I Want You (She's So Heavy)

The title refers to the divisive Lennon song on the Beatles Abbey Road album. People either love it-I'm one of them-or hate it. Lyrically, there's not much to it; it being another paean to Yoko, and the three plus coda did not endear itself to many critics, but I digress.

I bring this up mostly because albums like Abbey Road were instrumental in how I learned to hear music and why I record and arrange my songs the way I do. The Beatles are acknowledged innovators in how they approached recording and arranging. You can hear their influence throughout the music of the 60's and 70's. Everyone who gushes about the sound of records from that era-I'm talking the vinyl crowd here-owe a debt of gratitude to George Martin and the Beatles!
When I listen to a song, I listen to more than the melody and lyrics. I listen to what instruments are used, how they're set up, how the signal is modified, where they are in the mix, how their panned-where you hear them left to right-and the dynamics of the production.
Abbey Road, the last Beatle album, is a recording artist's dream.
Whatever you think of the songs themselves, whether you like or dislike Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Octopus' Garden, or I want You (She's So Heavy), even Here Comes the Sun-yes, there were critics who didn't like that song, they were evocative of music the individual Beatles would produce over the course of the next two decades and yet have that Beatles sound, something that is found more on Paul's records, which point to his influence when the Beatles were in the studio.
Many people have written about the songs and arrangements so I'll leave it up to you to check that out; what I would ask is the next time you have a chance, listen to what's going on in the songs themselves. Listen for the amp hum during the breaks between the two segments of I Want You (She's So Heavy), the way the voices and guitars are continually panned back and for in Here Comes the Sun, the Moog synthesizers played throughout the record, and how prominent the drum sounds are, echoing the biggest change in rock music at the time. And listen to how all the song fragments are put together on side two and how well the medley works.

Song of the week:

No Wonder is from the Winter album, the record I'm making from a series of demos from way back (the 80's). At the time I decided that intimate love songs weren't working for me, but love and relationships are nearly impossible to ignore in this day and age, so I wanted to write about attitudes and perceptions that forever play into how we see or think relationships ought to be. The lyrics play with the idea that the singer is well aware of what everyone thinks they know about this relationship, but believes they're looking for the wrong things in it. Musically, it something of a jazzy tune based off the bass line. I wanted the song to give the impression of floating, of gliding on air.
You can hear it at mrprimitivemusic.com.

©2018 David William Pearce

Sources of Inspiration-Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel has had the greatest influence on me when it comes to recording. His 4th solo album, nicknamed Security, hit like a hammer; I couldn't listen to it enough. It was nothing like all the other records I'd heard at that time, that time being 1982. I found it mesmerizing, the textures, the timbre all through the songs; it was both very different and yet very familiar. Pop music/Rock done in a distinct voice.
I found you could make music that didn't have to sound like what was on the radio yet be accessible. Some of it was that I didn't have the tools or access to studios or the equipment and instruments that I would have liked and had to do with what I had, which at the time was a few guitars, a bass, a synth, and a drum machine. The biggest issue for me was the drum machine-a Drumulator-which had good drum sounds, but sounded like a machine playing drums using patterns mimicking real drummers. But, if like Gabriel, I could instead use rhythm patterns allowing space and beat, then the music took on its own character. It could be simple and effective.
As an example, listen to the opening track of Peter Gabriel 4/Security, The Rhythm Of The Heat. Note that the drums aren't what is typically used, not cymbals or straight ahead drumbeat, instead, percussion patterns common to African drumming that Gabriel often used during this period. Note the dynamics, the power of the drums, the insinuation of the synths, the spare guitar-unusual for the time in Pop/Rock. Finally, the quiet before the crescendo of the drums to end the song. This is how compression is used to its best effect.
The entire album is, to me, how to make a recording that pulls you in and surrounds you with sound. It's also an excellent album to use when buying speakers; if they can handle this album with clarity and dynamic, then they're excellent speakers!
Listen at Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/track/1SqdCJsKsRgQ8qEzjLtmPm

This Week's Song: Forgotten from the Apologia album. The song is a about coming to terms with the understanding that in time we become irrelevant as a relationship slips further into the past. However strongly we may have felt at the time, and my still feel now, for the other it is only a memory rarely revisited. Their life has moved on to more immediate and important matters. Musically, it's fairly simple, two synth lines, chords and bass, with a guitar and vocals. Listen on Spotify or at mrprimitivemusic.com.
©2018 David William Pearce

Wow, That Sounds Really Good!

Often times when I hear from people who have graciously taken a little time to listen to my recordings, they remark on how good the recordings sound. Some of that is based on the fact that I do this at home versus in a recording studio, but mostly, it's because I'm stuck in the 60's and 70's recording-wise.

The bands and artists I like and admire the most, from the Beatles to Steely Dan to Peter Gabriel were, and are, big proponents of timbre, which is a term used for musical diversity within a song. I like using different sounds and styles within my recordings, always have. Even within the same instrument class; guitars for example, I like variety, which is why my guitar collection isn't simply different versions of the same guitar; for instance a Gibson Les Paul, of which there are many kinds.

It's also important to give those instruments room to breathe so they can be heard. That can be a challenge, but I find that part of the fun. Where is the instrument in the spectrum from left to right? Where it is panned to-the recording term. Is it close or in the distance? Reverb is what gets us there. Dry is close, right in your face; wet is deep, in the back.

Finally, easy on the compression; use just what you need and maintain the space. It matters because that's what give a recording it richness and it's depth. It's also what makes it interesting and gives the listener a reason to go back again and again.

If you wonder why you don't hear more interesting music within Pop music, I recommend you check it out here.

This Weeks Song is The Fall From Grace from Winter. It's a simple song about a disintegrating relationship that was built on the premise that you could change someone with a song. The beginning of the track is from the original demo for 2 reasons, one, I liked the way it turned out, and 2, the rawness of the recording; it sounds like someone playing for another. It also provides a stunning intro as the full sound follows. Hear it here at mrprimitivemusic.com.

©2018 David William Pearce