I had always heard, believed and taught that record production starts with the song. But I'd never understood it at such a real level as I did this last month, in the studio, recording my new CD, which I had been writing for nearly five years. Nik Venet, my producer, is a champion of the song and his every move in a recording session is to protect and project the song and its content.
Early in the sessions, Shel Talmy, who was recording next door, came in to talk to Nik Venet. He told the story of how Venet helped him get the attention that later led him to produce The Who and David Bowie. He also mentioned the article that listed Shel and Nik as two of the last hands-on record producers who see the big picture, who are not simply engineers, players, or overseers, but song people who see the entire album as a piece of clay and follow it to a complete sculpture. How this is done became clearer to me during the weeks that followed.
When the musicians arrived, Nik Venet explained to them the concept of the album and passed out lyric sheets along with separate chord charts. By the time I walked back from getting tea, they were ready to listen to the songs. They were aware it was not simply a chord chart session, that the entire song was being played---even the lyric. I would play and sing the song at the piano and they would listen and follow the chart. Then we would rehearse it on tape. By the third or fourth take, and sometimes sooner, these legendary players, some of whose work I've adored for decades, were creating takes. Having played alone for a number of years, writing, performing and even recording, I was transported hearing the parts they came up with.
In one particular case, on the song, "Chinese Boxes," I heard some rather amazing things coming from Abe Leboriel's bass. On playback, I realized that not only had he captured the darkness of the mood, but he also added Oriental overtones. "I'm playing the lyric," he said in his inimitable manner and accent. Without exception, the other consummate musicians (Dean Parks, Craig Stull and Tim May, and Dennis Budemier on guitar and Jim Hugart, alternating with Abe Leboriel, on bass) all commented on the content of the songs, the melodies and the lyrics. And the playing reflected their understanding of what the songs were about. So my fear that a group of triple-scale musicians were going to get together and read chord charts, with no attention to the lyric and melody content of the songs themselves, was totally unfounded. By the time the basic tracking sessions were over, the songs had all been discussed in detail. And I had the best tracks of my career.
A real producer is like the director of a film. He or she gets the script as perfect as possible before shooting and casts the supporting players (musicians, singers). Similarly, Nik Venet, worked with me on getting the songs written for the last four and a half years. Right after we finished the "American Romance" album, I started writing the songs for the "Rosebud" CD. More than once, I would receive a phone call at some ungodly hour, and I would hear Venet's voice or read a fax from him telling me to read something, watch something, do something. In each case, it would lead to a new awareness which frequently led to a song. This collection of work is not just one angst ridden entreaty after another (as some of my earlier albums sound to me now). There are songs about Marlene Deitrich, Frida Kahlo, references to two films ("Citizen Kane"and "Casablanca"), two books (The Snowgoose and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn) rodeo riders and the 90-year-old couple who lives upstairs in my duplex. And, in place of angst-ridden entreaties, Venet challenged me to turn the flashlight on the darkest corners, to stop complaining and start revealing. I believe I did that.
So I feel as if I've come full circle. The very thing I've been teaching has been taught to me. The song is what it all starts with. My vocal and keyboard performance came from the song. The musicians' playing came from the song. The background vocalists sang the songs. Since they were all songwriters in their own rights, they really got into the songs: Gary Floyd, Jenifer Freebairn, Jannel Rap, Corwyn Travers, Scott Wilson and a duet with Steve Schalchlin. And last but certainly not least, the producer known for not leaving a fingerprint did everything necessary to stay out of the way of the song and make sure everyone else did. He showed off the song through what was not done as much as by what was.
I can hardly wait until next week. I never dreamed when I heard "Ode To Billy Joe" and " Bridge Over Troubled Waters," I'd have strings by Jimmie Haskell. But Nik Venet has asked Jimmie to arrange strings on hundreds of albums and promised me when we made "Rosebud," there would be Jimmie Haskell string arrangements. At a time when lyrics and melody are once again becoming as important as poetry, film and visual art, what could be better than being a songwriter?
© 1997 Harriet Schock
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