Lisa Dillan & Asbjørn Lerheim // Change of Habit // CD

Lisa Dillan & Asbjørn Lerheim with new Elvis release

"Change of Habit"

How should one approach Elvis Presley's songs 50 years down the road?

Some might say that this is holy ground and we should keep our hands off. Other may go further, demanding pure karaoke versions and condemning anyone straying a millimetre from the original. And some will say it’s risky for an artist's career to try something new with these songs. This has not stopped the duo Lisa Dillan and Asbjørn Lerheim from fearlessly stepping into this gilded mausoleum. With their light and delicate but powerful arrangements for vocals and guitar they have received excellent reviews for their albums and their concerts over the last two years.

On their new record "Change of habit", being released in February, they take a far bolder approach in terms of simplicity and openness than they did on the "Love me tender" release from 2012. At that time they had been invited to Nashville by Presley's own musicians and made recordings with several of them in the renowned RCA Studio B. This new recording has been made in Norway, where the foundation is Lerheim's guitar and Dillan's voice. Contributing artists are the piano players Bugge Wesseltoft and Tord Gustavsen, and the trumpet player Eivind Lønning, who add both meditative and playful moods in the very sparsely furnished songs. 

Elvis’s bass player Norbert Putnam has formed a trio with Dillan and Lerheim, lifting the music with great care and beauty on songs such as "Any day now" and "Mary in the morning".

But the record spans in a subtle way a greater musical scale than their first album. You will hear "Fever" in a beautiful ethereal ballad version, accompanied by a wine glass and a guitar string, Bugge Wesseltoft in a bouncy version of "That's all right, Mama" with a prepared piano and fluttering paper, and cool Würlitzer voicing on "Change of Habit".

Tord Gustavsen matches the duo with his elegant and dedicated playing − there is no need for major gestures. All in all, we are witness to an innovative, groovy and emotional encounter between some of Norway's foremost musical signatures and Elvis's repertoire.

Like their last release, this album has been produced by Lisa Dillan. 

"ELVIS IS NOT ALIVE. NOR HAS HE RETURNED FROM THE DEAD, BUT HE MUST HAVE BEEN REINCARNATED IN LISA DILLAN"

- ADRESSEAVISA  [Regional Norwegian newspaper ] 2012 -

In addition to Elvis, Norbert Putnam has played with and produced million-selling greats such as Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Ray Charles, Loretta Lynn, Linda Ronstadt, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Dan Fogelberg, Kris Kristoffersen, JJ Cale, The Monkees, The Manhattan Transfer, The Pointer Sisters, Tony Joe White, Henry Mancini and more.

Lisa Dillan has been a fan of Elvis since 1977, the year Elvis passed away, and she has detailed knowledge of his career and, not least, his repertoire. In 2003 she began carefully sifting through his repertoire, and the

songs on this album revolve, to a large degree, around the ballads he did in the '70s. She has concentrated on finding songs that fit into the framework she wanted, simplifiying and distilling the power in these songs.

In 2007 Lisa met guitar player Asbjørn Lerheim. The silence, the timing and the dedication to details were meeting points for these two musicians, and quite soon Asbjørn became the second member of what they started to name "The Quite Quiet Project". The arrangements are a product of the close cooperation between Dillan and Lerheim. 

Track list:

1. Change of habit                                            3:56

2. That's all right, mama                                  3:15

3. Young and beautiful                                     3:45

4. Until its time for you to go                           3:28

5. I'm moving on                                               4:16

6. Any day now                                                 5:10

7. We can make the morning                           3:58

8. Can't help falling in love                              4:26

9. I just can't help believin'                              2:30

10. Mary in the morning                                   4:34

11. Fever                                                            6:35