Great producers

I’d love to work in music – if I did I’d be a producer. Not the techie guy, but to know what sounds right, to hear what works and what doesn’t work. Great producers can make or break an artist. I lived in the US ten years and there are many country music radio stations there, and it is very popular with many big name artists such as Lorretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and more. We drove through Nashville one time with some American friends and it is full of those tiny small dark wooden bars.. I used to feel though that the country songs were over-processed with far too many fiddly-guitars and overblown-strings which only distracted from the songs themselves and from the voice.  After all it is the voice that is the main thing in the country songs.  

Along came Rick Rubin and he stripped Johnny Cash for his later albums (and later Neil Diamond too) - so that his large booming voice held centre stage. Rubin wanted Cash's voice to sing off the notes. Rubin is one of the worlds top producers and views himself as the editor or coach. He doesn’t spend months in the studio and he simply leaves notes on the work. ‘Great songs need little enhancing.’ says Rubin. He is also co-Chairman Columbia Records.

Rubin's Zen approach has led to some career best work and records that sound like they were made by ‘flesh and blood human beings.’ ‘I think the fact that I’m coming at it from this pure place… it’s not a commercial goal, it’s in the service of the artist.’ ‘If you’re always aiming at commercial success you miss some of the good ones. Ninety percent of my success has been with things I didn’t know would be successful.’

He works to bring out the character of the artist. Rubin noted that Cash was ‘soulful, deep serious, very charismatic.’ Rubin instructed Cash to come sit in his living room with a guitar and two microphones and to just sing. ‘My fondest memories are hanging out and hearing his stories, If you drew him out he seemed to know everything. He was shy and quiet, but a wise, wise man.'

I heard Keith Richards talk about recording in the 60s, 'These technicians in blue coats would tell the Stones that recorded music must be recorded in a certain way. He said, no – we don’t want no rules.’ They had been listening to the black blues singers whose music is about challenging improvising dynamic rhythms, and more about the moods and heart  - than about rules.

Some other Great Labels. Another great producer was Sam Phillips at 'Sun Records' (Elvis), and John Hammond who discovered Bob Dylan before he had even started to write.  'Rounder Records' who signed Allison Krauss when she was fairly young, and who produce music they love in the first instance. Rounder is one of the biggest American independent record labels. Scottish band Biffy Clyro noted, 'Record Labels? I think we do still need them - there still needs to be an element of quality control.There are still certain labels you can trust - XL, 4AD, Sub Pop. You can trust music on those labels to be good.'

The Vocal:  With the folk song the vocal should sit centre stage with space around it and with the backing surrounding it in a subtle way.  For me the vocals needs minimal backing that compliments rather than overpowers. I prefer when the voice soars freely. The vocal is the key element and it is what we latch on to in the song, as compared to say an orchestral piece, or brass band where we latch on to the flutes or violins. On the recorded song I want to hear the vocal flying in free space, with the bass or rhythm supporting in a subtle complementing way similar to the faded or out-of-focus backdrop to a portrait painting where the subject (or voice) is the strongly defined focus. I don't want a melodic song, where the focus is the words, voice and tune to be lost by the thumping bass or crashing drums - that then becomes like a war painting where there are thousands of figures and they are all in strong highlights colours competing with one and other. This makes me think of Mozart's Sonatas - they are in 3 sections normally - Intro; softer; louder and finish. There is usually a thread or melody running through the entire work with the bass rhythms providing a quiet backing  - except of course when Mozart takes us crashing up from those moving depths of his!  

Quote Rubins - 'Take off your marketing hat and include the songs that you are passionate about. '