Shine

After a 10-year gap during which he produced albums for Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and U2, Daniel Lanois finally released his third solo album, Shine, in 2003. It's a more mature work than his first two solo sets, if only because of its restraint. On his early albums, it felt like Lanois wanted to do everything at once; Shine puts a greater value on intimacy and quietude, which in turn makes the music more powerful. In many ways, the sound design is a return to Lanois’ early collaborations with Brian Eno, in which he played pedal steel guitar against Eno’s abstract soundscapes; this technique is revived on “JJ Leaves LA” and the flawless “Transmitter.” “Fire” and “Slow Giving” exhibit some of the artist's most potent singing and guitar playing, as he delivers in a hushed, liquid tone that owes a lot to Curtis Mayfield and even Jimi Hendrix in his calmest, most contemplative moments. Lanois still locates moments of grandeur, but even “I Love You” feels like the shadow of the sweeping melodrama that Lanois helped create with U2. Bono himself shows up for “Falling at Your Feet,” a surging anthem turned down to a whisper.