Week Twenty

Posted by koripop on Oct 17, 2009 in "From the Outskirts" Journal | 1 comment

Week Twenty

…was fabulous. On Tuesday I was kind of freaking out a little because Beach Ballad was not feeling right. It was pretty, but just not right for the record. Wonder Full was falling a little short for me to. And Nowhere Near My Heart was SO close…but still not what it could be. Something was just not working in each of these tunes. I sang for the first time since my sickbed weeks started and I am still stuffed up (I going to have to give in and use the Neti Pot…blahhhhh!). We recorded a decent enough track to work with for now.

Wednesday was when it all turned around.

Justin came in and laid down amazing things for both Beach Ballad and Wonder Full. He gently insisted over the past weekend that he thought upright bass would do Beach Ballad a great service. I trust his ears so of course I let him run with it. Thank goodness he spoke up, or else this track may have been a great disappointment to me. Then, because he trusted the feeling to bring his beautiful Brazillian guitar -he played a perfect little part in the Beach Ballad chorus’.

Next he added sunshine to Wonder Full, seriously. Justin has a              propensity for groove and this is exactly what he brought to this      tune. It dances so much now. Then two days later Dave kiboshed his  original drum track (which he spent a perfectionist’s amount of time  crafting) and fed on the vibe Justin left while he nailed a new drum  track. Now, I must mention that it is only because Justin and Dave are  superb musicians that this version of Wonder Full even worked out. You  see, the guitar part that I recorded over a month ago was not done to a  click track (essentially a metronome). So the time ebbs and flows as I  was feeling it. I am floored that not one, but both of these guys were so  in-tune with my feel that it sounds like the three of us recorded live off  the floor. I am so lucky to have the chance to work with this kind of  talent. On Friday I also added a very pretty wurlitzer part to Wonder  Full and Dave added some sparkling tambourines as well.  After this we  sat down and listened to Wonder Full and Beach Ballad and the relief  that I felt was so great I felt a pressure lift off my heart. I was so close to leaving these two songs off of the record and now I am listening to them 2 or three times in a row because they are so vivid, thanks to Justin and Dave’s faith, instinct and nerve.

After we were through recording on Friday, Dave and I sat down and took a listen to Nowhere Near My Heart to see where it was at this week. Without getting into specifics, after recalling how we got to this pinnacle version, we both laughed so hard we cried and I am not exaggerating in the least – there were tears and side stitches. It is the strangest bird on the record by far and I love the final version and it’s making-of-story so much I could die a happy women.

I don’t think it gets much better than this.