SARAH JORY

Interview 1999

Being Britain's most successful country artist is something Sarah Jory is more than proud of. But as Mick Taylor found out, it's time she was moving on.

It's hard to imagine how you could have eleven albums out by the time you're 26. Or to have played to rapturous applause at the age of 13 in Nashville. Or, come to that, how you could have the guts to record John Lennon's Jealous Guy with a steel guitar solo... Yet these are just three things that Sarah Jory has carried off with equal aplomb in her 15-year career. After being interviewed on Radio 4's Woman's Hour earlier this month, Sarah zipped across London to Bill Wyman's Sticky Fingers restaurant to fill us in on the latest developments.

There have certainly been some. 1999 sees the release of her 11th album, the title track of which Kiss My Innocence (goodbye) is perhaps a timely metaphor for Sarah's new-found direction and commitment to her music. "Y'know, the whole thing came about mainly by accident," says Sarah. "I was trying to get some tracks done for a promo type thing. I'd split from Ritz records - very amicably, I might add - and really got out there under my own steam."

Over 15 years in the business, we've seen a few faces of Sarah Jory. The latest seems less forced - more organic than your last record.

Yeah definitely. Over the last two to three years an awful lot has changed for me, not only professionally but personally, too. And when you're a musician, it all comes out in your music. So I was conscious of the fact that the material that's gone on the new album reflects how things have changed for me in that time.

Y'know 'Love With Attitude' (last album) was a classic example of taking an English act to Nashville, working with the finest musicians, but coming back with something that sounded like an English person had gone to Nashville - something that didn't gel really.

But with 'Kiss My Innocence', from the basic tracks like Talk To Me, which is just me on acoustic and singing, to the harder stuff like Always The Same In Love, it is Sarah Jory. Every track on that album, we do live on stage. I've never been able to do that in the past.

You've said this is your first grown-up record... Is that your attitude to the material or the business?
It's an all round thing. In the past I've played it a bit safe in some respects. On stage, recording the material; there's always been a bit of 'yeah, let's stick with this, cos this is safer than where my heart really is.' But with this album, that safety net has been taken away completely and it's me. Also, there's the uncertainty of leaving your record company and taking the whole thing out into the unknown, when you know that there are a lot of people thinking you're making the biggest mistake of your life. That's a big move to make.

Were there a lot of external pressures to go in a certain direction before, then?

Perhaps, but the blame doesn't lie with anyone in particular; it didn't lie with the record company and I don't think it lies with the management. It's just that when you've been (laughs) 'famous' for a particular area... Y'know there's a whole world of music out there, and there's something more to achieve, without having to define ourselves with a particular tunnel-visioned attitude. That isn't going to get us anywhere because of people's perception of what country music is all about.

During my time with the record company, we were trying to appeal to a certain market, but I don't think that market was really there.

Was that the 'Garth Brooks' market?

No. What is the Garth Brooks market? He comes over here and he releases something like Red Strokes which makes the mainstream pop chart and then he goes back to America. He hasn't opened a market, he's just tapped into people's love of that sound. Just like Leanne Rymes fans might be turned on by How Do I Live? but probably won't go for Blue. People just hear the single with that American sound; they buy it; it does tremendously well and then the artist goes back to America, where they're huge anyway. So there wasn't really an area to be capitalised on.

Do players have it easier in America?

Well, I got that idea when I first went to America when I was 13. Being a nine-year-old pedal steel guitarist in England was a very, very bizarre thing. So stepping off a plane with an instrument that's as American as hot dogs and being able to play what I wanted to play, it was like 'wow, you really can express yourself in this country.' So maybe I'm wrong in trying to do that over here.

But there is a market for it, and having somebody at a record company or doing your marketing who feels the same is really important.

Is your album trying to tap into the border between good ol' grass roots and the commercial radio market?
Sometimes it can be easier when you're semi pro to have a fixed idea of what you want to do musically. When you're full time and your mortgage and bills depend on the amount of work in your diary, there has to be a little more give and take.

I've been very lucky over the last couple of years because I haven't had to compromise as much as I thought I'd have to. There's no doubt that country music has a massive grass-roots following in the UK, but you have to break through that. You have to make the music a bit more commercially acceptable to bring the big-wigs on board; the people who are going to make a difference.

The traditionalists may say, 'you're compromising, you're losing your country roots'. But I don't think so. I'm developing as an artist every year.

I'm not aiming to change people's view of country music - I don't think that's possible. I don't think an artist can carry that kind of weight.

What about your band? Have there been some changes there too?

The guitarist we have now is called Ross Bailey and he added a whole new dimension with influences like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert... All of a sudden, the country side of the band started sounding more commercial and I started feeling a lot more comfortable with what I was doing musically.

I heard of him through a friend of a friend, so we asked him up to the house to audition, and I was just blown away by his playing. I'm a great believer in natural born talent. Some players have a gift, and Ross is one of those people.

But Geoff Whitehorn is on there too and he's great, he's a good friend. He's one of those all-round players.

There seems to be less steel on this album, or is it just less prominent?

It's just less to the forefront, but when it comes out, it comes with a vengeance - certainly in the live show. It's condensed into two or three really strong instrumentals; very concise and determined. But on the album I'm playing mandolin, acoustic, bottleneck and steel, so it's a really good showcase for me. I've also been known to play the banjo, but that takes more of a back seat.

Conventional slide? Tell us about it...
Well that came about more by accident. I wanted to get a spare acoustic before I had my Musima. And at the time it was quite fashionable to have an acoustic that looked like an electric. I found this Shadow in a music shop. I was using that to play acoustic stuff on and just messing around really.

The guitarist in the band at the time - a guy called Mark Shaw - was very much into blues. He started bringing stuff along to listen to in the van. I loved some of it, and one of the things I got into was Bonnie Raitt. And she's got class. So Nobby, my acoustic player suggested turning the Shadow into a slide instrument. Sound wise, it falls somewhere between a Telecaster and a Dobro. It sounds awesome. Can I use the word 'horny?' Yup, it's tremendously horny.

How do you choose your material to record? Do songwriters send you songs, or do you look for them?
Some tracks are written for me - like Eyes Of Love and Talk To Me, and Always The Same In Love. But tracks like KMI were tracks that just came about from writers. When we were looking for material, it went on song link on the internet, and we were literally inundated. Between myself, my producer David Mackay and my manager Colin Johnson, we listened through hundreds of tapes to come up with the strongest songs. This is the best collection of songs yet.

Are you planning to write?
I really want to. I'm hoping to get over to New York in a couple of months because Kit Hain, who wrote Rhythm In The Rain would like to do a bit of co-writing which would be wonderful. I have a lot of inspiration for melodies, but I'm useless with words. That's why I've relied on other people's songs in the past.
I've worn a variety of different hats, but I've always had a gut feeling of where I was heading. I feel very comfortable at this point, very at home. And throughout my career I've seen a change from people seeing me as a gimmick to finally recognising me as a musician. And, not being funny, being interviewed by you guys - I'm really proud of that.
Aw, shucks.