My father had a varied ear, from Hank Williams to Ravel.

My father had a varied ear, from Hank Williams to Ravel.

I'm very conscious of developing my singing, technically and stylistically. I want it to become more individual, express more of me. That's my goal. These songs are steps along that way.

I had my guitar and some talent so that I could make friends with intelligent people and could talk my way out of difficult situations.

Seeing how those companies operate, it didn't amount to a massive vote of confidence in their artists. There was talk of me going to Columbia after that, but nothing happened. I got disillusioned, and I pulled back.

My parents were older than normal when they had me, and had been very into the politics of the 1960s, so I was brought up in that atmosphere.

It's wonderful to work with someone with mentor status.