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Music stardom. Film stardom. Will
Mandy Moore please make up her mind? Does she even
have to? With three films, How To Deal, Saved, and
Try Seventeen set for release in 2003, Mandy Moore
is also exploring her musical future with heartfelt
interpretations of some of the greatest songs of the
past with her new album, Coverage. "I feel like I've
moved beyond this pristine bubble gum image that
most of the world has had of me," she says. "I know
people are going to think, 'Who is Mandy Moore and
what makes her think she has the right to cover
Elton John and Todd Rundgren?' But I am doing it out
of love for these brilliant songs and their creative
lyrics and melodies."
Mandy Moore's Coverage includes twelve classic
pop/rock anthems and ballads from the 1970s and 80s.
Adding a soulfulness to Todd Rundgren's "Can We
Still Be Friends," putting a Nashville twang to
Carly Simon's "Anticipation," and rocking out on
Joan Armatrading's rollicking "Drop The Pilot,"
Moore reinvents the music and herself.
After giving herself a crash course in singer-songwriter,
rock and folk music from that era, Mandy, along with
producer John Fields (Andrew WK), also unearthed and
updated lesser-known pop gems. XTC's "Senses Working
Overtime" kicks off Coverage with modern DJ
scratches. Departing from the current dance/pop
sound, Moore's version of Elton John's "Mona Lisas
and Mad Hatters" is bolstered with countrified
mandolin and lush string arrangements, while The
Waterboys' "Whole of The Moon" achieves a symphonic
splendor with a full brass section.
Certain to appeal to fans of the originals, Moore is
equally eager to introduce Coverage to people her
own age. "I love what they're saying," she says of
such artists as Joe Jackson ("Breaking Us In Two")
and John Hiatt ("Have A Little Faith In Me") "It's
universal, it's timeless, it's done in a way that's
not so homogenized. Back then things were a little
bit more wholesome; not everything had to be out
there in such an abrasive, aggressive way."
Over the past five years, Mandy Moore has pursued
her artistic goals, achieving the kind of crossover
success most performers and teenagers only dream
about. She has released four best-selling albums:
her 1999 platinum debut, So Real, which included the
smash single, "Candy," and three huge follow-ups;
the 2000 Special Edition album, I Wanna Be With You;
2001's Mandy Moore and the soundtrack to her 2002
hit film A Walk To Remember. She has also hosted her
own show on MTV, and after receiving the MTV Movie
Award for Breakthrough Performance in A Walk To
Remember, Mandy is winning critical raves for her
refreshing screen presence and impressive dramatic
and comedic performances in major Hollywood
productions (A Walk To Remember, How To Deal) and
independent films (Try Seventeen, Saved).
She has matured from a young blonde pop singer to a
sophisticated brunette with a thirst for knowledge
and experience, particularly when it comes to her
work. "Acting has brought emotional depth to my
singing and my voice has gotten deeper, even from
six months ago," she says, and there is evidence of
that in her intonations on Blondie's "One Way Or
Another."
My tastes are changing," Mandy says. "I've just
grown up, and I think that's reflected in every
aspect of my life, as an artist and as a person."
Discovering the songs for Coverage, Mandy says, "I
felt so privy to this knowledge of what the music
world was like when singer-songwriters completely
dominated the scene. It seemed so much more magical
then than it does now. It's cool to break it down
and get back to a time when it was about the music,
not the videos, publicity shoots, and what tests
better at radio."
Though she has begun to write her own songs, "it's a
hard job and it's something I completely and utterly
respect," Mandy says. "As a result of doing
Coverage, I have a much broader appreciation for
singer-songwriters then and now and I hope to be a
part of the club one day."
Right now, however, Mandy Moore is working overtime.
Currently in Europe filming a romantic comedy about
the daughter of the U.S. President, Mandy is
preparing for a busy summer and fall. This July sees
the release of How To Deal, a film in which she
plays a high school girl who has gone sour on love
and in early fall, there's Coverage and the Michael
Stipe (Being John Malkovich, Velvet
Goldmine)-produced black comedy Saved, in which
Mandy plays "the perfect Christian girl who uses her
personal relationship with Jesus to take advantage
of everyone."
And after that? "My plan is that I have no plan,"
Mandy admits. "I want to get back on the road,
especially with this music. Emphasizing that
Coverage "an album with real musicians playing real
instruments," is very much a progression in her
career as a recording artist, Mandy Moore is
confident about the next stage of her musical
development. "I just want to be on stage, connecting
with an audience, and continue to test my
boundaries," she says with a smile. |
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