Back In Blue

10/03/2000 2:00 AM, LAUNCH
Jason Gelman

Since their debut in 1995, the Irish quartet known as the Corrs--made up of siblings Jim, Sharon, Caroline, and Andrea Corr--have sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. The band's first album, Forgiven Not Forgotten, was the most successful debut by an Irish group in their homeland and was certified gold in the U.S. Their second album, Talk On Corners, is currently 20 times platinum in Ireland. And their latest release, In Blue, just out in America, has already hit Number One in more than 17 countries, including Ireland, the U.K., Australia, Germany, Austria, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, and Singapore.

According to Sharon, the Corrs were confident that In Blue would be a success, but they never expected it to climb to the top of so many international charts as quickly as it did. "The speed of it was surprising," she acknowledges. "I mean, I think that we've built great foundations with our last two albums, they've all done well, but this one pretty instantaneously--like, within a month--was Number One in so many countries. But we do think it's worthy of it in a way. That's not in a pretentious way, but we really are pleased with this album we've made."

"We're proud of all of our albums, but particularly this one," adds Andrea. "This is a very emotional one, and it was a very difficult time."

That emotion, and at least part of the reason for that difficulty, comes through clearly on "No More Cry," one of the most touching tracks on In Blue and the most meaningful song on the album for the siblings. "'No More Cry' is a song that we wrote after our mother died," Andrea explains. "Actually, Caroline and myself wrote it on her birthday. It just came to us. Music is definitely a great help and a great escape, and I think it can help other people who go through the same thing. Lyrically, it was written as kind of rebelling against your own pain and loss. And also, I wrote it for Daddy, to help him and to kind of believe in more that we'll all be together some day and it's all for a reason."

Although the death of their mother dampened the Corrs' spirits considerably, the process of making In Blue helped lift them up again. "We were writing and recording in Dublin," Andrea notes, "which was great for us, to spend time at home and have our own lives. The writing just came very natural to each of us, and the songs came very quick."

The album's first single, "Breathless," features an illustrious collaborator. "We wrote it with [producer Robert John] 'Mutt' Lange, who's Shania Twain's husband, and who works with her--and [he's also worked with] Def Leppard and AC/DC, so it was kind of different for us," Sharon says. "We usually just write together [within the band], but we met Mutt and he expressed a real admiration for our music, which was very flattering, and I think he brought it up where we'd try and write a song together. So we did that. And 'Breathless' was the first song we wrote together of three." (The other two are "Irresistible" and "All The Love In The World.")

Lange traveled to both Switzerland and Dublin to record with the Corrs. His work ethic left quite an impression on the band. "He will just stay in that studio and not realize that he hasn't eaten," Andrea says. "He doesn't need that much sleep. You have to say, 'Goodnight Mutt, I'm off...I'm sorry.' And he's fine with that. It's a real testament to his love of music. I mean, he hasn't remotely--even with all of his success--waned or given anything half an effort. He's just amazing."

The Corrs also collaborated with producer Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow), who had previously co-helmed the band's 1999 MTV Unplugged album. "They are both very different," says Sharon of Froom and Lange. "Froom has a very organic way of working things--you just play the song and then you start to record it. He's very earthy. We felt it was a wonderful mix to have 'Mutt' Lange as a producer on some songs and Mitchell Froom for other ones."

It's typical for the Corrs to include at least one beautiful Irish-flavored instrumental track on each of their albums, and In Blue is no exception, offering up a number called "Rebel Heart." "Instrumentals are very much a part of us as a band, and we've always included instrumentals on our albums because we do love Irish music and it's a part of who we are," says Sharon, who wrote "Rebel Heart" in Malibu, California on piano when the band was in the middle of recording Talk On Corners. The tune sat around for a long time and "was never really recorded," according to Sharon. Then the BBC approached the Corrs, looking for some music for their big autumn drama about the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland. "We put this music forward and we recorded it," Sharon recounts, "and the BBC fell in love with it and we fell in love with it."

Through good times and bad, the members of the Corrs have consistently produced great music, an achievement that may owe something to their family dynamic. "I think that [the success of] every band has to do with their particular chemistry together, even if they are from different families," says Andrea. "But our particular chemistry is that we are family, and we've fought through pretty hard times being so intensely together, but we never lost sight that we were doing exactly what we wanted to do as individuals. And I think for that reason we stayed together. As family we have a very strong bond, but if somebody wanted to leave and they weren't happy, that would be okay, of course, because you love them as family. So I suppose it is what keeps us together, but it would also let us go if we didn't feel like it anymore. It would be no battle."

So do the Corrs have any explanation for why In Blue has been so overwhelmingly accepted by so many people in so many different countries? "I think there's a mix of very good songs," Andrea says. "Also, I think that the songs can really relate to people and what they go through in life, and in that way it's comforting. However sad you may feel, this album romanticizes every aspect of human emotions, and I think that's what we've always loved about music--that it can romanticize your pain and romanticize everything. It's very honest, and so I think it will relate, and I hope it does."