Talk On Corners - Background and Composition

Background and Composition

In January 1997 they moved to California to begin working on this album, largely under the supervision of David Foster. On the face of it, this was almost a repeat of what they had done 2 years earlier when they began recording their debut album Forgiven, Not Forgotten. However, this time they were under far more pressure to deliver. Andrea has described the making of this album as being 'a struggle'. In the video documentary "Home" manager John Hughes cited 'second album syndrome' as common source of pressure for all artists. Unlike their previous recording experience, the aim of which had been to capture the band's sound and vibe on record using already existing and established material, the new goal was to create and record new songs, as yet mostly unwritten, and to try to equal or surpass their earlier efforts.

Further demands came from the record company, who were concerned that none of the songs they were being presented with seemed like potential hit singles. They disliked the songs "What Can I Do" and "So Young", particularly the latter, and the band had to fight hard for their inclusion on the album. With hindsight, the company's attitude seems incongruous, as these two tracks eventually did very well as single releases, but they were recorded at a time when The Corrs' brand of pop music had not yet caught on with the public.

Various co-writers and additional producers were brought in to help improve the hit potential, e.g. Carole Bayer Sager, Glen Ballard, and Oliver Leiber. The use of different producers on different tracks introduced further difficulties. They found that this made it hard to achieve consistency throughout the whole album. In the end, however, the band were reasonably pleased with the finished product. However, the record company were rather less happy with it and wanted the band to continue recording more new tracks. When The Corrs refused, Atlantic threatened not to release the album at all and manager John Hughes was forced to make guarantees about future album sales in order to gain their cooperation.