This one went down pretty easily. I wrote in alternate tuning (Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” tuning: CGCFCE), and I believe I used the Guild D4. Single guitar pass and vocal, one take for each, with a fix or two. Rich is such a great engineer that these tasks are never a problem. Having engineered myself many times, it can become a mighty struggle. Rich put down a hypnotic little percussion loop, then bass. Although it’s fun to play bass on my own tracks, I love giving it over to Rich, he really is a tasteful and technically perfect player himself.
Joel Martin laid down his pedal steel pass on the same day as his work on Time to Wake Up and Eyes of a Killer. He had never heard this song, but sussed it out quickly and brought it to whole new level. I was worried about the ratio of “down” to “up” songs on the album and this was the first down in the sequence. I think we struck a pretty good balance.
Rich’s studio “White Room” is on the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Cahuenga, a few stories up. When you are in the vocal room, you are overlooking Hotel Cafe, Popeye’s Fried Chicken and a Pizza Joint. Some interesting transactions and interactions are going on out there, but I don’t find it distracting. I love that Rich and Richard Furch leave the windows open. It feels like a really safe and protected environment to do vocals in.
Next post: I Lost It.
