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About the Production of this....


Everything I did in this (production) was emulating the production in Bruce Springsteen's "Meeting Across The River"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm0v18EzDvQ

Kenny picked up on it. I expected more people would. But I enjoyed the "guesses" - went and listened to them all (and Caaron - I actually sat through the entire Michael George thing... )

If you don't know the song, do yourself a favor and go listen to it - it is a 3 minute movie set to music....


I do this occasionally... pattern a production of one of my songs after something I really like... maybe 20% of the time. In this case, I had been listening to Born To Run (the CD) and when I decided to work on this song, patterning it after "Meeting Across The River" seemed like it would work - AND (the important part)... takes me someplace I hadn't gone before...

Generally when I do this, it will give me flavors I haven't used before. It seldom sounds really close to the song that I am using as a "template"... in this case, I think it does. Not that that is the intention.

I'm throwing this out there as an idea that people might consider (if they have not already). It can help give you new ideas for how to produce your songs. And it helps to keep from having all your songs sound the same because you reach for the same tools all the time. This seems to be particularly true of people who write and sing/produce Country. Use that mandolin, steel, and fiddle all the time and you'll end up with a catalog that could use some "freshening up"...

(I have to be careful NOT to use the cello in every ballad I do because it FITS EVERYTHING!!)

So, pick a favorite song - past or present - and try to find the "pieces" that create its sound... and use them in your next production....

Rip a copy of your template song from a CD or download it from iTunes (or wherever) and include it in your DAW as a track. Keep it muted, of course. Then as your are mixing, listen to what you have, then solo the reference track and see if you are creating "that same sound". Even if you can't match it, it might give you something new in your tool box...

Oh...and... if you are a "Country guy"... I recommend looking to the current crop of Americana artists for new production ideas... New Country won't work for most of the songwriters here - so don't waste your time... that is NOT a cut at "new Country" - just an observation that it will not fit most of the type song that we write. It takes a whole new writer mentality to embrace New Country...