Quotes

You can't depend on accidents to make your career.

[2012] [How did you and Mitchell decide to reference the '60s on the album? You have done this to some extent in the past, but never so overtly.] I think what happened was, we were in my living room - Andrew and I were on guitars and Mitchell was on piano - and Mitchell was really focusing on my voice. I was sort of talking about Lulu and Dusty Springfield and Petula Clarke, and I think he had heard me sing To Sir, With Love once at a party, so that got Mitchell really envisioning the arrangements in a modern '60s way. The popiness in my voice was nothing for me to feel bad about. And that's who I am in many ways. I thought about doing some covers, but Mitchell was very firm: 'Do your original songs. That's who you are.' But in doing that, well, I had the tone of the album, the palette, and it was strings and horns and flutes... and Burt Bacharach. I put up a playlist on Spotify, and it referenced the Left Banke, and Glen Campbell with Galveston, and there were The Zombies and Herman's Hermits... and Beatles, of course. The '60s was such a golden period. The songwriting was fresh and pure. Oh, and The Rolling Stones, when they did She's A Rainbow, that was on there. The 1967 thing really blossomed.

[2012] [Your voice never changes. You still sound the same as you did 25 years ago. How can that be?] I don't know why that is. I don't smoke - that might have a lot to do with it. I don't even like to be around smoke. Other than that, I don't know. I've always been an active person, but I have to be really careful because I tend to get hoarse. There's always been a bit of a raspiness to my voice, but it's clear. I'm not sure why I sound the same. [laughs] Hopefully, it'll keep going and going. I certainly wouldn't complain about that.