I saw a documentary about Ron Sexsmith the other day. https://www.youtube.com/user/LoveShinesFilm A big part of it was him using Bob Rock to produce his CD. Bob tried but failed to produce a hit for Ron. I've always thought Ron is awesome, but I never quite got the whole Ron thing. Great lyricist, but I've never been a lyrics guy. His fans may be few but they are most rabid when extolling Ron's virtues. So with the pure clarity of hindsight combined with delusions of competence, I'm gonna tell Ron and Bob where they went wrong. If you listen to this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFww3fLhjl8 Then this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X2LJ-BEBhY Same intro more or less. Sort of undefined choruses, sort of boring sonically. It's okay, just not terribly anything. I suspect everybody Ron works with is focusing too much on the lyrics, which they should do because that's his strength, but there's certain lack of specific musical place in Bob's production. Sort of semi country rock or something. Like they focus on the lyric so much they forgot that the emotion is in the music and sounds. Ron's lyrics are excellent at putting you in a place and time, but the music isn't backing it up. Some of his earlier stuff had more ear catching sounds and sense of place I think, but still had little defined choruses without strong hooks. What I figure is Ron needs to go talk to Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar. That guy is a tone monster and a decent producer. If Ron doesn't mind Gordie tearing his tunes down to their basic elements it might yield some interesting stuff. I don't listen closely to lyrics, rather I think of them as a guide for a sense of place, and the music as the emotion of that place. Songs like Run Through The Jungle by CCR is a good example of what I mean. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbI0cMyyw_M I couldn't tell you what any of the lyrics are beyond the title, but the tune has a killer sense of place using that single legible line. Born on the Bayou is another. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIjUY3pjN8E In that one you get a few phrases popping out like, hound dog, born on the bayou, porch, 4th of July, Cajun Queen, New Orleans. That's all you need for sense of place, the music, and the sounds, Tremolo'd guitar, yelling vocal, drum groove. The lyric guides you there, but it's the sounds that really put you there in the swamps, or whatever our vision as Canadians is of what the deep south feels like. Sense of place can be anywhere or anywhen. Sitting in the park at dusk making out with your first girlfriend wondering how far you'll get. Summer days, no school, no worries, beautiful girl next to you, butterflies in your stomach. For me quite sadly the tune that puts me there is Afternoon Delight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpGRdX5sUAs Big hit in 1976. You'll notice the song and production is all sugary happy bouncy whee. Just awful, but I still get a big pavlovian boner of wistful happiness when I hear it. Imagine in 20-30 years when some old fart gets that same boner with cop killah rap. The world moves on constantly in ever widening circles of weird. Of course those CCR songs would be quite different if Ron was singing them instead of John Fogerty. Ron's non-agressive vocal style may be a factor why his tunes don't catch the ear of the Great Unwashed, but I don't think that's it. You don't need to yell out a song for it to work. It do help sometimes, but a quieter vocal style is often just as powerful as yelling. What most hit songs have in common is a well defined chorus big on melody and light on lyrics. I don't hear a lot of that consistent melodic hook with Ron's stuff. Something else common in hits is a stylistic focus. Genre, style of writing and recording are all factors in that sense of place. During mix things like that 50's slap back echo on the main vocal can help put you in a certain place. Snare treatment, kick, all kinds of things in the music will put you somewhere. An example between old style funk and new, and I'm giving away secrets here so pay attention: Use ancient bass strings for old style, brand new bass strings for new. The sound of old versus new bass strings create a very subtle sense of place, and when you add the focus of consistent sounds throughout all the instruments and mix you get a very definite sense. That applies to all genres even death metal. Putting click on the kick until it sounds like a woodpecker creates a much in your face pissed off sense of space. Much of it we do without realizing we're doing it. If you like a certain guitar sound, that sound is sorta production and style focus in your favorite genre. I'm the first to admit comparing Ron Sexsmith with CCR is idiotic. Apples and oranges type dealio. But the concepts behind the comparison are what I'm aiming at. Maybe comparing him to Bob Dylan would be better, but I don't think Bob is any better than Ron, and he was successful because for two minutes in the sixties lyrics were king. I suspect if Bob was trying to make it today he'd be in much the same boat as Ron. You can only take folk from acoustic to electric once, then it's been done. Mind you, if CCR was trying to make it today they'd probably be in a Legion somewhere drunkenly slurring out Mustang Sally with the rest of us. Or maybe not, who da fuck knows. Hindsight production is always easy. Hey dibs on the name: Hindsight Productions. Where we always get it right the second time around. Ron, call me. We'll talk.
cosmictunes7