Linda Eder
Linda Eder, the powerhouse singer seen on Broadway in Jekyll & Hyde, released her tenth solo recording at the end of last month. Entitled "The Other Side of Me," the single CD, which was produced and arranged by Eder and Billy Jay Stein, is available on the Verve Music Group label. Eder, who has spent the past decade or so belting out tunes from The Great American Songbook as well as the songs penned by former husband Frank Wildhorn and the classics associated with the late, legendary star Judy Garland, ventures into new territory on the 12-track recording. Well, not exactly new territory, but a world that Eder had left behind as she cultivated a dedicated Broadway and concert fan base. In the liner notes for the new recording, Eder writes, "This isn't so much a departure as it is me getting back to who I really am. . .This is really me getting back to my natural musical self, the person I was before Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand came into my life and I went the Broadway route. This is the kind of music that moved me as a kid, when I first started playing my guitar and learning how to write songs, so it's a natural direction for me. I still love the Broadway stuff, and I don't ever intend to stop singing it." The new recording, which features a more intimate country-pop sound for Eder, boasts a mix of new songs ("Pieces," "If I Could," "Make Today Beautiful"), covers ("Both Sides Now," "Ghost") and one penned by the singer herself ("Waiting for the Fall"). A few weeks ago, I had the chance to chat with Eder, who spoke about her latest recording and her thoughts about returning to the Broadway stage; that brief interview follows.

Question: Tell me about the genesis of the new recording and your decision to go back to your music roots.
Linda Eder: It was time to make the next record. I was trying to think about what I wanted to do. I've done several different albums over the years in different directions: a Broadway record, some mixes of standards and a little more pop stuff, a lot of standards, the Judy Garland tribute. My very first record was sort of a pseudo-pop record years ago, but I always felt like I wanted to go back to my roots, which really were country-pop. Even though I had influences early on of Judy Garland and opera singers — because I loved their voices and the way they sang, and that's what made me want to use my voice and be a singer — when it came to doing my own thing, naturally, it was always country-pop. I had the guitar, and I didn't play very well, but I played enough to write my songs. They always had that country-pop feel. It's very natural to me, it's very natural to who I am as a person. I was a little nervous about presenting the idea because it's so different from the path that my life has gone, and I've been very successful doing what I've been doing, but [the record company] agreed. And I said, "Okay, and also I'd like to produce it." [Laughs.] I've always sort of co-produced my records over the years. The Christmas record, even though it says Frank [Wildhorn]'s name on there, too, I pretty much produced that record, so I felt confident that I could do it. They agreed, and I ended up co-producing it with my friend Billy Stein, who used to play in my band years ago and had his own studio. So we worked on it together for about a year and a half.

Question: When you talk about producing a CD, what does that entail?
Eder: It's a pop record, so it's different than records we've made in the past. With standards records, an arranger will come up with an arrangement based on maybe an idea that I had. They would take it away and come back with a big-band chart or an orchestral arrangement, and we normally would record the big band within a few days. You would come in, and everybody works hard for those few days, and you basically can get all the tracks [recorded]. Then I would put the vocals over the top, and it's a much faster recording process. It's all based around that one step, whereas pop music is done often very differently. It's done layer-by-layer using synth tracks and different ideas. We made demos and played around with directions of songs. We have that luxury [because] Billy Stein has his own studio, so the two of us just spent hour after hour, day after day, sitting there coming up with ideas and throwing out new ideas and just building songs layer by layer.

	Linda Eder

Question: On the new CD, there's one song you've written. When did you start writing songs?
Eder: A long time ago, I used to write quite a bit. Over the years, I was married to a songwriter, and the impetus wasn't there. It was years before I even told him that I could write. [Laughs.] I did collaborate on some of the stuff that we did over the years, but that's not where I live as a writer. I don't get inspired to write standards, and Broadway, that's not what I am, but I always liked country-pop. Now that I'm back to doing this kind of music, all of a sudden I'm writing again. I've actually got two more songs that I'm doing in my show live that I wrote that weren't finished in time. The record was already done. I wish they'd been done because I would have put them on there. Similar to the song that I wrote on the record, it suits me. The best thing is always to write for yourself. I know that I can write this kind of material, and I've gotten really strong feedback on it. In fact, the one I wrote gets the strongest feedback as far as being a radio-friendly song.

Question: You recently did a few concerts with Marvin Hamlisch.
Eder: That's why I'm in Pittsburgh. I did three nights in DC recently, and then we had a couple days off in between, and then we're here five nights in Pittsburgh [this was the week of Oct. 6].

Question: What's he like to work with as a conductor?
Eder: He's great. We've known each other over the years, and he's kind of a legend in the business. Besides being a great composer and very musical, he's also very funny and a great entertainer, so that makes it a lot of fun. It's always fun to work with a symphony, but it's more fun when it's with Marvin.

Question: Is this another Garland show you're doing tonight?
Eder: Yeah, this whole series of shows are all tributes to Judy Garland. After I had done that tribute album, it was a natural pairing.

Question: As you've been performing the Garland material, have you found new meaning in some of the songs?
Eder: I think what has happened is, because I was able to go in this direction doing country-pop and just infuse new life into what I have been doing — I've been singing for 20 years or more — anytime you stretch into another area, you grow. I feel like I've grown more musically in the last two years than I had for a few years. It's infused new life into everything that I do. I've become even more of my own self. I get a joy out of doing all the stuff again because I get a break from it, and I do all different types of shows. I'm really now the true Hannah Montana. [Laughs.] I'm not just changing my clothes. I'm actually completely singing different types of music, especially when I do this Garland show. I can't help but channel Judy when I do a Judy song, and I can't help but channel Barbra [Streisand] when I do a Barbra song. They're both huge influences of mine and, as far as I'm concerned, the best in the business at what they did and do. I don't try to do it. It's just something that happens, especially when singing an arrangement of Judy's that is her arrangement basically.

	Cover art for Linda Eder's "The Other Side of Me"

Question: Is there anyone currently performing that you admire?
Eder: There are so many. I really like all different kinds of music. People know me as [performing] Broadway and standards, but that's not really what I listen to. I used to a lot when I was younger. Over the years I've been so influenced by Barbra or Judy, and I did listen to a lot of that stuff, but I really don't listen to that anymore. I listen to country-pop. I listen to Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Faith Hill. I like a singer I just discovered not long ago called Brooke Fraser. I really do listen more to that kind of thing. I just enjoy that kind of music. It fits me as a person; it's what I'm into right now.

Question: I know at one point there were a couple of theatre projects you were involved in, like Camille Claudel. Is anything happening with that show? Would you like to do more theatre?
Eder: I would. The only reason I agreed to do Camille is because it was so tempting. When I left Jekyll, I got pregnant shortly thereafter. I had Jake, and I knew I really didn't want to do theatre and raise a child at the same time, having known what that schedule was like. When you're a lead, it just consumes your life. You're tired all the time, you have to do all the press, and you're always babying yourself just to survive it. It's a crushing kind of a schedule, and there's just really no life outside of that. You can't do that with a child, so I haven't really wanted to go back for that reason, though I love theatre. What I love the most is I love the family aspect of it. I miss being surrounded by a group of fun people everyday, and also I love acting. I really discovered how much I love it when I took a year of private lessons to get ready for Camille, because that was very much a book musical, and I discovered that I can act. I kind of felt all along that I could, even though I didn't need to in Jekyll. They just wrote me this part that was basically Linda doing a cabaret act up there, but it worked for that show. But I knew I could act — I just needed a part that would allow me to do that, and Camille really did. The thing with Camille is it's just very dark. She's unknown for the most part, which is unfortunate. It's a fascinating story, but it's just very dark and frightening to producers. Even though we had this amazing production of it — sure it needed work, but the bones were there, and the audience was loving it and I really loved the part. I'm almost not disappointed that it didn't move on to Broadway because of Jake. Maybe one day I would like to go back if the right part presented itself. I would actually like to go back and do a straight play.

Question: How old is Jake now?
Eder: He just turned nine.

Question: How has it been combining motherhood and your concert schedule?
Eder: It's hard. I normally don't do five nights in a row. I will do one or two and then be back home. I mostly manage to keep them on the weekends, so I'm really there for his school schedule. I've been able to balance it. Frank and I are divorced, but Frank is very much in his life. We're all together all the time. But even if we were still together, he would still have had two parents that are always traveling, so he's used to that. My sister lives right next door on the same property, so he's very secure. Still, you want to be there. I've been able to balance it. It's tricky, but my life, the way it's carved itself out, has worked.  Continued...