Siberry's new album reveals boyhood dreams

Halifax Herald, circa August 1993
in Tim Arsenault's "Sound Advice" column

Anybody who's had the pleasure of seeing Toronto art-rock chanteuse Jane Siberry in concert the last few years knows that underneath her contemplative seriousness is a witty and warm sense of humor.

Well, check out the new When I Was a Boy album due in stores Tuesday.

"I'm actually very funny and this is one of the funniest records I've ever done but I think a lot of people won't see that," Siberry said in an interview from home.

"I'm just kidding there."

That's pretty clear since When I Was a Boy is a demanding and enigmatic song cycle with a definite down tone.

The singer-songwriter's two previous ablums -- The Walking and Bound by the Beauty -- had already smashed any preconceived notions music fans may have had of the sprightly-voiced performer who had hit big with precious ditties like Mimi on the Beach.

With her new work, which was literally years in the making, Siberry got even more ambitious and collaborated with artists like Brian Eno, k.d. lang, [and] David Bowie keyboardist Erdyl Kizilcay on various tracks.

Calling All Angels, from Wim Wenders' Until The End of the World, was previously available on the soundtrack album for that film.

Siberry, 37, will also be contributing to Wenders' next movie, the sequel to Wings of Desire, and she is busy working at home on experimental low-budget video clips for songs from When I Was a Boy. It's the satisfaction of this work that's keeping her off the road for the near future.

"It will be an intense show and the right people haven't come to me yet. When I can really see what I want I'll be ready to tour."

thanks to A.M. Robichaud for digging up a copy of this article

web editor's note: This column also included a mention of Barney's first album (yes, Barney the purple dinosaur). Little did Barney and Jane know that they would someday collaborate...