In 1993 James were invited on an acoustic tour of the US supporting Neil Young at a series of natural outdoor venues in the autumn. They returned to England refreshed and ready to record their new album with Brian Eno, whom they had originally approached to produce "Stutter" but who had been unavailable at the time. Eno set about bringing out the ambience in James' music, and took them through a recording process that the band later described as a "journey of self-discovery". The process resulted in not one but two albums: the "song" album "Laid" and the experimental "Wah Wah", which showcased the band's improvised jams recorded on the spot then mixed by Eno. Booth's vocals were then added to the results.