Daniel Lanois interview revisits Dylan, U2 and Belladonna Nocturne
Daniel Lanois discussed his new album and sessions with Bob Dylan, U2, Peter Gabriel and D’Angelo on Rolling Stone Music Now.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Daniel Lanois interview chatter is back in the studio glow: the producer and musician used a new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now to look across his new instrumental album, Belladonna Nocturne, and the heavyweight records he helped shape with Bob Dylan, U2, Peter Gabriel, Neil Young and D’Angelo.
Lanois told Rolling Stone’s Brian Hiatt that he wants records to carry listeners somewhere beyond what they already understand. That idea runs through Belladonna Nocturne, described by Rolling Stone as a collection of distinct instrumental soundscapes, and through his better-known production work on albums including U2’s The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, Gabriel’s So, and Dylan’s Oh Mercy and Time Out of Mind.
What did Daniel Lanois say about Bob Dylan?
Lanois revisited a famous studio flashpoint from Dylan’s 2004 memoir, Chronicles, where Dylan wrote that the producer smashed a dobro during the Oh Mercy sessions. Lanois told Rolling Stone he had been trying to keep the record intimate after Dylan considered bringing in other musicians.
According to Lanois, Dylan already had a strong guitar part, and the producer wanted him to finish it himself rather than hand it to someone else. Lanois also said he still regrets that “Series of Dreams” was left off Oh Mercy, adding that his own comment about the track resembling work he had done elsewhere may have helped cast doubt on it.
He was far less diplomatic about the 2023 remixes of Time Out of Mind, which Rolling Stone said stripped away much of the sound associated with the 1997 album. Lanois said filmmaker Wim Wenders called him after hearing the remixes and said he had gone back to the original because the new versions did not carry the same feeling. Lanois also speculated, without presenting evidence, that the remixes may have followed Dylan’s catalog sale as part of an effort to make money back.
How did Lanois describe U2, Gabriel and D’Angelo?
On U2’s Achtung Baby, Lanois said the working principle among Brian Eno, Flood and himself came down to soul and originality. He framed the goal as finding sounds that had not already been heard.
His memories of Gabriel’s So were more rustic. Lanois said he and Gabriel worked for nearly a year in a cow barn in the countryside, often joined by guitarist David Rhodes. He told Rolling Stone the setting was not glamorous, but the music carried the shine.
Lanois also recalled making “Unshaken” with D’Angelo for the Red Dead Redemption 2 soundtrack. He said they first met at Rockstar Games’ Manhattan office and began with a different track, but D’Angelo eventually told him it was not coming together. Lanois then built a new piece for him, and said D’Angelo was moved by Lanois’ past work with the Neville Brothers.
What is Belladonna Nocturne?
Belladonna Nocturne is Lanois’ new instrumental album. In the Rolling Stone discussion, he singled out “Warp Sustain,” saying it was made from a pedal-steel guitar performance with heavy processing and imagining that Jimi Hendrix might have wanted to know how it was created.
The episode also touched on Lanois’ film work with Billy Bob Thornton, who brought him in to score 1996’s Sling Blade. Lanois said he had recently seen Thornton in Texas and described their relationship as a direct, one-on-one creative bond.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.