“How many tracks does this thing got?”
I love Waylon Jennings. I always have. But I haven’t always liked his production. I didn’t know what it was about until I saw this video one day surfing YouTube. After watching it several times, I discovered exactly what it is about a lot of production I do not like, including some of my own, unfortunately. But we move on.
Waylon Jennings had a belligerent sound that strikes you like a bell. He’s not sneaky. Or is he? It’s hard to tell with 600 things with effects going on. Listen to his records and you’ll discover the talent is drowned out by flash or unnecessary arrangement.
What are we trying for? (It’s good to suss that out.)
When I’m involved on a project these days, I find myself saying to myself, “we aren’t going to make chicken salad out of chicken shit.” One thing I mean by that is adding so much to it, there’s no air or space. It’s become something different than what it was starting out, not just a clean version of it.
The other thing I mean by that phrase is about performance. That’s probably tomorrow. I say that phrase a lot in my line of work.
Today, my process is different. I’m still not opposed to big production, but I don’t like it anymore on small songs. My job is often to use as little as possible, not the other way around. This happened instantly, when I saw the Waylon Jennings video.
(Solo acoustic performance from Cowboy Jack Clement’s TV show)
My way of looking at things changed after realizing what this video is teaching. Thanks, Waylon.
That “honest” word comes up a lot.
If you’re teetering on decisions I hope you listen to the song in your head and go for that. It might be a lot. But for me, it’s usually not much. Instead of dressing it up like I used to do, I try to hear what the song itself is. The kinds of songs I’m rehearsing at the moment don’t need “studio magic.” They need “practice.”
I like studio magic as much as the next guy. But I like it to serve the song itself, not the producer, not even really the artist. I’ve come to rely on my honest vision for the song and then THAT serves the artist, not vice versa.
Drop me a line..
If you write songs or make music somehow, feel free to email anytime if you ever want to talk. Thanks.
A song before I go.
I worked with not one but two producers that kick major ass on this tune. bkbirge on the instrument/recording side and Adam Whittaker on the mixing side. Felt good. I love those guys. They get the whole “song” thing. Hell, they probably taught it to me, along with Waylon Jennings.
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