What must the recordist consider in recording an icon or supreme talent?

I was listening to one of my favorite videos today:

This recording is Robert Stigwood's first signing in 1968, a song written by Barry Gibb, and this record produced by him.

Gibb talks about recording this vocalist, Graham Bonnet, a singer of extraordinary vocal ability. [How Bonnet has avoided a big career Stateside is a huge question-mark.] In the studio, Gibb had to ask Bonnet to step back and back and back from the mic, as he had such a monstrously powerful (and pitch-perfect, and rangey) voice.

Recordists record many talents of varying abilities, every single day. We each know here that a pretty face and glittering fame are not the same things as supreme musical gift.

But what is it like--- what do you do--- when you find a monstrous talent in your studio... truly a voice or instrumental talent who comes along maybe once in a century? Someone, shall we say, hugely competent technically and hugely moving artistically? [in ANY musical genre, that is]

What do you think about when you have an icon or monstrous talent in your studio? How are such sessions different from the usual variety?

Never had the pleasure but I think as an engineer I would just make sure we were ready to go and get out of the way. From what I have heard, some of these "huge" artists make everyone on their sessions sign some sort of disclosure. "What happens here stays here" sort of thingy.

I haven't dealt with icons much (unless you mean iconic session musicians), but monstrously talented musicians and singers aren't all that uncommon (for which I'm extremely thankful). The only real difference is that the sessions are more fun!

No different.

Just do your best to do your job, get out of the way, and don't f*** anything up!

I don't think I would do too much differently. You want to be set up and ready to go, have several options easily available, that kind of thing. Several microphones ready to go if the person is a vocalist, several guitars available if the person is a guitarist, etc. Probably not too different from what you already do. Just like everyone else says, do your job the best you can, don't interfere with what the person is doing, and get out of the way. Why...are you having Snoop Dogg over?

You don't let him go swimming in Wolf River harbor in between sessions.

"Are you documentarian or participant?"

Please don't take this personally, but as talented as Graham Bonnet is, he's not pitch perfect and I regularly hear far better vocalists on both a local and national level. He has a high voice with a lot of power but that's about it.

I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt (since I didn't like the Marbles' tune you linked) and checked out several other videos from various times in his career. Didn't like any of the songs until I discovered he was the vocalist for Rainbow when they recorded the Russ Ballard tune, Since You've Been Gone. Graham's voice works well for that tune as recorded by Rainbow but I don't understand what it is you find so amazing about him. I ran across some history of Rainbow that indicated he was sacked because he had difficulty interpreting their quieter songs.

I'm really not trying to rag on you but I'm trying to see what you find so compelling about him that I'm missing.

I haven't had the opportunity to record such a voice or musician because most of what I mix is live, but I've had the opportunity to work in that arena with some people who would fit your description and (Thank goodness!) they have invariably turned out to be exceptionally patient and kind. I know I've been lucky but... keeping my fingers crossed the trend continues.

On one level it disturbs me that someone would not put their best foot forward for every client, but that's just me. I would certainly be more excited to work with such talent and I suppose that might translate in just what degree I push myself to meet their needs quickly and efficiently.

But in the end I try to be as helpful to everyone I work with until they give me a reason not to. If such a reason arises I'll do my job to the letter of the contract and no more, but that's a rarity.

I can't imagine it being any different. Don't you do the best you can no matter what you have to work with?

Yes.

If anything, it might be the worst suckiest bands that I work hardest for. I'm especially thinking of editing and mixing.

Right, Ken. That's what most engineers and producers that I know tell me: the supreme talents make their life all that much easier. Must be nice...

man, isnt that the truth... the greater the talent, the greater the fun and i think the easier the engineering.

Right, Ken. That's what most engineers and producers that I know tell me: the supreme talents make their life all that much easier. Must be nice...

I get some really great musicians in here, but I also get a lot of horrible musicians. The really great ones...you just try not to screw up their sound. So easy to mix because they typically play great songs with great arrangements on great instruments with great skill and timing. Easy.

I've always said that the worst-sounding stuff that's ever come out of this studio is the stuff that I've worked hardest on.

Reminds me of the folks who recorded Dave Grohl as a drummer. They said that you just set all the faders at parity, and he mixes himself as he plays. Nice.

There IS another side to this; an acquaintance who primarily records voice-overs pointed out that the expectations are higher with professionals. If I'm working with a truly remarkable singer, I would be more prone to work out (and fix) minute details that perhaps no one other than me and the singer is gonna hear. With the average schmoe, we're both happy if he remembers all the words and an approximation of the melody....

True...

Hey, I might see you tonight if you're going to be at Carolyn's gig, Dave. Sandy Smolen and I are thinking of dropping in late after other gigs at Station Inn.

Okay, gotcha. Horses for courses, comme on dit. I just remember how, even when my voice was at its very best, no way could I have effortlessly nailed that high-D in "Only One Woman". In head voice, without even straining. I admire the way Bonnet's voice is just free from superfluous embellishments... that whole performance is just silvery, held notes.

Well he certainly has a high range and plenty of power. I had more fun listening to him talk about singing in several interviews on You Tube than to the songs I heard. He's definitely talented. I just don't agree he's on the level you describe with Graham as your example. Just my opinion, though.

I've had the honor of working w/a few, and they were all unfailingly polite and didn't really expect any special treatment. At the first session, I did tell one guy about how his first record had basically swept the rug out from under every girl in my dorm, and how we used to all pile into my room and just sit on the beds and listen to it... His response, was "I know you're not trying to suck up, but I never get tired of hearing stories like that."

They also expected a certain level of professionalism, due to having worked with some of the best in the world, but also realized that circumstances were different now, due to budget and time constraints, and as long as I did my best, it was all good.

They did not expect me to pull punches, if I heard something not right.

Just a few stories:

I was setting up cans and sent an intern out to check the levels, before the singer went out. He said - "You don't have to do that" and went and did it himself.

He had me set levels by just saying "Check, Check" a few times and we rolled. To say it was thrilling to then hear a voice that we've all heard probably several times a week for the last 30 years come through the monitors is an understatement...

A world famous drummer came in for a session, sat briefly at the rented kit - moved a few cymbals, briefly adjusted a tom or two, listened to the snare and decided to use it, over the one he'd brought and said, cool.

Same session, after getting a few basic things set up in a VERY rudimentary home studio, we were doing some last minute tweaks on the drum set. We went to find the talent, and he was upstairs, eating spaghetti w/the studio owners wife, talking about their kids. He'd never met her...

I was amazed overall, at the remarkable musicality, well-tuned ears and arrangement smarts these guys all have. They know how to do it right, and when the red light goes on, they can all deliver. A whole different level. Once you've experienced it, you begin to understand why a those records sound so good.

MG

I got to record Jerry Lee Lewis and his band back in the early 70s. They were the nicest guys, great musos and I really enjoyed the session. I recorded a Dusty Springfield vocal for a TV show, again, very professional and a great session.

Usually the bigger they are the easier they are to work with. You'll get more problems with the unheard of snotty nosed egomanic IMHO.

Although this person isn't necessarily an "icon", I recently had a session at my studio with Pete Sears who played with the Jefferson Starship for 10 albums, as well as with Rod Stewart on some of his biggest hits, and a long list of icons like Tina Turner, Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, and many others, including jamming with Jimi Hendrix in London. For me this was "big time", especially since he was laying down keyboard tracks for 2 songs on my new cd.

For me, a major factor in this session was pre-production. I spent many hours going through all my keyboards and synth modules to find just the right sounds that worked well in the context of each song, since I was recording analog and not midi. I also spent a lot of time making sure all my gear was in order, checking settings, levels, etc. so that it was good to go and I could just hit the record button on my ProTools rig. The last thing I wanted was to be fiddling with the gear and trouble shooting while he was sitting here.

I also gave him samples of my music in advance so he'd have an idea of what it sounded like. When he got here we spent a bit of time talking about it and I gave him some ideas of what I was looking for in his parts, but leaving room for him to express his creativity. He did a number of takes on each song and we talked about it in between to make sure we were both on the same page and getting the results I was looking for. It was great having the extra takes to edit and comp from after he left.

The session lasted about three hours and went very smoothly. He was a great guy, very professional, and a pleasure to work with. I have to admit, I was a little nervous, but the pre-production paid off, and it was really a high point in my musical career to be working with someone who had performed and recorded with some very major people in the music world.