NEW ALBUM NEXT YEAR??

[Stormhaven]

Personally I would love to hear Sarah do more harmonics with other backup vocalists. I'm tired of the re-sampled track upon track of the solo artist's voice over and over again. Having different people sing backup adds depth to the song that you just can't reproduce with a single source. It's not really a dig just on Sarah because every one's doing it - I understand that it helps keep costs down (and helps limit those "she didn't really sing it, I did!" lawsuits) but come on... A few choir-driven songs would be awesome as well - I always thought that a Sarah + gospel or children's choir would just be spectacular (as in a song specifically written for a choir, not a choir added to an existing song). Though she has a tendency to sing softly and add depth by way of vocal nuances, she's got a powerful voice (which really comes out live) that you just don't hear on her latest tracks.

And echoing many of the opinions here, it would be nice if she got out of the humdrum "adult contemporary" coffeehouse category. Many of the best indie Canadian artists have an awesome folksy-rock-bluegrassy sound that she would sound great emulating. In many of her Q&A sessions during the tour, Sarah said her children don't like it when she writes songs because she immediately starts by hitting the lower minor chords on the piano, or what her kids call the "sad sound". I'm not saying she should write so that everything sounds like "Loving you is Easy," but everything doesn't have to sound like "Angel" either.

[Jessel]

... if Sarah goes and does something radical, that might mean she creates:
- An album of showtunes

I'm cool with that! Sarah can sing some decent numbers from decent musicals such as Chess, Company, and maybe even Rent.
As long as she doesn't touch any song by my top female roles: Mama Rose (Gypsy), Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd), and Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard). They're too much to handle even for Sarah.

- A rap album full of tracks called "XXXXX feat. Lil <somebody>"

Even though I like what she and that rapper dude (I forgot his name) did with Harry Chapin's Cats in the Cradle, the idea of a rap album by Sarah is going to be abominable no matter how much you slice and dice it. Imagine Sarah rapping on her own or (God forbid) teaming up with the likes of Nicki Minaj and goodness knows who else. *barfs*
Sorry, I'm not usually the type who would dismiss an entire genre because of stereotypes but... you know what I'm talking about.

[Jessel]

seriously??? we are talking about the idea of sarah recording a new album but instead its' i hate laws of illusion' fest. the album was not perfect at the same time sarah is not perfect as well, she is human i sometimes wonder if people think she is some kind of robot that can easily conjure up an album or go on tour at will...

It's called discussing art, dearie. Fans will always praise or pan Sarah's work whether we like it or not, and the latter is merely a criticism of the art (or product if you will) not the person. It's the job of the human brain or the aesthetic sensibilities to analyze and criticize and still be a decent person (or fan in this context). Things like that co-exist and it kinda bothers me that people fail to see it most of the time.

[Kaleysuncle]

... if Sarah goes and does something radical, that might mean she creates:
- An album of showtunes

I'm cool with that! Sarah can sing some decent numbers from decent musicals such as Chess, Company, and maybe even Rent.
As long as she doesn't touch any song by my top female roles: Mama Rose (Gypsy), Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd), and Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard). They're too much to handle even for Sarah.

- A rap album full of tracks called "XXXXX feat. Lil <somebody>"

Even though I like what she and that rapper dude (I forgot his name) did with Harry Chapin's Cats in the Cradle, the idea of a rap album by Sarah is going to be abominable no matter how much you slice and dice it. Imagine Sarah rapping on her own or (God forbid) teaming up with the likes of Nicki Minaj and goodness knows who else. *barfs*
Sorry, I'm not usually the type who would dismiss an entire genre because of stereotypes but... you know what I'm talking about.

I'd much rather have a covers album which would include Metallica's Nothing Else Matters.

[Magellan]

I guess the smart money is always going to be on it being another album by Sarah, the artist, as you'd expect her to be - just with new people to help produce a shift in sound.

What will matter more maybe is...what inspires her. Can she still tap into the sort of introspective feelings that produced earlier works? Are there causes she cares about, from which she can find reasons to try and make profound artistic statements? Perhaps it won't be quite so much about raw human emotion anymore, and might focus on other causes she cares about.

And when I talk about her inspirations, I immediately think how hard it must be to be her...and have that sort of expectation placed upon you. It wouldn't matter if she wrote 100 albums, fans would always want one more. I wonder how she feels having waited so long to release LOI, then have it received mixed comments from even her most ardent supporters.

Anyway, back to my demands as a fan...

I would like her to collaborate with...

PETER GABRIEL.

She loves him.
I sit now, listening to his album "Up" from 2002. The greatest piece of work he ever created, and he pulled it out of the bag less than 10 years ago. And he has a history of working with great female artists. And they're both at that point in their careers, where a whole album of collaboration might be just the trick....together, they might have something amazing to say.

I can dream...
Imagine Sarah singing tracks like Sky Blue, or I Grieve....

[RiverOfLove]

I hope she goes back to her roots. I'd love to hear a return to the early sound.

[Jessel]

What will matter more maybe is...what inspires her. Can she still tap into the sort of introspective feelings that produced earlier works? Are there causes she cares about, from which she can find reasons to try and make profound artistic statements? Perhaps it won't be quite so much about raw human emotion anymore, and might focus on other causes she cares about.

I completely agree with you there. I don't know about others but in my case, listening to someone in her mid-40s singing about "oh dear, it hurts... men are so horrible... yada yada yada..." becomes cringe-worthy after a few listens. Sarah supports a lot of causes and I'm sure she won't ran out of inspiration. She's done it before with songs such as Black, Mary, Shelter, and just recently with Rivers of Love (a song about self-love/respect).

And yes, a collaboration with Peter is long overdue.

[Empirejim]

True to what you say, Jessel. There is no doubt that Sarah will surprise us once again and come out with new material or maybe a whole new direction. Whatever the case, we will be there as armchair critics to LOOK into her soul and talk about her selections. Afterall, isn't that what fans do.

[elysianfaery]

I'm so excited by this news! Like a lot of fans (I think), my favorite album is FTE. I'm hoping in the future she goes more with the electric guitar like she did with that album. I think I remember her saying that she used mainly a guitar when she was writing it, and I think she's been using the piano to write most of her recent albums. The electric guitar gives her more of an edge that contrasts with the ethereal quality of her voice. Love the combo! I love a lot of her piano and acoustic guitar pieces but it's nice to have a mix. The electric guitar gives her sound more of a depth to me.

Just my two pennies!

[chadwick]

i still can't believe there is talk about a new album in 2012. is it really possible or do you think it may be a live CD from the recent tour?

i know sarah (or her then record company) likes to repackage material but i still long for an "acoustics" compilation that features tracks over her career... not just the staples but a good mix beginning with touch through LOI. she sounds so beautiful when the songs are stripped of nothing except her, the piano, or guitar. i think it would be neat to re-invent the songs as they have aged over the years... that would make it interesting for us and offer some creative space for sarah.