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JUST FEELS RIGHT TRACK LISTING
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| Once again, (fortunately) I find myself staring at a blank
computer screen with the intention of completing my final creative piece
of work for the new CD. As I try to stream my thoughts into the kudos
due to a large number of people, a wide range of images are coming into
my head. Trying to put into words what took place over the last 1-1/2
years to get to this point in the album is probably harder than making
it (I guess not really, but it is hard). I started conceptualizing JUST
FEELS RIGHT even before LIVIN' LARGE met its street
date in March, 2004, but the real focus started some 28 years earlier. After I delivered LIVIN' LARGE to Narada Jazz, I immediately started thinking of what to do next. I thought first and foremost as a fan of music. What were my favorite CDs (or records,or 8 tracks,or cassettes) of all time? And most importantly, why? The "what" was fairly easy, the "why", not so. One common thread for me was the year 1976. Everything that was on my all-time list hit on or about 1976. Coincidentally, or not so, 1976 was also the first year I entered high school. 1976 had our nation's attention and energy much like 2000 did a few years ago. We were all energized by the bicentennial much like we were energized by the millennium. However, I don't remember 1976 laden with fear like Y2K was. I don't remember my parents hoarding food, water, and money for the impending doom the media predicted with such certainty. I do remember Red, White and Blue everywhere. The Summer Of Love was indeed that. Love! Yes, the year that brought "Skyrockets in flight, whoooooooo, Afternoon Delight", had George Benson topping the album charts, instrumentals like "A Fifth of Beethoven," "Movin'," "Nadia's Theme", and "Tangerine," topping the radio charts along side the funk of The Brothers Johnson's "I'll Be Good To You," Chaka's "Sweet Thing," Hall and Oates' "Sara Smile" and the Bee Gees "Love So Right." The movie Rocky, a true American hero story, was a summer smash, and Bruce Conti's instrumental theme was nominated for an Academy Award. It was the ultimate year in "Feel Good" and innocence. I couldn't think of a better model to start with. Armed with a stack of 45s, my old record player and my iPod (after all, it was 2004 at this point, and I had sold my 8-track player back with my '69 Cougar), I set out to find the why. I let my hair grow, got some bell-bottoms, watched Boogie Nights (only up until 1980 hits, then it's too depressing), and submerged myself in that "Just Feels Right" time once again. For months and months, I studied the song structure, the chordal structure, the arrangements, and the performance attitude of my favorite tunes. I asked the same question that everyone does: "Why did those albums sound so good then and still sound so great today?" The conclusion led me to this album's concept: (1) Write songs that could be played on the sax, with only piano or guitar backing; (2) Arrange the songs using only "real" instruments (piano, rhodes, wurly, bass, guitar, real drums, real strings, analogue synths), no samplers or computers allowed; (3) Record the album using only gear made on or before 1976. With these guidelines in mind, I sat down and got started with the writing. I locked myself in my studio to come up with some ideas to try out, and ended up writing the whole album before coming up for air. Before I new it, the music was written. I think narrowing the concept down to a few basic principles focused my efforts like never before. Next was playing the demos and selling the concept to Narada Jazz and to my co-producer Paul Brown. I think Paul was sold over the phone. We came from pretty much the same era and share the same affections for the music. Paul did a great job of putting my fearful mind at ease quickly. Remember, it is 2005, not 1976. Fear,fear,fear. We're all so damn afraid of making mistakes that we don't take any chances anymore (fear and creativity cannot live in the same room). I voiced my concern of going too far with this concept and not having the music relevant to today. I'll never forget Paul's comeback, "We're both way too paranoid to ever let that happen." Narada Jazz was relieved that it still sounded like "Euge" and told us to "groove on" (How very '76 of them). With all the songs written, it was now time to figure out who the players would be, who would do the string arrangements, which studio would we record at,and how we would possibly pay for all of this. We put down a "wish list" of musicians and Paul made some calls. To my surprise, we got our "first call" list. The section of sections. "The Cats." James Gadson on drums, Freddie Washington on bass, Clarence McDonald on keys, Ray Parker, Jr. and David T. Walker on guitar, and Lenny Castro on percussion. I'm not sure how, but my personal dream team was on board. Collectively, these guys have forgotten more about making hit songs than I've ever hoped to learn in my lifetime. The first tracking date started with a lot of anxiety on my part. Am I doing the right thing? Are the songs good enough? Are these guys going to even show up? My fears were quickly put to rest. One by one, everyone came into Sunset Sound Studios (they haven't changed a thing there since 1976 - thank God!!), and the love fest started. The hugs and high fives were flying everywhere. I don't think I could have anticipated what this reunion could have looked and felt like. These were guys that went from session to session together for nearly a decade some 30 years earlier. An era of studio musicians that may never be again. It was great to see everyone hugging and reminiscing. As I was saying my "hellos" and "thanks for coming," the resounding response was "We're just happy to make records this way again." We had two wonderful days of tracking. The guys astounded me and exceeded my expectations in every way. The character that each individual brought to this project is still being discovered on my part. Every time I listen I find something new. As an added note, on the very first day of tracking, the company who made the analogue tape that we were recording to (remember,nothing made after 1976) filed bankruptcy papers and announced it would no longer be making the tape.Yet another era, analogue recording, seems to be over. Even though this was the rhythm section for only 8 of the 11 songs, their presence was felt throughout. Anytime we would cut something else, we would always refer back to those tracking days. How it was done, the vibe it gave off, even the jokes they would crack. I remember one instance in particular. It was when Clarence was laying the B3 solo on 12:08AM. Paul asked him to come in a little earlier on the solo, and Clarence's response was "I don't want it to seem like I've never played this before and rush right in, I wanna take my time." "Relax" was the theme of the day and of the remaining sessions. Some of the most vibe revealing moments come from the three very candid snippet tracks inserted throughout the disc. These were taken from moments at the end of the songs where the band probably thought we had stopped rolling, but they continued on. These moments really take me back to the session days and they had to stay on the disc. We also let the songs run long to let these guys jam out. Right after we finished the live tracking, I went on the road for 2-1/2 months. This was a blessing in many ways. It gave me a chance to really kick back and understand what just went down. It really solidified the reason for even approaching the album this way. When I finally got back to finish, things came together quickly. Clarence McDonald was going to do the string arrangements and conduct the orchestra as well. I was totally in love with the sound of the arrangements on the Bill Withers' MENAGERIE album (OK, it was released in '77, but they must have recorded it in '76). Clarence, to my enlightenment, had done those arrangements. It was the first time I had cut with live strings and I hope to never do it any other way again. We were going for that "smaller section" kind of sound. I had always liked the intimacy of the strings on those '70s recordings. Rounding out the CD are performances by certified legends Michael White on drums, Tony Maiden on guitar, and Roberto Valley on bass. And then there are very exciting solo performances by Paul Brown and Peter White. Paul even made a comment that on one song, he solos for about 2 minutes at the end, but what did I think? I said,"It's great isn't it?" I think the extra guitar time gives everyone a little break from the horn. What can be said about Peter? He plays two notes, and you know it's him. He is truly "for real." For just the right touch, we brought in my long time friend Michael Egizi with his vintage Arp Omni II string ensemble. No '70s record would be complete without one (he has the most amazing vintage synth room/museum I have ever seen). Now came the time to mix. We brought the legendary (the phrase "genius" was also used quite often) mixer Bill Schnee in to keep everything in that timeless mode that he is so great at. He was very excited to be working on a project with these players again, and one that was recorded in the old school way. Even Bill, one of the most analogue engineers around, said he hadn't had his analogue tape machines on in years. It was quite shocking to hear that this was his assistant's very first time working with analogue tape. Boy, did that really make me feel vintage. The final challenge came in taking these analogue recordings into the digital world. Remember, CDs didn't come in until the '80s. Robert Hadley at Doug Sax's Mastering Lab turned this stuff into an amazingly analogue sounding CD reference. The volume and presence he gave it in this final step is astounding, and makes it fit into 2005 with class. (It made me not miss my 8-track so much. I do however, still miss the car). So there you have it. A "hybrid," as Paul Brown referred to it, of 1976. In the end, we remained 90 percent true to the made-before-'76 rule. We weren't afraid to go modern if the tune needed it. There are some samples here and there, some computers here and there, but the outcome is pure Summer Of Love, which, by the way, was really given to the summer of '67, not '76. But, I think '76 was my personal Summer of Innocence and I liked going back. A little more love and a lot less fear is a good thing. Groove on y'all, groove on! |
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