Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times

There’s a track on Robbie Robertson‘s new album, “How to Become Clairvoyant,” that’s destined to generate buzz among guitar aficionados, not just for the sincerity with which Robertson pays homage to a litany of the instrument’s great practitioners but for the company the celebrated musician chose to help out on it.

That song, “The Axman,” name-checks many who are no longer living, and one who remains: Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhardt, T-Bone Walker, Link Wray, Duane Allman, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elmore James and three Kings of the blues — Albert, Freddie and B.B. — casting the Axman’s place in the world in near-mythological terms:

“He came across the border / With a hatchet in his hand / They said ‘Who’s that stranger? / The one they call the Axman?'” Robertson sings in a spectral whisper. A lot of music fans and critics would say that Robertson’s own name belongs up there with those others in the guitar-hero pantheon for his tasteful, inventive work over a couple of decades with the Band and on his infrequent solo records.

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rocker Robbie Robertson is about to add “author” to his lengthy list of professional activities.

The former frontman for The Band said he will start penning his memoirs in a few months following a couple of aborted attempts with ghost writers. The Canadian rocker hopes the book will come out within two years through Random House.

“I’m very excited about doing it,” Robertson told Reuters, while getting ready for the April 5 release of his first solo album in 13 years. “I just have to roll up my sleeves, get a cabin in the woods and do it properly.”

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Only after completing his first solo album in more than 10 years did rock icon Robbie Robertson realize he had created the most personal and revealing album of his storied career. “How To Become Clairvoyant” features an impressive array of guests, too, including Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Tom Morello, Robert Randolph, Trent Reznor, Angela McCluskey, Dana Glover, Rocco DeLuca and Taylor Goldsmith.

The basic sessions were recorded in the U.K with Clapton, Pino Palladino (bass) and Ian Thomas (drums), guided by Robertson and co-producer Marius de Vries back in 2008. After letting the original recordings simmer for a while — Robertson took some time to do the score for Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” — he resumed in Los Angeles adding in embellishments.

“A lot of the making of this record was very experimental,” said Robertson of the process. “We were not coloring inside the lines. Musically and lyrically, I went to unexpected places. The songs became episodes in this musical journey.

There is much more guitar that you would normally expect from a Robbie Robertson album but you will still hear his familiar approach married with many new musical ideas. The lead track, “He Don’t Live Here No More,” is off to a great start at radio, but the album is very deep. Check out the title track, “The Right Mistake,” “Fear of Falling,” “She’s Not Mine,” “This Is Where I Get Off” and “Straight Down the Line.”

“I’ve never before been able to write about those times,” added Robertson. “I was never comfortable taking the starring role in those stories. But enough time had passed that suddenly all of these thoughts and feelings finally crept under the door with certain urgency.”

Heading into street date (4/5) Robertson will have the Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, LA Times, NY Times and other printed media in place. He will also be featured on late night television during street week. In addition, Robertson will be knighted in Canada, have his face on a Canadian postage stamp and will be the face of the JUNO awards in late March.

Further, his 1928 Gut String guitar he and Clapton use on the new CD will be made into a limited edition. The CD will also be available as a deluxe package with vinyl featuring intimate demos with Eric Clapton.

Lastly, Robertson is schedule to do a keynote interview with World Cafe host David Dye at this year’s NONCOMMvention.

Robbie Robertson to join Songwriters Hall of Fame

Robbie Robertson’s prowess at penning poignant, moving songs will be celebrated this spring when he is inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The honour will be the latest such accolade for the Toronto-born musician and former member of The Band, who has previously been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

“HE DON’T LIVE HERE NO MORE,”

THE LEAD SINGLE FROM ROBBIE ROBERTSON’S UPCOMING ALBUM, GOES TO RADIO THIS WEEK

How To Become Clairvoyant, Robertson’s First Album

In Over A Decade, Due Out April 5^th

Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Robert Randolph, Trent Reznor And Tom Morello Are Featured

“He Don’t Live Here No More,” the lead single from Robbie Robertson’s upcoming album, How To Become Clairvoyant, will be serviced to radio this week. “He Don’t Live Here No More” is a riveting firsthand look at the temptations endemic to the rock and roll lifestyle. You can check it out at:

http://www.429records.com/sites/429records/pressclips/newreleases/robbielivehere/

“It was a lifestyle of the time that most of my friends went through. Some came out the other side, and for some, the train ran off the tracks,” recalls the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. Employing a gut string guitar on the song’s searing solos was just one of the many interesting choices Robertson made during the sessions for How To Become Clairvoyant, which will be released on April 5^th.

“A lot of the making of this record was very experimental,” says Robertson, who co-produced the album with long-time collaborator Marius de Vries (Massive Attack, Bjork, Rufus Wainwright). “We were not coloring inside the lines. Musically and lyrically, I went to unexpected places.”

How To Become Clairvoyant – Robertson’s first release in more than 10 years and his Macro-Biotic Records/429 Records debut – is perhaps the most revealing record of his storied career. It features 12 original songs – eight written by Robertson alone, three penned with longtime friend Eric Clapton and the instrumental album closer “Tango for Django,” written with de Vries.

“This is Where I Get Off” marks the first time he’s publicly addressed his decision to leave The Band. As the song suggests, one’s past is inescapable, but it needn’t impede the journey forward:

Everything you leave behind

Catches up in another time

So just pull over

To the side of the road

This is where I get off

This is where I move on

The initial sessions for How To Become Clairvoyant took place in London, where Robertson recorded with Clapton, keyboard legend Steve Winwood, bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Ian Thomas. Midway through, he was tapped by director Martin Scorsese to work on the music for Shutter Island. The break gave him some clarity and, when he resumed recording in Los Angeles, the album became even more guitar-oriented. There he invited a new generation of players to join him on his musical journey – Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave), who guests on “Axman,” and Robert Randolph, who plays pedal steel guitar on the title track and “Straight Down The Line.”

“Robert is extraordinary, a high-wire act,” observes Robertson. “And I was so impressed when Tom performed ‘Tom Joad’ with Bruce Springsteen at the Hall of Fame’s 25^th anniversary concert. He gets amazing noises out of his guitar.”

In addition, he asked Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor to collaborate on the cinematic soundscape “Madame X.” “Trent has musical instincts that are unpredictable and haunting,” notes Robertson. Vocalists Angela McCluskey, Rocco Deluca, Dana Glover and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes) are also featured on the album. With an eye on the rear view mirror, Robertson forges ahead, fusing the contemporary and the classic to create his most personal work yet – How To Become Clairvoyant.

“HE DON’T LIVE HERE NO MORE,”

THE LEAD SINGLE FROM ROBBIE ROBERTSON’S UPCOMING ALBUM, GOES TO RADIO THIS WEEK

How To Become Clairvoyant, Robertson’s First Album

In Over A Decade, Due Out April 5^th

Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Robert Randolph, Trent Reznor And Tom Morello Are Featured

“He Don’t Live Here No More,” the lead single from Robbie Robertson’s upcoming album, How To Become Clairvoyant, will be serviced to radio this week. “He Don’t Live Here No More” is a riveting firsthand look at the temptations endemic to the rock and roll lifestyle. You can check it out at:

http://www.429records.com/sites/429records/pressclips/newreleases/robbielivehere/

“It was a lifestyle of the time that most of my friends went through. Some came out the other side, and for some, the train ran off the tracks,” recalls the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. Employing a gut string guitar on the song’s searing solos was just one of the many interesting choices Robertson made during the sessions for How To Become Clairvoyant, which will be released on April 5^th.

“A lot of the making of this record was very experimental,” says Robertson, who co-produced the album with long-time collaborator Marius de Vries (Massive Attack, Bjork, Rufus Wainwright). “We were not coloring inside the lines. Musically and lyrically, I went to unexpected places.”

How To Become Clairvoyant – Robertson’s first release in more than 10 years and his Macro-Biotic Records/429 Records debut – is perhaps the most revealing record of his storied career. It features 12 original songs – eight written by Robertson alone, three penned with longtime friend Eric Clapton and the instrumental album closer “Tango for Django,” written with de Vries.

“This is Where I Get Off” marks the first time he’s publicly addressed his decision to leave The Band. As the song suggests, one’s past is inescapable, but it needn’t impede the journey forward:

Everything you leave behind

Catches up in another time

So just pull over

To the side of the road

This is where I get off

This is where I move on

The initial sessions for How To Become Clairvoyant took place in London, where Robertson recorded with Clapton, keyboard legend Steve Winwood, bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Ian Thomas. Midway through, he was tapped by director Martin Scorsese to work on the music for Shutter Island. The break gave him some clarity and, when he resumed recording in Los Angeles, the album became even more guitar-oriented. There he invited a new generation of players to join him on his musical journey – Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave), who guests on “Axman,” and Robert Randolph, who plays pedal steel guitar on the title track and “Straight Down The Line.”

“Robert is extraordinary, a high-wire act,” observes Robertson. “And I was so impressed when Tom performed ‘Tom Joad’ with Bruce Springsteen at the Hall of Fame’s 25^th anniversary concert. He gets amazing noises out of his guitar.”

In addition, he asked Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor to collaborate on the cinematic soundscape “Madame X.” “Trent has musical instincts that are unpredictable and haunting,” notes Robertson. Vocalists Angela McCluskey, Rocco Deluca, Dana Glover and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes) are also featured on the album. With an eye on the rear view mirror, Robertson forges ahead, fusing the contemporary and the classic to create his most personal work yet – How To Become Clairvoyant.

Martin Scorsese and Robbie Robertson are back together for their eighth collaboration.

“Since the first time Marty and I started working together on projects in 1976 (The Last Waltz) and 1980 (Raging Bull) I think this is the first time that Marty has ever called me and said, “on this picture I really don’t have any ideas on where to start musically.” After I read the script I suggested to him that instead of a traditional film score, that I put together a batch of music centering around modern classical composers with a few songs from the time period of the movie sprinkled in. Marty felt it really connected with the film and we went on a mission of doing something unlike anything we’d ever done before.” -Robbie

The soundtrack features a stirring mash-up of Dinah Washington singing “This Bitter Earth,” on top of the Max Richter classical piece, “On The Nature Of Daylight.”

Listen HERE.

Robbie’s new song, “How To Become Clairvoyant,” will be featured on the True Blood season 2 soundtrack. This is the first sneak peek at what Robbie’s first release in over 10 years will sound like. Read about the soundtrack HERE.

Listen to a sample of the track HERE.