Producing - The Producer's Job

I was at the Toby & Nita Roodman House Concert Celebration this weekend in Morgan Hill. It was both a concert and a party. Lots of artists, presenters, audients and enthusiasts. At one point I was talking to a singer named Claudia Russell and we got to talking about producing and my production of the last Hamilton Camp album. Claudia sang with the Camptown Family Band at their old theatre over on Heliotrope Ave in Los Angeles. For those of you unfamiliar with the band, it was put together by Hamilton Camp (who was a founding member of the Committee in San Francisco; Bob Gibson’s partner in Gibson & Camp; well known film actor in such films as The Jerk and Heaven Can Wait; composer of the hit song, Pride of Man, recorded by Gordon Lightfoot and Quicksilver Messenger Service; and a fine singer songwriter in his own right).

Hamilton had a hit album on Elektra in the 60’s called Gibson & Camp at the Gate of Horn. Simon & Garfunkel emulated them and Judy Collins opened for them. Hamilton had made albums every couple of years since then, including one hit song in the early sixties, the title of which escapes me.

I met him when we were both booked at the Earl of Old Town in Chicago in the early seventies. He was in a band called the Skymonters with Lewis Ross and Lewis Arquette (son of Cliff Arquette and father of David, Roseanna and Patricia Arquette) and I was just me, solo.

We hit it off and became life long friends. He and his family and friends were big supporters of my work in the early days and you never forget a thing like that.

He came to me about two years ago and invited me to produce him. At the time, he was almost seventy and had made an album a few years prior to our reconnection that didn’t resonate for me. Consequently, I didn’t know whether I could help him or not.

My feeling about production is simple. Serve the artist, the artistic vision and the song. If I don’t think I can do that, then I won’t produce that person, no matter what the offered fee.

Hamilton came over shortly after our phone conversation and proceeded to show me a few songs that he had in mind. Once he started singing and playing, I knew that I wanted to do the project. He was playing and singing better than he ever had…and he was almost seventy. Amazing. And for me, inspirational. Seventy years old and he had been practicing. Not sitting on his laurels, not a mere shadow of his former self. A fully functioning artist. Like I said, inspirational.

After his second song, I said. Stop, just go into the sound booth and let’s start recording. What I decided to do, upon recognizing that Hamilton had a vision and was prepared as an artist and as a musician, was record him live. Doing exactly what he does and then only bringing in other musicians to serve what we had recorded. I wanted what he had done to be complete because he clearly had a vision I thought that if we rehearsed with other musicians, their input would change what he had created. And I wanted what he had done, on his own. This is not to say that it isn’t wonderful and sometimes necessary to rehearse with a band before you record. I’m talking about what we wanted to have happen in this particular instance. We put down all the songs and then listened to them and discussed what he wanted to have happen.

I am not a fan of the producer being God, or having a sound that is imposed on every artist that the producer works with. I like the idea of contributing to and helping to realize what needs to be done to make the recording successful. And by successful, I mean listenable on a repeated basis, artistic and true to the artist that created it. I’ve made twenty three albums of my own music and don’t need to glom opinions onto someone elses work.

Initially, we agreed that we didn’t want a full drum set on this recording. It was a tribute to his late wife and he wanted it to be intimate, which to me suggested small ensembles or even just a bass added to his vocal, guitar and harmonica. I ended up playing a lot of light percussion on it.

As we listened, one of us would make a suggestion, such as, wouldn’t slide guitar be great here? Or how about some aggressive acoustic lead here. We called in Ken Lyon to play fretless bass, and then began the subtle sweetening. To my amazement and delight, Hamilton wanted me to play the lead guitar. While I like my playing and my choices, I always try to find someone that I think is not only musically resonant with my work, but better than I am. The people that have played lead guitar on my CD’s include Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Marc McClure, Laurence Juber, Paul Barerre, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, and Ken Lyon. All remarkable lead guitar players. And I knew that I could persuade some of those folks to play for Hamilton. But Hamilton was adamant that I play acoustic lead. Although we did have Paul Barerre play some wonderful slide guitar on several cuts. I am delighted with the results and appreciative of Hamilton’s belief in my playing.

But to return to what this is really about, I wanted to serve each song. Several of the songs I served by not playing on it, or by not using what we had recorded. It’s important to listen to what the artist has done. Anything that doesn’t make that better, more accessible or somehow distracts from what the artist is doing is erased. Even if it’s some lick that you think is brilliant, it must serve the recording, the song and the artist. If it doesn’t make it better, it goes, (tho I recommend recording it somewhere. If it’s really good, save it. You never know).

And we also listened to several of our favorite recordings in that ilk as we approached the mixing stage. We wanted simplicity and we wanted intimacy and we wanted truth. Hamilton achieved all three and my job was to be as transparent as I could be to the process. All who have heard Sweet Joy by Hamilton Camp agree that it is one of if not the finest recording of his career.

Two days after we completed the project, Hamilton Camp passed away. But he was immensely proud of this recording and I was honored to be part of it. When you listen, notice how much I’m not in the way.

So in my estimation, the producer’s job is to help you realize your vision and sometimes to help you recognize it so that you can realize it. But ultimately, a producer’s job is to serve: the artist; the vision; the song.

Comments

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