Edwin McCain brings retrospective of music to the Birchmere
Edwin McCain with Seth Glier
Where: The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Details: $27.50; 703-549-7500; birchmere.com
Releasing a career retrospective is a bit sobering for Edwin McCain.
Even though the singer-songwriter is approaching 20 years in the music business, he still feels a bit like an apprentice in some aspects of his artistry.
“It always feels kind of strange to say, ‘I’m going to have a retrospective album,’ ” he said. “I still feel kind of just now that I’m hitting my stride, learning to play gigs. I still feel the same way I did the first time I walked on stage.”
Perhaps that is because McCain’s songs — including “I’ll Be,” “I Could Not Ask for More” and “Walk With You” — have continued to maintain their commercial success. Putting McCain’s classic songs on iTunes has given music lovers a chance to hear the tunes they may have heard on the radio. Other music lovers discovered McCain through various channels including a popular vote by 1 million fans of TV personality Dr. Phil who named “I’ll Be” the No. 1 wedding song.
When the career retrospective, titled “The Best of Edwin McCain,” is released in the first quarter of this year, it will showcase many of these beloved songs that McCain continually plays in concerts.
“It is basically a [musical] scrapbook,” McCain said of the songs on the album. “It’s hard to have a career in the music business in the first place. To be able to have one for 20 years is such a blessing; it is not lost on me.”
A fan of many musical virtuosos and singer songwriters — including Ivan Neville, Steve Cropper (Booker T. & The M.G.’s), Joan Osborne, Warren Hayes and Bradford Marsalis — McCain often collaborates with other artists and studies their techniques.
Many of these collaborations can be heard on the 15 tracks of McCain’s 2008 album, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” which combines McCain’s alt/jazz/blues sound with the sound of classic Stax soul.
“I always have an appreciation for the technically superior musicians, especially those proficient with soul,” McCain said. “I am not technically positioned as a guitar player. I am a songwriter. … I find myself moving through the genres because it is inspiring. Whenever I find myself changing my opinion, there seem to be an energy there that sparks excitement.”
