<<I think I can understand that - who wants kibbitzers
standing around saying, you should do it *this* way;
why are you using that colour? that sound? I'd be
telling them where to go. >>
Catherine,
A good Producer is MILES away from a "kibbitzer"...they do what they do because they
know what they know! They have a talent for bringing a more focused vision to a
project. Some of my favorite producers: Daniel Lanois, Ted Templeman, Steve
Lillywhite, Todd Rundgren (!!)Mitchell Froom, and Mitch Easter.
Joni's painting analogy doesn't work because painting is a solitary effort. Making a
record is a group effort, for the most part.
Think of a film without a director, keeping the project's statement focused. Without
the director, you'd have egotistical actors battling back and forth about how a scene
should be acted out!
That being said, Joni is one of a handful of artists that CAN produce themselves and
be successful. BUT to think that nobody else could bring something better to a project
is pretty arrogant, I think. TTT had great songs, and gets off to a grand start with
the sonic contrasts of Harlem in Havana and MFM (although the piano version *IS*
better). But after that, the great songs all start to SOUND the same. IMO, a producer
could have brought a fresher perspective and turned out a more varied and a more
successful (depending on how you measure 'success') project.
One of the reasons that FTR works so well, as does C&S and HOSL, is the variance of
the sonics of the record. Guitar songs, piano songs, orchestral sounds, it's like each
song sounds so fresh, whereas with TTT you hear a song and think "didn't I just hear
this one?"
Don't get me wrong - I don't dislike TTT, I just think that (like DED) the right
producer (working WITH Joni, if that's possible) could have made it more interesting.
Bob
NP: Me'Shell, "Sincerity"
