Song Notes

Produced by Alan Slater & Suzanne Clachair; Arranged and conducted by Alan Slater
(P)(C) 1994 Pacific Rim Productions Pty Ltd SCL-2

This album is incredibly special to me. My husband Jon and I independently financed, produced and promoted it, and I had complete creative control from song choice, arrangement and production to the cover art. Once again, the whole family (Jon, Steph and my parents-in-law) travelled to Sydney for the recording process at Studios 301 but this time it took only 2 weeks in total. By now, we were a well-oiled machine!

I was ecstatic with the outcome of this album – it is a wonderfully balanced adult contemporary mix of 13 classical, folk and original songs all arranged so exquisitely by master arranger, Alan Slater who  also conducted the fabulous musicians and produced the album with me. Garth Porter’s unmistakeable, sensitive touch is also evident as he mixed the album assisted by me and engineer Ted Howard.

 

Produced and arranged by Garth Porter
(P) 1991 Sony Music Australia 4691692

It was amidst all the excitement of promoting Serenade, supporting Julio Iglesias, concert touring and performing that Sony decided another album should quickly follow “Serenade” for a Christmas release. So once again, Producer Garth Porter and I sprang into gear and began the search for material. This time, we all agreed the album should change gears a bit and be more contemporary, departing somewhat from the classical feel of my previous recordings. So with that brief in mind, the final 14 tracks turned out to be a lovely mix of original, Celtic and easy listening songs – eclectic but all sitting well together as a collection. I was really happy to have another opportunity to write some tracks and also collaborate with Garth – this time I was a little more experienced and prepared for the process ahead.

My husband and manager Jon, my 2-year-old Stephanie, her nanny and I travelled to Sydney for 6 weeks to record “Believe in Love” at Studios 301. Once again, I loved every moment of it – the studio is my happy place and it was fantastic to work with Garth and and Ted again. Promotion for this album again included a busy media round and a national TV Special on the 7 network called Suzanne Clachair “Believe in Love”. It was a fantastic, exhausting, whirlwind experience of location and studio clips from dawn to dusk over about 2 weeks. I have a clear memory of my husband and I coming home at midnight after an 18-hour shoot to our sleepless toddler (“waiting for Mummy”) and desperate babysitters (my parents). We had to drive around for another hour to get her to sleep!

 

Produced and arranged by Garth Porter
(P) 1990 CBS 4675992

In 1989, my beautiful daughter Stephanie was born and I enjoyed an idyllic 6 months at home with her, completely away from the spotlight. However, recording my next album was always in the back of my mind and talks had already begun with Warners about the track listing. Unexpectedly, Sony Music Managing Director, Dennis Hanlon approached me and explained what he could do to further my career in the music industry. He met with me in Brisbane and offered me a 5-album international recording deal with  the opportunity to work with producer Garth Porter of Sherbet fame (as a teenager, I had always had a crush on Garth!). It was an offer I could not refuse. I was flown to Sydney first class and transported in a stretch limo to Sony’s offices to sign the contract.

I immediately got to work, facing the daunting and exciting task of choosing the 13 tracks for my next album. The final tracks were both from my existing repertoire of many years and new songs I’d never heard before. I was in daily communication with Garth organising arrangements and track choices – we hit it off immediately and working with him was a dream. There was no internet in those days, so instead a constant stream of phone calls and cassettes were exchanged between Brisbane and Sydney. But it worked just fine. Soon we were packed and ready to leave for Studios 301 in Sydney to record over a 5-week period. When I say “we” I mean me, my husband, Stephanie (just turned one) and my mother-in-law who had kindly offered to be babysitter for us.

The next 5 weeks flew by in a blissful blur of musical creativity and record production and fantastic, unforgettable experiences. These included countless studio highlights (always in safe hands with Garth and engineer, Ted Howard at the helm), where I “learnt the ropes” of song arrangement, recording, production, editing and mixing; photo shoots; a TVC and song clip filming; Sydney sightseeing; a scary bout of laryngitis and a very efficient nappy service! I absolutely adored recording each and every song and was really sorry when it was all over – I could have immediately done it all over again. The culmination of the trip was singing the National Anthem at a national football final. It was all pretty surreal. I remember crying as I listened to the first mix in the car en route back to Brisbane. I was ecstatic with the outcome – a dream come true. But the best was yet to come.

Within weeks of release, Serenade entered the national top 20 charts and was certified platinum. Everyone was over the moon and plans began in earnest to kick off the album promotions and organise live performances. I couldn’t wait but I had no idea what was coming my way.

A hectic 10-day promotional tour saw me travelling around the country appearing on media everywhere. The most memorable of these was the Midday Show with Ray Martin which was to become my second home over the next few years. He and band leader Geoff Harvey were delightful and we shared a lot of laughs together.

One most noteworthy promotional opportunity was the chance to make a national TV special for the 7 Network called “An Evening with Suzanne Clachair”. It was a fabulous experience and took me back full circle to my ABC TV on-air days a decade earlier. Filming involved both location and studio shoots and I took part in production decisions all along the way.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get more exciting, I received a phone call from Sony that literally blew me away. Julio Iglesias, the world’s biggest recording artist at the time, had invited me to support him on his national Australian tour the following year. I was told he “doesn’t usually choose singers”, but he wanted me. I couldn’t believe it – me! It was time to really hone my performing craft and get ready. Because immediately following that, plans were in place for my own national tour. I was living a dream.

 

Produced and arranged by Geoff Wilkes
(P)(C) 2013 Suzanne Clachair
SCL-1

This, my debut album, produced in 1988 when I was 27, was for me the culmination of around 20 years of planning, dreaming, visioning and hoping that one day I would put down an album of my most beloved songs. I had been collecting, practising and polishing track titles for this express purpose from about age10. I remember the hours my wonderful Mum and I used to spend together choosing songs in the exact right keys which best suited my voice.

Despite having had about 17 years of live performance experience on stage and TV in a variety of circumstances, whether it was just me and my guitar at a local charity gig or wedding; belting a power ballad with a show band; singing to a backing track or with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra; facing cameras on my own TV special or standing in a studio recording a jingle; I had never made an entire album of my own – and that was what I had always so wanted to do!

I had also spent many years devoted to tertiary education and training in Business – Communication and Public Relations and Education and then employment as a Marketing Manager and later, a high school teacher. But I never stopped singing or gave up on the dream of recording my voice. I just kept practising, writing and finding opportunities to hone my craft whenever I could.

And so it happened that a beautiful orchestral arrangement of a 60-second jingle I recorded (for a luxury property development on Queensland’s Gold Coast) opened the door to the recording career I had always dreamed of. That track was “Barcarolle” and the public response was unprecedented according to the TV stations, record stores and advertising agency. Requests for “that song” kept coming in so, taking a chance on me, Warner Records signed me to record an entire album titled “Barcarolle”. Finally, my dream was coming true! I would finally have the chance to record 12 beautiful songs – I was ecstatic!
After a long process of deliberating and culling, those final 12 songs came from a wide variety of sources such as: my favourite performing artists’ albums (i.e. Nana Mouskouri, Crystal Gayle, Edith Piaf, Olivia Newton-John, The Seekers); choral performances as a child; a love affair with the French language from high school; my cultural allegiance and devotion to Celtic music; sentimental family favourites; and original songs including one of the first songs I ever wrote as a teenager.
To say this album was a labour of love is an understatement – during its production, my husband and I discovered the wonderful news that I was pregnant with our first child. I really felt like I was having twins – my baby and my album. I couldn’t have been happier!
I was also working full-time as a Public Relations Manager so recording the tracks at a studio in Brisbane’s northern suburbs had to occur after work and on weekends. Regardless, I loved every minute of my first recording, editing and production experience, including the cover photography which incorporated a nod to my home state of Queensland – our floral emblem, the Cooktown Orchid.
Within a few months of its release, Barcarolle sold 60,000 copies, hovered at platinum status and exceeded our expectations; particularly, because, as I was pregnant, promotional efforts were pretty much confined to instore appearances and interviews. I remember being presented with my gold record plaque at 8 months pregnant, feeling absolutely over the moon – albeit enormous and anything but glamorous!