Chris Birkett pays tribute to a lifelong friend and musical partner with his latest single She’s My Guitar — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Just like sea captains with their ships, musicians love to think of their instruments as women. Heck, B.B. King even named his Lucille. But few players have ever made the connection between an axe and a lover as overt as Birkett does on his new single and the title track of his latest album. She’s My Guitar is a hymn of devotion full of fretboard-caressing metaphors.
“Looking at her body every night/So clear and so bright, she treats me right,” Birkett rhapsodizes, conjuring up a vivid image of his musical love.
“Running my fingers through her strings
I know that everything will be all right
My guitar, she sings to me so true
I can hear sweet melodies from you.”
The song came out of Birkett’s participation in The Acoustic Guitar Project, a global initiative that supplies musicians with an acoustic guitar and a simple recorder and challenges them to write and record an original tune within a week. They then have to sign the guitar before passing it on to the next artist on the list, so the process can start all over again.
To Birkett, it seemed natural to write not just on the guitar but about it. The result ended up pleasing him so much that he later went into the studio and added electric guitar, bass, drums and piano to his original track. It’s that embellished version you hear on the single, with its distinct Latin sway and searing lead lines. Caliente indeed.
The song is the title track to Birkett’s latest album — somewhat of a concept record in that it’s made up of material likewise composed on the acoustic guitar. Lyrically speaking, however, none of the other new songs is “about” the instrument in such a concrete way, instead covering subjects like self-help, true love and the rejection of materialism. It’s a highly personal work, in terms of both Birkett’s personal belief system and his approach to recording. He played all the instruments himself, except for the flute, which was provided by Shari Tallon on three tracks. And the only voice on the album other than his own is that of Lisa Hartt, who sings backups on I Bring You Love.
Music has been Birkett’s salvation since the age of 8, when he figured out that the guitar could provide an escape from the poverty and violence of his hometown, the London suburb of Farnborough. By 21, he was touring Europe with Memphis artists Rufus Thomas, King Floyd, Jean Knight and Ann Peebles; he later joined chart-busting pop group Love Affair (Everlasting Love) and Omaha Sheriff (an outfit taken under the wing of legendary producer Tony Visconti).
While pursuing his dreams as a musician, Birkett fell into a thriving career as a producer, arranger and engineer. His work in that area has encompassed a slew of international award-winning projects: He recorded and produced Sinéad O’Connor’s iconic Nothing Compares 2 U, and he’s collaborated with other A-list artists like Talking Heads, Dexys Midnight Runners, Alison Moyet, The Pogues, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Quincy Jones and Steve Earle.
Birkett’s career has kept him on the move, from London to Paris to Toronto; along the way, he’s kept some sense of continuity and stability by maintaining his standing as a recording and performing artist in his own right. He’s now recorded eight albums of his own music, four of them solo forays. She’s My Guitar is the latest and perhaps most heartfelt addition to that list.
All told, Birkett’s studio endeavors. —including his own projects and collaborations with other artists — have sold well over 100 million records. He’s received four Junos, a Grammy, a Polaris Music Prize, a Canadian Screen Award, a Community Service Award and three international Ampex Golden Reel Awards for excellence in the music business.
Listen to She’s My Guitar above, hear the rest of the album below, and keep up with Chris Birkett at his website.
