Sexsmith plots Exit Strategy

A lot of people are afraid to fly, but that phobia is especially problematic if you also happen to be a popular musician. “I’m not too big on flying,” says veteran singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith. “Actually, every time I have to get on a plane I get terrified.”

So when the guitarist was offered a free trip to Cuba to record with some of the country’s best horn players, he almost said no. “That was the only thing that got in the way,” he says over the phone from his Toronto home.

Luckily, Sexsmith made the five-day trek, which was paid for by Martin Terefe, the producer of the artist’s new record Exit Strategy For The Soul, and recorded the song Brighter Still with Alexander Abreu and other well-known Cuban musicians. “They have the best horn players down there,” says Sexsmith, “so I thought it would be a good experience for me.”

Although Sexsmith says he spent most of his time in Cuba drinking and walking to the studio, he still managed to create an upbeat, yet soothing track that has, expectedly, some of the best musicianship that’s ever graced one of his records.

And that’s saying a lot. Exit is the artist’s 11th album — his first release was a cassette in 1985. In that time Sexsmith has befriended Elton John, Elvis Costello, Chris Martin and other legendary musicians and made a name for himself around the world, though he’s still not financially successful enough to tour exactly the way he’d like. “It would be great to bring out a horn section,” he says. “But sometimes I can’t afford to put on the show I want to.”
Another thing he’d like to do, but can’t, is bring Leslie Feist on stage to sing Brandy Alexander, a song they co-wrote and which appears on Sexsmith’s new record and Feist’s smash hit The Reminder. That, however, isn’t because of a lack of dough — Feist is just too busy these days.

He tried to get the Grammy-nominated chanteuse to sing a gospel backing track on the song, but no such luck. “I wrote that part for her to sing, but she’s so swamped now, I couldn’t get a response if she’d do it.” Not that it mattered in the end: Erin Moran, also known as A Girl Called Eddy, filled in nicely.

Thanks to Feist’s minimalist rendition, Brandy Alexander will be the most recognizable tune on the record, but there are plenty of other gems on this calm, catchy disc. Song One Last Round is a relatively rollicking tune about global warming, while Thoughts And Prayers is maybe the sweetest song on the album. 

Now that Sexsmith has recorded in Cuba, there can’t be anything more that he’d want out of his career, right?

“Well, I’ve always wanted to make a covers album,” he says.

“But I’m already writing songs for my next record. So it’s still on my to-do list.”