“Breathless” by Dan Wilson

"Breathless" comes from Free Life, the solo debut that Semisonic frontman Dan Wilson put out on American Recordings in October 2007. He made the album with Rick Rubin, splitting the sessions between Minneapolis and Los Angeles, and he wrote this one entirely on his own, words and music.

Wilson handles bass, guitar and piano himself and hands the rest to a tight studio cast: Eric Fawcett on drums, John Hermanson on acoustic guitar, Gary Louris on electric, JoAnna James on backing vocals. A vibraphone and Jacqueline Ferrier Ultan's cello shade the corners, and the result is hushed, finely carved grown-up pop, the kind of careful songcraft that helped Free Life build Wilson's reputation as a songwriter.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.