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September 26, 2014:

MAGIC TO DO

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, the Sandy mix is finished and I am a happy producer, composer and lyricist, not necessarily in that order.  This has been a completely magical experience the entire time.  From the decision to doing it, to figuring out which songs we’d do, to working with Sandy and Lanny and hearing their ideas and most of all collaborating with two wonderful artists so that the songs would be presented in the best possible way, even if that way was occasionally slightly different in feel from what I’d originally written – being an arranger, I am always very open-minded to anything, as long as it feels right for the song.  Lanny turned to me at one point in the mix and said that they just don’t have music like this anymore – and that comment made me really happy because I like to think I occasionally have a way with a tune and a lyric.  Then the recording itself, in that magical Studio A at Capitol Records, with the best musicians in LA, and having John Adams engineering with his wonderful ears and his even more wonderful calm.  Those two sessions were a treasure.

Then doing the final vocals with Sandy, which is always the highlight.  Just doing the takes, chatting about the songs and the words, and having her bring it all to life.  Yes, I can be persistent in getting what I feel is necessary, but it’s all about the singer and the song and nothing else.  And then the mix – I’ve done a lot of albums in the last twenty-one years – frankly, I’ve lost count, but I do believe I hold some kind of record for complete albums.  I practically lived in the recording studio for the first seven years of my producer journey.  But this mix was like no other.  It was like an out of body experience for me.  First I sat with my producer hat on, listening to John’s mixes, finessing them until I was completely happy.  In the case of this album, there really wasn’t that much to do, that’s how good his mixes were to begin with.  Then Lanny would offer a few excellent suggestions, we’d do those, and move on.  When I am mixing, nothing can break my concentration.  I sit at the console with eyes closed, letting the sound and the music envelop me and take me over.  If anything in the mix takes me out of the song, if anything pulls my ear in a way I don’t like, I fix it.  For me, it’s all about the emotion and truth in the song, whether it be a soulful ballad or a raucous comedy number.  When it “gets” to me, I know we’ve got it – where everything converges – Sandy, Lanny, me, John, the musicians – all in perfect harmony.  That’s magic to do.

But then I was also sitting there with my songwriter hat on and that was a whole other thing.  The earliest song we recorded was from 1963 when I was fifteen.  That’s fifty-one years ago.  Most of the songs were from the 70s and 80s, a couple from the 90s and a few from the 2000s.  It’s like history coming back at me in waves.  I know where I was and what I was doing when I wrote each of these – and it just brings back floods of memories, some great, some not so great, and some downright painful.  Some of Lanny’s charts got me very emotional, the way he just got under the skin of the song, the melody, the feeling – he’s a genius at that.  So, I just could not have had a better time over the last two nights.  I love a lot of the recordings I’ve done over the years, but as I said to the engineer, there’s just something about this that feels so clean and open and real.  Lanny and I have been doing albums together for twenty-one years – he told me he thinks it’s like sixty-five albums.  That’s pretty astonishing.

We had Sandy tap dance on one of the songs, but even as we were recording the taps I knew it was going to be problematic.  Recording taps is an art, not for the recordist but for the tapper.  It’s not as easy as you’d think.  In New York, we put a lot of tapping on our albums over the years – I had Niki Harris for almost all of that (Randy Skinner did one, too), and she’d done all the tapping for Twiggy on the album of My One and Only.  Hermes Pan did the recorded taps for Fred Astaire’s tapping.  First off, we didn’t have a proper tap board, which you really need.  So, the taps just didn’t sound good on the regular studio floor.  But it was also hastily thrown together, which you can’t really do.  So, we brought in our drummer, Ed Smith and had him bring a bunch of percussion toys.  We had three spaces to fill, and in about fifteen minutes Ed had filled them and it was just perfect for the song – fun and funny and perky.  So, that was fun to rethink that on the spot.

Leaving the studio, I was just a whole mess of emotion and I got teary-eyed in the car driving home because basically I’m just a soft old poop who so appreciates great work from dedicated artists.  I have no idea what people will think of the album – all we can do is the best we can do and hope everyone comes along for the ride.  So, Sandy can finally hear the final mixes, and we can get down to brass tacks on the packaging.

Prior to all that, I’d had a weird night of sleep – four hours, then up at six, then back to sleep at seven-thirty and up at eleven-thirty – so eight hours, but not consecutively.  I did some work on the computer, had some telephonic calls, went and had a cup of soup and a bagel, picked up some packages, and then relaxed until it was time to go.  Oh, and I had another Astroburger burger – it was supposed to be a bacon cheeseburger but there was no cheese in sight and I just didn’t care for it that way.  I didn’t have the zucchini fries.

Today, I will just write a little, but mostly relax until it’s time to go to do the Ray Courts Celebrity Fan Event in Burbank.  I’ll be there from five to nine, which is almost a Dolly Parton song.  I think the Staitmans will be coming by for a visit, and then we’ll probably grab a bite to eat.

Tomorrow, I’ll be at the Courts show from ten to five.  If you’re in the area, please come say hello.  Ray puts on a great show, and we’re glad to have him back in the game, because his old show, which he sold to two buffoons, has turned into a complete circus.  After the show, I’ll be seeing a play in NoHo and then supping afterwards.

Sunday, I’ll be doing absolutely nothing but relaxing, and then next week is incredibly busy, with the Kritzerland rehearsals, taping a radio show with Donald Feltham, several meetings and meals, then our stumble-through and then sound check and show.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write, relax and do the celebrity show.  Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player?  I’ll start – CD, who knows?  Blu-ray, The Killer Elite.  Your turn.  Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had the magical experience of this new album.

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