Edie Brickell Brings Different 'Personalities' to Solo Album and the Gaddabouts

Best known for her work in the New Bohemians, Edie Brickell is returning this month with a double dose of music: Her third solo album, simply tilted 'Edie Brickell' and an LP with her new band, the Gaddabouts, a collaboration with prominent session drummer Steve Gadd. It's great news for fans of Brickell's voice, which rings with the same clarity as it did back in the '80s and '90s, but what exactly is the difference between these two offerings?

"The personalities of the bands play into it so much," Brickell tells Spinner. "For instance, the song 'My Heart,' that was a song that was written as a single line guitar and voice. Steve adds an accordion into the rhythm, like a tango and I didn't hear it like that. That's what I love about playing with bands. They bring their personalities to it."

Brickell started her solo album back in 2003 when she assembled a few of her longtime collaborators, including guitarist Charlie Sexton and New Bohemians keyboardist Carter Albrecht. The music features Brickell weaving through soft folkie moments whereas with the Gaddabouts, she's exploring a handful of different arrangements -- they take on a tango-inspired feel for 'My Heart' and a bluesy approach on 'Gonna Hold On.'

The Gaddabouts mark Brickells' second "official" band she's played in after the last New Bohemians record, 2006's 'Stranger Things.' Despite releasing several solo projects over the years, she says that the plurality of a band enables her to thrive. Even though she wrote all the songs on 'The Gaddabouts,' she left it to her players to flesh them out.

"I come from a band background," Brickell says in an obvious nod to the New Bohemians. "When you're learning to play with a band, you can open your big fat mouth and say, 'Play this, do that,' and you'll see immediately that people seem wounded. It dampens the spirit in the room a bit. I'm a fan of musicians, so I encourage people to play what they feel as opposed to dictating."

'Edie Brickell' is out now, with 'The Gaddabouts' dropping on Jan. 25.