Guitarist and legendary music producer Daniel Lanois was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles Sunday, according to a statement released earlier today.
“Lanois suffered multiple injuries but is expected to be released from intensive care soon,” the statement says. “Due to the severity of the injuries, Lanois…will be recuperating for the next two months.”
Further details about the accident and extent of Lanois’ injuries are not known at this time.
Daniel Lanois produced some of the greatest records of the last 30 years and his atmospheric textures can be found on such classics as U2’s Joshua Tree (and three others), Peter Gabriel’s So and Us, and Bob Dylan’s triumphant 1997 Album of the Year Time Out of Mind. Lanois didn’t just produce great rock records, he also produced critically acclaimed country albums for Emmylou Harris (Wrecking Ball) and Willie Nelson (Teatro) as well as the rhythm and blues of The Neville Brothers (Yellow Moon).
Another Daniel Lanois masterpiece is Bob Dylan’s underrated 1989 album Oh Mercy. I tried to dig up an embeddable version of “Most of the Time,” but not having any luck I decided to go with a song that didn’t make the album, but still bears the unmistakable hand of Daniel Lanois’ grittiness and his fetish for busy drumming: the life-altering “Series of Dreams.”
Daniel is a great musician in his own right! He had just signed on with Jive Records as part of the new band Black Dub Collective, which features Lanois on guitar, Brian Blade on drums, Daryl Johnson on bass, and singer Trixie Whitley. Here he is with The Black Dub Collective with “The Birth of Bellavista Nights” – you can download the high resolution video, as well as numerous other videos and songs, from the bands official web site collective.blackdub.net.
In the release mentioned above it states that Black Dub Collective “will release their debut album when circumstances permit.” The band has also been forced to cancel a month-long European tour slated for July.
Here is Daniel playing his signature guitar on perhaps his best composition “The Maker” with some vocal assistance from Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris:
Perhaps there is no greater Lanois accomplishment than helping U2 achieve absolute pure U2ness, first with their 1984 release The Unforgettable Fire and then their follow up, the album that took over pop culture for more than a year and established Bono and the boys as one of the greatest rock bands of all time, Joshua Tree. I know you’ve heard it a million times, but give “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” one more listen and say a little prayer for Daniel and his family.
The Irish trio made this next video as tribute to Lanois in 2002 when he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame:
Lanois is currently working on Neil Young’s next album and spends most of his spare time deleting my emails begging him to do at least one project with Bruce Springsteen. Get well soon Daniel!
Top Photo: Daniel Lanois at The Grammy Foundation’s ‘Music in Focus’ at the Wilshire Ebell Theater on February 4, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
