Composing herself

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Two years ago, Amanda Marshall was sitting on top of the world.

The wild-tressed Toronto singer had sold more than two million copies of her self-titled debut album, which was released in 1996.

Propelled by five hit singles, she had appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and had played three times on Rosie O'Donnell's talk show.

She'd made nice with Regis and Kathie Lee, accepted congratulations from Elton John and toured with John Mellencamp, even joining him onstage to sing Pink Houses. She had even won a Gemini award for best performance in a variety program for her CBC special.

But at the end of the two-year whirlwind that marked her emergence on the pop music world, Marshall was faced with the prospect of making a followup.

The singer wasn't sure which direction she wanted to take. All she knew was that she wanted to write more songs, not because she felt she had to, but because she wanted to test herself.

"My sense of things is that I don't really care who writes records, and I don't think most people care. I think you're judged mostly on the basis of whether you sing well," says Marshall, who wrote or co-wrote only two songs on her first album.

"I didn't feel any more pressure, just that I was trying to hit as wide an audience as possible. (Wanting to write) was more of an internal thing.

"I was just curious about whether or not I could do more than I was doing," she says. "Looking back, I guess you could say it seems like something I felt I had to do, but it didn't feel like it at the time."

Encouraged by her management and record companies, Marshall made a list of people she'd like to write with. Eric Bazilian, the Philadelphia-based songwriter who wrote One of Us for Joan Osborne, was on that list. He was available and willing. So she headed to Philly to find out what he was like.

After catching a Stones concert together and collaborating on a couple of tunes, the pair decided they could indeed work together.

"I said to him that I was still really unsure of what it was like to make a song out of nothing," she recalls. "And he said that it was like fishing, you just had to be patient and keep casting, so we did that and in the end we wrote a couple that we kind of liked and then we wrote one great one, and we took it from there."

The end result of this work was Tuesday's Child, a 13-track collection which has already yielded hits in Believe in You, Love Lift Me and If I Didn't Have You.

The new album hasn't hit the sales targets established by its predecessor, but Marshall says she can't worry about numbers and wants to concentrate on performing.

To that end, she says she's constantly looking at ways to improve her shows, which are always showcases for her powerful voice.

"As you grow and mature and have an audience, your live show has to grow, too. It has to be more than you get sitting in your living room watching MuchMusic, you know?

"I've been lucky because our show is still relatively low-tech. It's just us and we can get out there and get lost in the performances and not worry about having to be in one place so the flashpots can go off, or whatever."


	Friday, April 14, 2000 Composing herself Husky-voiced diva Amanda puts it in her own words on her latest CD By JOHN KENDLE Winnipeg Sun ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two years ago, Amanda Marshall was sitting on top of the world. The wild-tressed Toronto singer had sold more than two million copies of her self-titled debut album, which was released in 1996. Propelled by five hit singles, she had appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and had played three times on Rosie O'Donnell's talk show. She'd made nice with Regis and Kathie Lee, accepted congratulations from Elton John and toured with John Mellencamp, even joining him onstage to sing Pink Houses. She had even won a Gemini award for best performance in a variety program for her CBC special. But at the end of the two-year whirlwind that marked her emergence on the pop music world, Marshall was faced with the prospect of making a followup. The singer wasn't sure which direction she wanted to take. All she knew was that she wanted to write more songs, not because she felt she had to, but because she wanted to test herself. "My sense of things is that I don't really care who writes records, and I don't think most people care. I think you're judged mostly on the basis of whether you sing well," says Marshall, who wrote or co-wrote only two songs on her first album. "I didn't feel any more pressure, just that I was trying to hit as wide an audience as possible. (Wanting to write) was more of an internal thing. "I was just curious about whether or not I could do more than I was doing," she says. "Looking back, I guess you could say it seems like something I felt I had to do, but it didn't feel like it at the time." Encouraged by her management and record companies, Marshall made a list of people she'd like to write with. Eric Bazilian, the Philadelphia-based songwriter who wrote One of Us for Joan Osborne, was on that list. He was available and willing. So she headed to Philly to find out what he was like. After catching a Stones concert together and collaborating on a couple of tunes, the pair decided they could indeed work together. "I said to him that I was still really unsure of what it was like to make a song out of nothing," she recalls. "And he said that it was like fishing, you just had to be patient and keep casting, so we did that and in the end we wrote a couple that we kind of liked and then we wrote one great one, and we took it from there." The end result of this work was Tuesday's Child, a 13-track collection which has already yielded hits in Believe in You, Love Lift Me and If I Didn't Have You. The new album hasn't hit the sales targets established by its predecessor, but Marshall says she can't worry about numbers and wants to concentrate on performing. To that end, she says she's constantly looking at ways to improve her shows, which are always showcases for her powerful voice. "As you grow and mature and have an audience, your live show has to grow, too. It has to be more than you get sitting in your living room watching MuchMusic, you know? "I've been lucky because our show is still relatively low-tech. It's just us and we can get out there and get lost in the performances and not worry about having to be in one place so the flashpots can go off, or whatever."