Forgotten Genre Productions

 July 15, 2009

Tom Petty  Wildflowers

 This album was released in 1994 and recorded in 1993 This was another solo album from Tom Petty although most of the Heartbreakers made appearances on this album. Benmont Tench sat in on keys, Howie Epstein played bass and of course Mike Campbell played guitar and added writing and production duties. The most significant change was the loss of Stan Lynch on the drums. He started the sessions with Mary Janes Last Dance but took himself out of the game by being hard to work with. This is a fact that I find interesting about the history of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch for that matter, which was the band before Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Tom Petty was always reaching. He was always striving to make the best songs and albums he could. He never tied himself down to one way of working or one producer or one studio for that matter. Stan Lynch was a live drummer his idea of recording drums was to go in the studio and track everything live with the band pretty much like a live performance and be done with it. He wasn’t very flexible in the studio. As recording practices changed in the 80’s he struggled to work in that environment. When Tom worked with Jeff Lynne on the Full Moon Fever album and Into The Great Wide Open Album, Jeff liked to track things separately and build sounds from the ground up with out everyone playing together. Stan hated this and didn’t have the patience for it. Also Tom was growing in his writing and not all the songs were rockers Stan was bored and didn’t like some of Tom’s new songs. Stan basically got fed up and stepped aside to some extent. As the crew were auditioning replacements for the studio things were not clicking until Steve Ferrone came in. Steve basically nailed everything they through at him. His muscular in the pocket playing was perfect for Tom. At one point Rick Rubin was unhappy with the cymbal wash in the room. (They had been using a lot of room mics for the room and the cymbals were a little too much. ) Steve suggested playing through the track with out the cymbals and then coming in and overdubbing them in later. This was exactly the kind of mentality that they wanted in the studio. It didn’t seem like Stan Lynch had that kind of mentality. Rick Rubin was another interesting addition to the team for this record. Tom had just left his old record company and this was the first record with Warner Bros. Rick Rubin came in to produce. This might have seemed strange because Rick did a lot of hip hop and hard rock stuff. The thing that I find interesting about Rick Rubin is he has a knack for getting the essence of the artist recorded He allows them to do there thing but in a very organic thing. He was able to do it with Johnny Cash’s  last couple of albums , (of which, Unchained ,the Heartbreakers played on.) This is what Tom Petty needed at this time. He was coming off 2 overly produced albums from Jeff Lynne he needed that organic approach. When I first got this album in 94, I believe I had the cassette, I thought it was Tom’s acoustic album although their are some rockers that I love on it. Which brings us to Mike Campbell. He is the unsung hero of Tom Petty. Mike played on every album that Tom Petty recorded. There was a reason for that. Mike had the same desire for excellence and growth that Tom had. Tom learned a lot from Mike as far as how to play guitar and Mike was the king of the hook. He always played tastefully and did not push his way to the spotlight. He was content to support the song with whatever the song needed. Whether it was acoustic guitar or a very little guitar. Mike never overplayed or was overly flashy but he was a phenomenal guitar player. Listen to the riff in Honey Bee or You Wreck Me. This album is so laid back and mellow but still rocking. It is a solid album full of great song writing and great tones. There are very few albums these days that have this level of honesty and sonic awareness. Pick it up.

March 12, 2008

U2′  No Line On The Horizon

 Ok How do I start here? First of all let me start by saying I love U2. Let me clarify, I do not worship U2 I do not fawn upon them at every chance. However I do recognize their significant contribution to popular music and music making in general. Music, in my opinion should move you. It should grab your emotions and transport you to a different place. Bono is able to unashamably wear his passion on his sleeve and is not afraid to let that passion and conviction ring out larger than life. I like that. Then their is the Edge. As a guitar player myself of questionable abilities but infinite interest. I recognize the Edge’s contribution to guitar and how his simple lines are majestic. In one sentance that many guitar players could learn from; The Edge does not overplay. Then you have Larry Mullen Jr. and his solid rhythmic pounding. Adam Clayton gets little respect for his simple bass playing but the reality of it is he is skilled in staying out of the way so it all works. I will say that Adam made some serious contributions to this album particularly in my favorite song Moment of Surrender.

Ok here is the meat of it for me. This is a good album. In fact it is a great album. There are a couple things that bug me about peoples reactions to the album. First off to the music snobs that love to hate U2, Get Over It!! They are a historic band like it or not. Then there are those that feel a need to compare the album to another album as if it validates the album. Oh this is there Achtung Baby or this is there Zoo Oprah or I was really hoping for another Joshua Tree. This is U2’s No Line On The Horizon people. This is where U2 was at in 2007-2009 That’s what I love about the album. It is different in some spots and has the familiar thread at the same time. No Line is a credible musical offering. I don’t need it to be U2’s best album ever. I just need it to not suck. Mission accomplished. I am also cautious of those who are always looking for some secret spiritual thread in U2 to prove to the world that U2 are Christians. Possibly to validate the train wreck that is Christian Rock. This is a whole different post that I don’t have the time or energy to get into. The reality is I do not know the spiritual state of U2 and I won’t untill I get to Heaven. There is a good chance when I get to Heaven it won’t be the first thing on my list to check on. I do think there is a fair amount of spiritual imagery in this album that will cause those who love the saviour to think. I would not be looking for any secret keys to unlock hidden doors to spiritual enlightonment though. I think the actual words of God are much more suited for that.

It’s a great album. I love the influence of Lanois and Eno. Lanois is one of my favorites. Stand outs for me are Moment of Surrender, White as Snow, Breathe and Cedars. For a great track by track break down by Daniel Lanois check out this link. My old friend Mark Hollingsworth also wrote a facinating note on the spiritual threads from No Line on Facebook if you can find it it’ worth reading. Only time will tell of this records significance. on March 12th 2009 I like it.

January 11, 2008

Emmy Lou Harris’   Wrecking Ball

 This album is definately one of my favorites of all time. It was produced by Daniel Lanois, who as many of you know , is one of my favorite producers. This album was recorded in his New Orleans days in Kingsway studios with some sessions in Nashville. Lanois at the time was working with Mark Howard and Malcolm Burn who had a stamp on this record also. This is another one of those albums that you can get lost in. The tones are so deep and full and timeless. Lanois has this way of getting these sonic moments but retaining an organicness that I have been trying to achieve for years. Lanois uses a ton of reverb and delay and yet it is not thin or meretricious sounding. The song Wrecking Ball has such a haunting beauty to it from the first sounds you hear. Then with that impassioned drumming from Larry Mullen Jr. from U2, it is seminole. There is so much space. This is one thing young artists struggle with and I should say, young producers struggle with. It is tempting to fill a song with different elements, but before you know it, the song is so full ,it chokes the life out of it. With Wrecking Ball there are layers and layers of tones but there is so much space. This is Lanois and what I love. Other standout’s are the Lucinda Williams penned Sweet Old World and All My Tears which was written by Julie Miller. Personnel on this album were as I mentioned Larry Mullen Jr. on drums with Brian Blade filling in for a song, Daryl Johnson who played bass and provided some lush harmony vocals. Tony Hall also played bass. Malcolm burn played some keys Daniel of course was everywhere with guitar,mandolin, bass, dulcimer, vocals. There was also cameo’s by Neil Young, Lucinda Williams, and Steve Earle. This brings me to an important point about the way Daniel Lanios Records and Produces. Anyone that shows up is a possible player or collaborater. Daniel likes to keep all the instruments set up and mic’ed at all times. If someone has a cool part, it stays. If the drummer wants to play around on a guitar or a keyboard that’s cool. If the guitar player has a cool percussion part It could end up being on the final. I also enjoy this energy and although space does not always allow me to keep everything mic’ed and ready, that mentality is the way I like to work.

 Please get this album and study it. But first, of course, enjoy it.

December 28, 2007

When I was touring with a band named The Waiting back in 1997 their bass player Clark Leake who was an incredible guy and a great bass player was a big fan of Van Morrison. The only song I was familiar with was Brown Eyed Girl so I did not see what all the fuss was about. Clark was from Tupelo Mississippi so at some point I purchased The Tupelo Honey Album and I started to get it. Later I was on the road with Sixpence none the Richer and Sarah Mason was out with them she was talking about this Album Healing Game. I decided to give it a try and it totally blew me away. Van always has that Haunted Beauty that I love. His stuff is never hip and he never try’s to do anything other than make timeless music. You could listen to this album in 1963 or 2023 and it would sound timeless. It is a mixture of Jazz, Soul and Gospel that gets into your bones and just warms you and causes your head to bobble in mellow syncopation. Brian Kennedy sings back up and his tenor is so memorable. Georgie Fame on Organ , Pee-wee Ellis on Sax and a host of other players are able to lock in and just groove this whole album. It is well worth finding if you do not have it and if you do have it, get your Headphones out and sit in your easy chair and close your eyes.

Songs to Look For:

This Weight[Track 3]

This song always hypnotises me. I especially love at the end of the song how they had Van, Brian, and Georgie continue to harmonize on this weight and then they muted the music tracks leaving just the vocals. Priceless.