Brace yourself for the final thirty minutes which I've summed up in this final blog post. Here goes …
Green Cross Code: Stop, Look, Listen
Getting the perfect take requires patience, but it helps if you're watching and listening to the takes. Some musicians might make a face or are noticeably disappointed with the way they've played. This might inform you of what they want to be re-recorded. Snyder says, however, that if you were happy with the take, sometimes you need to calm the player's worries and say, 'That was great, it was full of energy, we don't need to do that again' (my paraphrase … ).
Art and Commerce
'You always have to balance the idea of art and commerce.'. Snyder stresses the importance, as producer, of both making sure that the album is musically authentic while ensuring that it pleases the 'suits' and brings in some cash.
On Recording Etta James (Topical!)
He recounts his tale of recording Etta James in six hours because of a piano that wasn't up to the job – he canceled a day of recording in order to sort the piano out, putting pressure on the next day's schedule. The album was James's first jazzy album after years of soul: Mystery Lady, which is an album of slow Billie Holiday ballads.
Finally, the Traits of a Good Producer
You have to have a love for it, for the music, and its history.
You have to have a respect for the outcome and an understanding of the impact of the record on people that you will never meet.
A whole bag of other things: humility, patience, musicality, business, an ability to make sure something gets finished, a great attention to detail …
Thanks for reading. Tomorrow I'll be posting some sax-related stuff.
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