Rating: NNN
He may be an exceptional sound sculptor, composer, guitarist and pedal steel twanger, but Daniel Lanois’s singing chops still ain’t up to scratch. So while the instrumental pieces on Shine are marvellously effective, as are those sung by pals Emmylou Harris and Bono, the mystical musical spell is broken whenever Lanois’s voice gets near a microphone. His talk-singing delivery is tenuous and comes off as overly self-conscious — definitely not as soulful as he’d like to think.
