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Illuminations on CD

It seems no one knew what to expect when Josh Groban teamed with super-producer Rick Rubin for the singer's fifth album, ILLUMINATIONS - least of all Groban and Rubin. Fittingly, the results both defy and exceed any possible expectations as each of the collaborators stepped out of his zone and together created an entirely new zone, one where folk meets classical, where art meets intimacy, where immediacy meets timelessness and where, most importantly, Groban was free to express himself more fully, more truly than ever before. Groban teamed with singer/songwriter Dan Wilson (former leader of Semi sonic) on most of the songs. Most of the recordings were done live in a casual setting with Groban playing piano and singing alongside acoustic guitarists Matt Sweeney and Smokey Hormel and, one some songs, iconic organist Spooner Oldham. From those sessions, orchestrations were crafted by David Campbell for nine songs and James Newton-Howard for two, while Brazilian great Carlinhos Brown created the dynamic setting for "Voce Existe Em Mim (You Exist in Me)" in his Bahia home, including the power of an all-girl drum corps - the only drums on the album. ILLUMINATIONS features the single "Hidden Away".