Howdy,
I was listening to our local morning radio talk show host interview Ralph
Emery a few minutes ago. Most of the interview was about Ralph and his new
book, plus some history of Ralph's experiences in Nashville.
I noted that the following portion of the interview was significant in some
ways regarding the ongoing thread about "over/hyper production," and the
emergence of different sounds in country (i.e., countrypolitan, outlaw,
etc.).
The host was remarking on last night's Grammys (which I missed, watching
instead Lance Burton, Master Magician) and commented on the career paths of
Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks. He asked Ralph what he thought of the
"new direction" of country music. My best recollected paraphrase of the
response...
"Every interview I do, people ask me about that. Yesterday, last week, 5
years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago...
Country music, like every other form of popular music, is always evolving.
Like every other type of music there are a variety of factors involved.
First of all, artists *and* producers [emphasis mine: SR] are creative
people and don't necessarily like doing something the same way every time.
They like to experiment with new sounds.
Also, they try to produce sounds that the reflect what is popular with the
audience at the time and they try to produce sounds that anticipate what
will be popular. Sometimes they guess right, sometimes they don't.
...right now the Dixie Chicks and Shania Twain are on the cutting edge, but
tomorrow there will be somebody new and we'll forget about them. Vince Gill,
however, will be here forever."
>From there Ralph offered up a few opinions about new vs. traditional sounds
(basically, that they always have and always will co-exist), and then
launched into a story about Dolly's early career in Nashville.
Anyway, I thought these comments were appropriate to forward on to the list
in light of discussions about artists and producers.
On a personal note, I don't hold to the theory that is sometimes advanced
here that artists are "forced" to bend to the will of producers against any
artists' better judgment. I don't know jack about how to record an album,
but I've always operated under the assumption that it's a collaborative
process and that just maybe in the case of experienced artists, the artist
has a bit of an upper hand in influencing the production of the album.
I really wish I could stay and play longer. I stay so busy at work that I
don't have time to do much more than offer random drive-by type postings and
an odd announcement or so. This "production" thread has been interesting to
read.
Take care,
Shane Rhyne
Knoxville, TN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
