(Indie Rock, Alternative Rock) Spain - Collection (3CD), FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

The Blue Moods Of Spain is the intoxicating debut from the quartet fronted by bassist Josh Haden (son of bass-playing jazz great Charlie Haden) and rounded out by drummer Evan Hartzell and guitarists Ken Boudakian and Merlo Podlewski. With musical influences drawing from West Coast jazz, rhythm and blues, country and '60s soul, Spain's sound is smooth, steady and slow, the perfect balance of style and substance.
Haden and Boudakian hooked up while attending the University of California in Irvine. At the time Haden (who has been playing bass for 14 years) was composing material without the real intention of ever starting a band. However, after graduating in 1992 Haden and Boudakian got together with Podlewski and original drummer Hartzell (who was replaced by Chris Reeves in late '96) for some informal jam sessions; playing his material with others eventually helped Haden form a clearer vision of what his songs could become. Together they soon developed the stunning sound of Spain - something as romantic as the country from which they take their name. Two years later Spain released a seven-inch single, "I Lied" b/w "Her Used-To-Been" (a title lifted from a Bessie Smith song lyric) on Nathanus Records.
The songs on Blue Moods convey themes of heartbreak and redemption through the language of powerful emotions. The opening track "It's So True" is practically a thesis statement on the nature of relationships, "I Lied" hints at betrayal, and "Ten Nights" subtly sings in waltz-time of falling in love. One of Haden's earliest compositions is the ten-minute epic "World Of Blue," which is embellished by the soaring, haunting violin and vocals of Petra Haden, Josh Haden's sister (and also one-fourth of the Geffen band that dog!).
Blue Moods was recorded at Brilliant Studios in San Francisco with producer Norm Kerner (American Music Club, Sky Cries Mary). The band and Kerner took great care in adding warmth and depth to the music by using vintage tube and analog equipment as well as taking advantage of the studio's natural reverb.
Spain's music is a response to the current inundation of loud, aggressive guitar-rock; Spain combine country music's simple storytelling aesthetics with the blues' ability to not only describe an emotion but to make the listener feel. The Blue Moods Of Spain is a sensual record of atmospheric late-night groove music that is both mysterious and warm.

Remember yourself, walking home late one night, the streets empty of traffic, the wind rustling branches, your feet clicking against the concrete. No other sounds: then, suddenly, a song started replaying in your mind. The song evoked memories; reveries of what could have been and of what could still yet be. No matter how cold or lonesome you felt, the song put a shine on the night, and you arrived home in better spirit than you'd felt, departing.
This is the sound of Spain.
Brief History
Josh Haden, Spain's singer and bassist, was born in Manhattan and grew up in Los Angeles. Musicianship is, literally, in his blood. His father's family performed throughout the South and Midwest in the thirties and forties; his mother's parents played in a mandolin orchestra. His father is acclaimed jazz musician Charlie Haden. His triplet sisters are fine musicians as well.
Spain formed in 1993. After years of playing punk rock, Josh wanted to evoke something more subtle than rage. The first album, The Blue Moods of Spain, appeared in 1995 to wide acclaim. The band toured extensively in the U.S., Europe, and Australia, attracting considerable notice, getting rave reviews. After returning, Haden and the band spent a long period of soul-searching reflection before recording this album. And now they can present the results of this never-ending searching to you.
Josh's singing voice is as soft as his speaking voice, but he conveys emotion as few contemporary singers can. Spain's music lifts the spirit even as it admits to the crushing of the heart; anyone who has loved and lost -- or won, but wondered -- finds considerable that is familiar in these songs, most in minor key; nothing that they've heard, but much of what they've felt.
"In a country song, or a blues song," Haden says, "they'll often leave the meaning of the song beneath the surface. And that's what life is about." The ten songs on this cd stir nostalgia for scenes never experienced; they make you feel the loss for a love you might once have had with someone you've never quite forgotten. The lyrics emerge half-heard, recalled later, laden with meanings only hinted at and never directly expressed. Even the saddest of the songs are laced with a wry and knowledgeable humor, with joie de vivre; with a knowledge and appreciation of life, its recurring failures, its small victories. However soft the sound, this isn't music to polish furniture by.
The warmth of the sound may surprise you; the album is new but the acoustics are old. No digital equipment was used at any time during its recording. The music is organic, pouring directly from the instruments into the mind. As Spain recorded this album they worked in a studio, one summer on an island in Sweden, where between takes they could pause to reflect while staring out at the mirror-calm Baltic Sea. In my opinion Spain is one of the finest bands to have come from Los Angeles during the past fifteen years, but don't take my word for it: listen for yourself.
- Jack Womack
(Jack Womack, is the author of six novels, including Elvissey, which won the Philip K. Dick award.)
Producers note
It is an honor to have my work affiliated with Josh Haden and Spain. My main interest and joy in this project is the precise and emotional song writing, and Josh' voice elevating those songs to a place that I feel is timeless.
The record was made at Polar Studios (where all the ABBA albums and Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door were made), so myself and the band were indulged in having access to a wide array of great microphones and vintage equipment.
We tracked large portions of the record at the MNW Studio in Waxholm, in the middle of the scenic splendor of the Stockholm archipelago. Tracking in a beautiful 19th century house, with ocean views from the windows of the actual studio, and fresh fish mongers selling their wares on the dock less than 100 yards away, led to a quite wonderful, tranquil recording atmosphere. I think this can actually be heard in the songs.
Our ace engineer Pelle Gunnerfeldt proved himself again and again as a focused lover of beautiful analog sounds.
I am very pleased that Northern Europe's greatest vintage guitar and vintage amplifier collector and dealer "Halkan" Hallquist gave us access to his personal collection of gear, as did legendary vintage drum dealer Sven Nykvist.
My heartfelt thanks also goes out to Didrik De Geer, the inventor of the godlike Didrik De Geer microphone. This microphone is like a Rolls Royce, and we were delighted to use it.
Myself and Spain are indebted to the brilliant array of sessions players, and especially Esbjorn Svensson, who in my book is the greatest young jazz pianist active today.
Thank you for taking the time listening to this record.
We are very proud of it.
- Johan Kugelberg

With the 2001 release of I Believe, Josh Haden's Spain increased from a trio to a four piece, adding guitarist/keyboardist Shon Sullivan and new drummer Will Hughes (replacing the sorely missed Joey Waronker). The sound has expanded too, sounding fuller and more open, compared to the band's previous intimate, almost cradling sound. Humming organ and additional guitar lines resonate in the background of nearly every song, creating an almost Phil Spector-like "wall of sound".well maybe not to that extreme, but when compared to Spain's previous albums, I Believe sounds almost bombastic. Gone are the warm pockets of silence in the songs, the space between the notes is now occupied by the hums and cymbal rides of the able performers. Curmudgeonly purist gripes aside, I Believe is a fine album, filled with bassist Haden's trademark understated croon and rich sonic textures. The loping "You Were Meant for Me" sounds for all the world like the band is channeling the ghost of Morphine's Mark Sandman, while the sublime "Mary" is among the best songs the band has recorded and would be far less successful without the haunting church organ and extra instrumentation. While some listeners will welcome this growth and expansion of sound, longtime fans will doubtless lament the lack of pure intimacy and calm melancholy that enveloped Spain's first and second albums.