While a Josh Groban album may be the last place one would expect “Kashmir”-like strings and guitars, on “All That Echoes,” the classical crossover singer veers momentarily into Led Zeppelin territory on the lushly atmospheric “Hollow Talk.”
If the detour surprises his fans, that”s just fine with the multi-platinum singer. “I feel like we”ve done something really special, hopefully they will too,” he says. “Most importantly, if it”s honest, they”ll get that, but I always enjoy giving people what they didn”t know they wanted.”
“All That Echoes,” which came out Tuesday (Feb. 5), and quickly topped iTunes albums chart, features the famous baritone singing seven songs he co-wrote. Groban”s songs stand side-by-side with five others by such noted songwriters/artists as Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Webb, and Glen Hansard.
Produced by Rob Cavallo, Groban”s sixth studio album aims to capture the vibrant feel of his live shows. To facilitate that energy, Cavallo, best known for producing acts like Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls, and My Chemical Romance, collected a who”s who of rock musicians to play on the set, including drummers Matt Chamberlain (Pearl Jam) and Abe Laboriel Jr. (Paul McCartney), as well as bassist Chris Chaney (Jane”s Addiction), guitarist Tim Pierce (Dave Matthews) and keyboardist Jamie Muhoberac (Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac). The rockers played alongside a harpist, violinist and cellist.
“They balanced each other out in such an amazing way to see every day,” Groban says. “The rock guys brought an energy to the orchestral players and the orchestral players brought a fluidity and a musicality and kind of more of a restraint, if you will, to the guys that were coming form the rock side…When we”re in [the studio], we”re just thinking about making really exciting things come out of the speakers. It doesn”t become more complicated than that.”
While the album falls well within the boundaries that Groban”s longtime popera fans expect, he”s also eager to go against any perceived stereotyping he”s experienced.
“Anybody in the public eye at any level in any part of the entertainment or sports world feels expectations from their fans and feels a certain amount of pigeonholing from their fans. I don”t think I”m any exception to that,” he says. “At the same time, it”s a delicate balance when you”re in the studio and kind of siloed in your own little world and you”re battling between what you”re inspired by everyday and what the expectations of the fans are and what your main goal is, which is to be a communicator of music to make people feel good or to feel the music fully. Ultimately if you”re having the time of your life but people aren”t connecting to your sound, then, to a certain extent, you”ve kind of missed the cause.”
One of more striking songs on the album is “Below the Line,” which Groban wrote after volunteering with “Live Below The Line,” a non-profit that raises funds for people living in extreme poverty. It also spreads awareness by asking people to live on $2 a day, the amount that 1.3 billion people living in poverty subsist on.
“I just happened to be exploring that particular charity and going through the fasting period on a day I had to write and so while the song itself is not specifically about that organization, it triggered a lyrical message that we ran with and that we felt was a good universal, humanist kind of message. That song was written within two or three hours… and I was really hungry. That message [is] if we”re not helping others and not seeing the bigger picture of what”s happening in the world, then we”re truly not helping ourselves.”
Groban, who will appear on “CSI: New York” as himself on Valentine”s Day, co-hosted “Live with Kelly” a number of times and was rumored to be in the running to become the permanent co-host before Michael Strahan got the job. Groban stresses he could have never handled full-time hosting duties with his busy music schedule, but adds he loved interviewing people and it gave him a new sympathy for journalists.
“You”re trying to fill many roles when you”re interviewing. On a show like that, you”re genuinely curious about things that are going on with them, but you have about 30 seconds to get the answer and then you have to make sure, of course, that you”re making them look good and that you get it all in before commercial,” he says. “You”ve got a million things going on around you while you”re trying to have the conversation.”
The singer, who has also acted on “The Office,” and “Crazy,Stupid, Love,” among other shows, recently told Reuters that he hopes to take a hiatus from making music in the next few years to do theater.
The prodigious (and often hilarious) Tweeter will hit the road to support “All That Echoes” in April. On the schedule are three shows at Los Angeles” Hollywood Bowl. Sure to be in attendance are his most fervent fans, dubbed Grobanites. Some of his fans feel such ardor towards the singer that they go so far as to get tattoos os his signature.
Though flattered by his fans” passion, Groban says he has no one”s name he”d like permanently etched on his body. “You know, if I were going to get a tattoo, i probably would have gotten one by now,” he says. “No, I think that I try to keep my tattoos ingrained in my brain.”