Symphonicities #2 plus an Update

Well, Romans, countrymen (and women), we are done. The record is put to bed. After a week and a half of 21 hour days and over 6 months of prepping, arranging, rehearsing and tweaking, Sting’s Symphonicities is sent off to the production plant and everything is put to bed. I listen in my car over and over to check it and predictably in the post partum stage there is a degree of relief, depression that it’s over and disappointment in one’s self.

What a difficult task!!!!: To take the work of one of the most gifted Pop music songwriters of the past 30 years and write Orchestral arrangements around the songs that aren’t too lush, too comfortable, too pat. Orchestral music is written out. It is a set of particular notes and dynamics and decisions. It is not like a crazy insane band playing their hearts out live. It is more traditionally together and refined than that and, because of that, easily open to criticism from die hard Rock critics and fans of The Police and the early more off the cuff records.

The good news is that I think we more than pulled it off and the record is full of little surprises. “Next To You”, the first song off the first Police record, is done as a kind of manic hoedown with the microphones closer to the instruments even then they were on the Eleanor Rigby recording; with the players playing to the point of bows breaking. Sting has been performing that live every night. He has performed it on The Tonight Show and on the Today show and it always comes across as strong and fierce. On the record though it is even more of a shredder, absolutely in your face with the same spirit (albeit with a String section) of that hallowed early record.

“We Work The Black Seam”:, Sting’s excoriating song about the Coal Miners strike that happened under Margaret Thatcher’s watch is now done with Primitive percussion and a 12 Piece Brass Ensemble. There are discoveries that even Sting fans are unaware of, a gorgeous song called “End Of The Game” from the Brand New Day era and, my favorite, an exquisite ballad from the Mercury Falling era called “Pirate’s Bride”. That is such a beautiful song.

I believe critics that pre-judge the record will find enough things to give them ammunition. “Roxanne” and “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” are both done in a lusher and more romantic fashion, though “Roxanne” is surprisingly haunting and gets its groove from the performance Sting gave in Italy on 9/11. I am comforted that my 15 year old Daughter who is none too impressed with her father and, in addition, knows nothing about The Police adores both arrangements and can’t stop singing them, especially “Magic”. That is a good harbinger.

Regarding the critics, I hope some listen all the way through to hear the blistering “She’s Too Good For Me” which I have described as Stravinsky writing a Roadhouse blues, to hear “Pirate’s” and “Black Seam”, the moody and brooding “Burn For You”, a Sting composition from his early 20′s. There is enough beautiful stuff in there to raise the eyebrows of even ferocious naysayers. In the end you just have to do the best you can and let the work speak for itself.

I arranged most of the record but there are a few non-Mathes standouts. Dave Hartley’s beautiful “I Hung Me Head” and Steven Mercurio’s absolutely stunning arrangement of “You Will Be My Ain True Love”, a song Sting wrote for Allison Krauss and the Cold Mountain soundtrack, could be my two favorite cuts. I hope you check it out. There are some strong bonus cuts including a take of mine on “Why Should I Cry For You” which will only be available on itunes. That features a Cello Solo by Anthony Pleeth. Anthony’s father was one of the greatest of all Cello teachers in England. A legend of sorts, the incomparable Jacqueline DuPre called William Pleeth her “Cello Daddy”. His son Tony is a bit of a best kept secret on the London scene and one of the finest Cellists on the planet. I give Tony the melody of “Island Of Souls”, one of the album Soul Cages’s finest and most central moments as a prelude into “Why Should I Cry”. It is a very strong moment I think. That song also features David Cossin, the great Percussionist from Bang On A Can All-Stars playing a cardboard tube which sounds so cool……Joe Bonadio also does amazing Percussion work, especially on “Black Seam” and “She’s Too Good”

We recorded a lot of the record, including “Why Should I Cry”, with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. The particular recording I describe above, an earlier one I did in February with Tony and Isobel Griffith’s London Players, had such a spirit though that it was the one we used. The RPCO were magnificent though and sound so good on the road with Sting as well as the record.

I went right from Sting into musically directing the Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame. It was a show that featured Phil Collins, Earth, Wind And Fire, Leonard Cohen, Taylor Swift, k.d. Lang, Judy Collins, Jackie DeShannon, Kim Carnes, David Foster with Peter Cetera and this insanely gifted singer Charice from the Phillipines. As with all these kind of shows, it was a mixed affair, though all the performances were strong to a certain extent. Always there are one or two performances that fall a bit flat (I will protect the innocent and not reveal any of those) and yet. at the same time, a few absolute stunners. For me, the peak was Judy Collins singing “Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen which went right into k.d. Lang singing Cohen’s legendary “Hallelujah”. Judy was just ridiculous. A voice like a bird from heaven.

I accompanied k.d. for much of it just on Piano alone, then joined by Shane Fontayne on Guitar, Shawn Pelton on Drums, and Zev Katz on Bass. That was just extraordinary. k.d. is very private and protective of herself (wisely). She does not reveal herself readily BUT….she is a certifiable genius!!! What an honor to play for her. I had the same experience the last time I did it, when she sang “What A Wonderful World” for Tony Bennett at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006.

I now go into producing a record for the star of Glee: Matthew Morrison. He opened three Broadway shows back to back: Hairspray, South Pacific and, perhaps most notably, Light In The Piazza, written by the theater’s greatest modern composer Adam Guettel (Richard Rodger’s grandson). That score is just beyond belief. The moment at the end where the reprise of the arching “Light In The Piazza” melody comes back is to me one of the great moments in theatre since Sweeney Todd in the late 1970s.

All that said, I was worried he had a big belty voice. I have done decent work for voices like that but it is not my first choice artistically when producing. Fortunately for me, Matthew is NOT one of those singers. A real child of singer songwriter Pop and Rock music, he loves off the beaten path stuff and has really impressed me singing things like the Amos Lee song “Arms Of A Woman”.

I have hired Claudius Mittendorfer to engineer the record. He recorded the last MUSE record and the last record by Interpol. We also did “Pretty.Odd.” by Panic At The Disco together. With Claudius the record will be crisp and edgy in all the right ways. Because I have him I can use some of my regular cast of characters and still be assured that the results are as crafty as usual but a bit more in your face and joyous, buoyant and blistering at the same time if that’s possible. The world needs immediate and affecting records, not overly sophisticated adult pablum which I can veer towards if not watched. Sometimes a record can actually be too musical. I know that sounds strange but think about Rubber Soul and Exile On Main Street. Both are beautifully rendered but also rough in some sense. You can’t create that kind of vibe with studio musicians in a vacuum but you can use it as a signpost of where to go.

That’s it. Bettye LaVette’s record is still getting raves. Her first week record sales were the best of her career. I’ll be on “Good Morning America” with her on the morning of July 6th. Tune in if you can. Sting will be on The Early Show doing a few of my arrangements conducted by Steven Mercurio, who was always booked to do the tour, on July 16th.

The Young Veins record is getting good notices and I talked to the L.A. Times about them recently. I produced the songs “Change”, “Take A Vacation”, “Capetown” and “The Other Girl”, 4 of the strongest cuts on there I humbly admit. Ryan Ross and Jon Walker, who lead that band, and Spencer Smith and Brendon Urie from Panic At The Disco have taught me some of these lessons about immediacy. In the end it is not about the musical information, it is about the intensity of expression and honesty of the performer. That is everything.

All good things to you and see you on the next blog. It’s been a while.

Rob

Thank you Bob—Bettye LaVette finally gets her due.

Bob Lefsetz is a writer on music and an industry insider. The below writing was unprovoked but went out on his blog about music which a bunch of musicians and industry insiders read. Just astonishing stuff. I am so proud of this Bettye LaVette project (Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook). I truly feel that, thanks to Bettye, my work as an arranger and record producer (along with Bettye and Michael Stevens) is notable in a new way. I am humbled and moved by the response across the board from the New York Times to the L.A. Times and now from Bob; the most eloquent assessment of all. You can’t really believe the good press too much because when they call you a hack and a milk toast loser you then have to believe that too (I probably believe that more than the accolades actually because I am hopelessly tortured but that is for another day). This is a moment for Bettye though and I am glad to be a part of it. Read Bob’s blog below. Thanks to Andy Kaulkin of Anti Records.

BOB LEFSETZ’s BLOG on MUSIC regarding Bettye LaVette:::

If Bettye LaVette were white instead of black, and had lived in obscurity for decades instead of trying to make it right under our noses, with only a tiny bit of success, she’d be the new Susan Boyle.

Or let me put it this way…  If Susan Boyle’s album had come with a free copy of Ms. LaVette’s, Bettye would be on a sold-out concert tour at this very minute.

On the surface, it’s a covers album.  But it’s not.  It’s more akin to those Joe Cocker takes, like “With A Little Help From My Friends”, where you know the originals, but what’s coming out of the speakers is different.  This ain’t “American Idol”.  These are not covers, they’re interpretations!  Incredibly intriguing.  As great as Ringo Starr’s “It Don’t Come Easy” is, Bettye’s take is equally good, well close, and hits you in a completely different way.

Hell, Ringo should cancel his All Starr Band tour and go out with Ms. LaVette.  As should all the other writers/performers of these classic tracks.  That’s something we want to see.  At least make it a PBS pledge break show.  Or how about July 4th, fuck the fireworks, put on the real explosion, music!

If you’re over forty, buy this album sight unseen.  Just log on to iTunes and lay your money down.  You’ll thank me.

If you weren’t alive when these songs made it to begin with, if you’re under twenty five, you’ll love this album too.  Not experiencing the originals in real time, there’s no issue of sacrilege, these numbers sound brand new.

If you’re over twenty five…  If you’re wearing skinny jeans and living in Brooklyn, salivating over bands with weak singers and weak sounds, you’re gonna pooh-pooh this.  And ain’t that just the point…sometimes something’s so mainstream that it’s just right.  So simple, you slap yourself in the forehead and say “I could have had a V8!”

This is as important as Tina Turner’s ’84 comeback “Private Dancer”.  But it’s 2010, twenty five years later, and we haven’t had an overlooked star deliver something so right in the interim.  Everybody’s focusing on image, social marketing, but almost unknowns went into the studio and created this gem, that I can’t help but tell you about.

It don’t come easy.  I can’t imagine today’s kids, needing fame, wanting to get paid, hanging on half a century to finally reach their time, but that’s what Ms. LaVette has done.  And we’re the beneficiaries.

Subject: Bettye LaVette-The Album–TRACK BY TRACK

1. “The Word”

I didn’t even buy “Rubber Soul” when it came out.  The American version had no hits!  And I had only a little bit of money, and had to use it wisely and preferred to buy albums that contained big radio tracks.  Yes, I had a very brief ride on the singles train, I was an album guy way back in ’64.

Of course I was wrong.  I love “Revolver” more, but you can’t name a better album than “Rubber Soul”.  But the original Beatles take is so English, cut exuberantly inside while it rains outside.  Bettye’s take…  It’s a gospel explosion with a funk groove.  It’s John Lennon’s sweet vocal that makes the original so great, it’s the attitude in Bettye’s version that makes it so great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEvZp0zW-iQ

2. “No Time To Live”

My favorite track on the album.

The original, of course, is on the second Traffic album, which contained no hits, and the lack of commercial success caused the band to implode.  All these years later, we can say that “Traffic” had the original “Feelin’ Alright”, but as great as that track is, there’s not a single loser on this all time classic album.

There’s a desolation in the original.  Which Bettye captures in her take.  You feel strong as you’re alone, maybe on the edge of a cliff contemplating life on a blustery day in the U.K.

This is the anti-Top Forty.  But it wipes the deck clean.  You listen and you feel something inside.  The compressed rhythm tracks on today’s radio are all external, but this is life itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX5rV87y9FU

3. “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”

My favorite Animals track is “Don’t Bring Me Down”…  But if you were conscious back in ’65, you know every lick of their hit version.  But Bettye’s rendition is the opposite of her take of “The Word”.  In this case, it’s the original that’s got the attitude, Bettye’s take is reflective.

The Animals were from dreary England, you can hear Eric Burdon’s desire to escape in the track.  Whereas Bettye’s version sounds like it was cut in Muscle Shoals.  It’s not about the urgency, but the underlying message.  You won’t even realize it’s the same song until she gets to the chorus, then again, you still might not know.  But what’ll get you in the gut, what’ll rivet you, is the little instrumental bit at the end of the chorus, like someone tugging at your shirtsleeve, imploring you to turn around as they smile and try to make a connection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXkDIOlOxfk

4. “All My Love”

Yes, the best track from Zeppelin’s “In Through The Out Door”!  The riff from the original is gone.  You know, that keyboard figure.  But Bettye’s track is dark in a way that Jimmy and Robert can understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZua4QlMa98

5. “Isn’t It A Pity”

Poor George, almost forgotten, when “All Things Must Pass” was considered by many to be the best album of 1970.

When was the last time you heard “Apple Scruffs”?  Or the Bob Dylan cover “If Not For You”?

This is every bit as good as George’s original.  Fat where his take is thin.  But sad underneath in the same way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic5RNhJawSo

6. “Wish You Were Here”

My favorite version of this song is the live one by Fred Durst and Johnny Rzeznik from the “America: A Tribute To Heroes” concert.  I like it even more than the Pink Floyd original.

Fascinating choice, but in this instance, Bettye does not trump either of the foregoing takes.  Then again, she does turn it into something different that you have to accept on its own terms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MTmVNkPUuA

7. “It Don’t Come Easy”

Some tracks just cannot tire you out, you never burn out on them, you smile every time you hear them.  Songs like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “It Don’t Come Easy”.

It certainly don’t.

But listening to Ringo, you think it eventually does come, you get what you want, the track is optimistic.  Whereas Bettye’s version is after the party, after the audience has gone home, after everybody’s had a good time and the truth is being uttered backstage, or in the bus on the way to the next gig.

She emphasizes different parts of the song.  She stretches it out.  It’s not all of one vibe, rather it encompasses the range of emotions.  Everybody gets to play, everybody gets to shine.  It sounds like it was cut in Muscle Shoals after the engineer went home.  When everybody’s spent, yet too keyed up to leave and starts to jam.  The guitar squeal that sounds like a horn section, the fingers dancing across the piano keys like Barry Beckett, you listen and alternately ooh and ahh and get introspective.

It definitely don’t come easy.  But somehow you keep on keepin’ on.  And what helps is music.  You don’t have to be rich or powerful to get it, to experience it, to love it…  Then again, listening to the right track you feel like the King of the World!  Bettye LaVette’s take of “It Don’t Come Easy” is such a track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_9QRuoZoHE

8. “Maybe I’m Amazed”

Do you know the live version off the Faces’ “Long Player”?  It’s NOTHING like it was live.  Live, Ronnie Lane would stand in front of the microphone and sing thinly and then…Rod the Mod would rush up alongside him and sing from the bottom of his soul.  Ronnie Wood would rage, and you’d throw your head back and say WHEW!

McCartney’s genius is captured in the original.  Only he could write it.  Bettye doesn’t challenge it.  Rather than try to go over the top, out-sing him, she slows it down and lets the meaning of the words shine through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6AJywWV1CM

9. “Salt Of The Earth”

“Beggars Banquet” came out the same time as the White Album.  And had a fraction of the impact.  But this was the Stones’ transformative moment.  This is when they stopped imitating and forged their own path.

Yes, the track with all the airplay was and still is “Sympathy For The Devil”.  But as great as that signature track is, what comes after is in its own way better.  Rather than swinging for the fences, the band looked inward, listening felt like pulling back the curtain and taking a peek inside.

Who can forget the intro to “Stray Cat Blues”…that was edgy in the days before Internet porn!

God, every track is so great.

But the closer both sums the record up and creeps you out.

Yes, it’s “Salt Of The Earth”.

I’d like to say Bettye’s take trumps the Stones’ original, but that might be impossible, the way intercourse with even the best looking person in the world cannot compete with sex with a loved one.  We don’t need riches and fame, we just need honest feelings.  And the Stones deliver.

Still, a great choice.  The more people who know this song, the better.

studio: http://www.myspace.com/bettyelavette

live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ5qifRdVNI

10. “Nights In White Satin”

I hate that the Moody Blues have been forgotten, or if remembered, are a punch line.  In their day, they were truly cutting edge.  They were the first to cut an entire album with an orchestra, they made album-length statements, they were interested in music more than hits.

Bettye’s take is absent the majesty of the original.  And that’s good, rather than compete by throwing everything into the mix, she breaks the song down to its essence, turning it into something different.  It’s now a dirge.  But when she builds to the chorus, professing her love, the crescendo makes you lift your head to the heavens, you ultimately twist and turn your noggin, caught up in emotion, the same way your parents did with classical music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jec-awQg6fI

11. “Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad”

Eric Clapton’s never cut an album as good as “Layla”.  This has got a different groove, a different feel from the original, it’s got horns, and Bettye squeezes out the chorus like toothpaste from a tube.  There is a guitar solo, but if only Derek was the one doing the wailing…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq1NDjlNAE0

12. “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”

Elton’s throwaway albums are better than the long players of today.  “Caribou” is not as good as “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player”, but it does contain the classic “The Bitch Is Back”.  And this.

But whereas the original is majestic, in the fashion of “Tumbleweed Connection”‘s first side closer “My Father’s Gun”, Ms. LaVette’s take is stripped down.  The guitar sounds like the haunting picking on Elton’s American debut, and the whole thing has a world-weariness, in opposition to Elton and Bernie’s fascination with the west on “Tumbleweed”.

live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GaNBX1t4jM

13. “Love Reign O’er Me”

The inspiration.  The live take from the Kennedy Center.

“American Idol” can get viewers, but that’s about the competition, the drama of who’s going to win, Ms. LaVette triumphs here by injecting the drama in the song itself!  Unlike the Mariah clones, she doesn’t start out at 10 and stay there, she works a whole range of emotions, from soft to loud, from intimate to intense.

This track has gotten all the hype.  The press needs a hook, saying how Pete Townshend loved it.  All I can say is it provided inspiration to do this whole album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJi6maTueSc