural to write not just on the guitar but about it. The result ended up pleasing him so much that he later went into the studio and added electric guitar, bass, drums, and piano to his original track. It’s that embellished version you hear on the single, with its distinct Latin sway and searing lead lines. Caliente indeed.
The song is the title track to Birkett’s latest album—somewhat of a concept record in that it’s made up of material likewise composed on the acoustic guitar. Lyrically speaking, however, none of the other new songs is “about” the instrument in such a concrete way, instead covering subjects like self-help, true love, and the rejection of materialism. It’s a highly personal work, in terms of both Birkett’s personal belief system and his approach to recording. He played all the instruments himself, except for the flute, which was provided by Shari Tallon on three tracks. And the only voice on the album other than his own is that of Lisa Hartt, who sings backups on “I Bring You Love.”
Music has been Birkett’s salvation since the age of 8, when he figured out that the guitar could provide an escape from the poverty and violence of his hometown, the London suburb of Farnborough. By 21, he was touring Europe with Memphis artists Rufus Thomas, King Floyd, Jean Knight, and Ann Peebles; stints soon followed in the chart-busting pop group Love Affair, (“Everlasting Love”) and in Omaha Sheriff (an outfit taken under the wing of legendary David Bowie/Moody Blues producer Tony Visconti).
While pursuing his dreams as a working performing musician, Birkett fell into a thriving side career as a producer, arranger, and sound engineer. His work in that area has encompassed a slew of international award-winning projects: He recorded and produced Sinéad O’Connor’s iconic “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and he’s collaborated with other A-list artists like Talking Heads, Dexys Midnight Runners, Alison Moyet, The Pogues, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Quincy Jones, Mel Brooks, and Steve Earle.
Birkett’s mounting industry successes have necessitated moving his home base several times, from London to Paris to Toronto; along the way, he’s kept some sense of continuity and stability by maintaining his standing as a recording and performing artist in his own right. He’s now recorded eight albums of his own music, four of them solo forays. She’s My Guitar is the latest and perhaps most heartfelt addition to that list.
All told, Birkett’s studio endeavors—including his own projects and collaborations with other artists—have sold well over 100 million records. He’s received four Canadian JUNOs, a Grammy, a Polaris Music Prize, a Canadian Screen Award, a Community Service Award, and three international AMPEX Golden Reel Awards for excellence in the music business.
And yes, it’s all because of one little instrument with six strings. And an elegant neck. Oh, and some well-placed curves.
Hi Chris! Good to see you again! What have you been up to since we last spoke?
I have had a pretty exciting album launch this summer. Started with finishing the mixes for the new album and then doing a tour in Montreal and area. I played with a popular Montreal band called Cinema 5 who have been together for 35 years. They learned every note of my new album, it sounded amazing. During one of the rehearsals we were hit by a flood, power went off and we all raced down to the basement to bale out the water. An unforgettable experience and great teamwork. Still on cloud nine from my concert on August 17th at Hugh’s Room Live in Toronto. The sound person, James, and the whole team were the nicest people and the venue and sound was perfect.
Chris, your new single and album are titled “She’s My Guitar.” Can you elaborate on what inspired you to personify your guitar in such a romantic and affectionate way?
I grew up in a poor London suburb. At the age of 8, I was desperate to play music so I rummaged around a neighbour’s garbage and found some wood and nails which I fashioned into my first guitar. My passion for guitar has saved my life many times. For example, I was at home learning the solo to Deep Purples ‘Highway Star’ while my friends were out robbing a Chinese restaurant. They ended up doing time. Since an early age, the guitar has been my constant companion and has gotten me through bad times and celebrated good ones. Through her, I am able to express myself, as mentioned in the song “My emotions flow through my hands”. It really is a true love song and tribute to this instrument.
The lyrics of “She’s My Guitar” are quite evocative and intimate. How do you see the connection between a musician and their instrument, and how does this relationship reflect in your songwriting?
It’s all in the chorus line from the title track of the album “My guitar she sings to me so true. I can hear sweet melodies from you” I see the guitar as feminine. The shape of the body resembles that of a woman’s body, the neck is smooth and sensual. Just “running my fingers through her strings” makes me happy.
You wrote “She’s My Guitar” as part of The Acoustic Guitar Project. What was that experience like, and how did the challenge of writing and recording a song in just one week influence the final track?
The Acoustic Guitar Project is a global music platform featuring musicians from around the world. In each city, a guitar is passed from musician to musician. In Toronto, Rosanne Baker Thornley contacted me brought me over a guitar, and gave me the instructions to write and perform a song on the guitar within a week. I didn’t need that much time, within 10 minutes, I had the song. The guitar that was used for the project was full of songs and creative energy, I think from the musicians that had played and written songs on it before. It didn’t take any effort on my part to write this song, it literally “came through the guitar to me”.
Looking back at your career from touring with Rufus Thomas to producing hits like “Nothing Compares 2 U,” what role has the guitar played in your evolution as an artist? How does it continue to inspire and influence your music today?
As producer and arranger, I use the guitar constantly to find melodies and harmonies. I also play Bass, Drums, and Keyboards. The bass guitar is another instrument that I’m in love with. I sometimes write songs on Bass, much like Hall and Oates used to write songs on a Fender Bass keyboard. Bass lines are so easy to come up with as you don’t have to consider majors, minors, 7ths, flat 5’s, etc in the chord changes.
My ongoing romance with guitar has opened many doors during my career. From the time, in my early 20’s when I was working the night shift in a gas station in London and a car pulled up around 2 am. The person driving came in and asked if I was Chris Birkett the guitarist. He was in a soul band called Montana Red Dog and they had an 18-month tour that began in Germany. Did I want the job? I said yes but didn’t realize that they were leaving that morning. This band became the backup band for all the Stax artists that toured Europe, that’s how I got to play guitar for Rufus Thomas, Ann Peebles, Jean Knight, and King Floyd. After the tour, I came back to London and went to every audition listed in the music mag called Melody Maker. I auditioned for the pop band ‘Love Affair’ who had just had a chart-topping hit ‘Everlasting Love’. I then met David Bowie’s producer, Tony Visconti, and signed a multi-album deal with his Good Earth Records with a band called Omaha Sheriff. This experience with Visconti, introduced me to the world of record production, which to producing “Nothing Compares 2 U”.
My guitar playing has continued to bring me many great gifts, filling my life with adventure and joy. I look forward to more and can honestly say that the top item on my bucket list is to take my last breath on stage during a guitar solo 🙂