FEATURE Photo: John Mayer AT !" He was once the man from Was (Not Was); he was also a producer of The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Marianne Faithful, Willie Nelson, Joe Cocker, and many others. Now he just is... the cat in the hat. Text: Paul Tingen Don Was is one of the most iconic names in I guess they just wanted to shake things up; you “I can tell you my perspective on how these tracks the world’s production !rmament. He’s the don’t want to keep making the same record over got the shape they have on the album, but that go-to producer for top artists looking for a and over. I had bumped into Lucinda in January doesn’t mean I was the governing force. Lucinda helping hand in realising inspired, soulful 2010 at a charity event called MusiCares, which is had gotten together with the band before the recordings and, in many cases, reviving their part of the Grammy foundation and which helps recordings, but they hadn’t done any rehearsals careers. Was enjoyed his highest pro!le as a musicians in trouble, and for which Neil Young and the arrangements were not yet done. I sat in producer in the ’90s, when he worked with big was the honouree. I was the music director and the room with the musicians, put headphones on names such as "e Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, played bass, and Lucinda was also on the show. so I was hearing the same thing they were, and Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Marianne Faithful, We spent some time together and got on very I listened to the vocal. As a producer I’m always Willie Nelson, Joe Cocker, and many others – well. I think Tom noticed that, and made a mental listening to the vocal. When the vocal shines winning a Grammy Award for Producer of the note that this could be helpful later on. When through, you know you’re doing the right thing. Year in 1995. For a variety of reasons (see boxes) they asked me to work on the album, I didn’t need I’d heard the demos, so I knew she sounded good Was has had a slightly lower producer pro!le any persuasion: she is one of the greatest artists singing these songs alone. If you’re not enhancing since the turn of the century, but his credits on the face of the earth and to be in the studio that, you’re doing something wrong. You make during the last decade have still included big with someone like that was an irresistible o#er, the singer come forward, and then everything names like "e Rolling Stones, Bette Midler, Kris especially a$er I’d heard the demos of her songs. falls into place.” Kristo#erson, and "e Black Crowes. She’s also an incredibly expressive singer. I’ve BLESSED RECORDINGS worked with many great singers over the years, Don Was’ co-production of Lucinda Williams’ Another person who can shed light on the and she’s right up there with them. You make new album, Blessed – the main focus of this goings-on during the making of Blessed is, of great records with great singers and great songs.” article – shows that Was continues to operate at course, engineer/producer Eric Liljestrand. the highest level. Blessed was recorded in Capitol’s Blessed has been released in a deluxe 2-CD Hailing from New York, his credits include Laurie Studio B in Los Angeles, and Was was dra$ed version: one CD being the regular album, and the Anderson, Elvis Costello, John Cale and Bill just three days before recordings began. He other CD containing demos of the same 12 songs, Frisell, with whom he won a Grammy for Best co-produced the album with Williams’ partner sung by Williams at her kitchen table, recorded Contemporary Jazz Album in 2004. Liljestrand and manager, Tom Overby, and engineer Eric with a Samson Zoom Q3. "e album contains is also a composer and has scored the music for Liljestrand, both of whom also produced the some of her hardest-rocking songs to date, with several TV-shows. He recalls, “It really worked Williams’ previous album, Little Honey (2008). Williams’ striking voice in the middle, framed by for Lucinda that nobody had played the songs "e latter was Williams’ most commercially guitarists Val McCallum and Greg Leisz in the le$ until the last minute, because she doesn’t like successful since her debut album Ramblin’, and right channel, respectively. From the demos to overwork things or sing the songs too many making one wonder why Was’ involvement was it’s not immediately evident why any of the songs times. She wants to be really fresh and for the sought at all, and at the last minute. "e great ended up being given particular treatments. When band to be really fresh also. Because Don came producer himself, however, was so keen to work Was is asked for clari!cation, he seems reticent to in at the very last minute, and we never really with Williams he never asked her that question. give too many details, as if concerned about taking sat down together to discuss how we were going too much credit for the making of Blessed. “To be honest, I don’t know why they asked me! to do things, I don’t think anyone was sure of AT !" what their role was. But Don usually sat with the musicians, and he has a very positive vibe in the studio. He’s like the ultimate cheerleader: he makes everybody feel good just by his presence. “We had had a couple of meetings before Don came on board, and each of us had a list of songs with annotations like: “up tempo, ballad, hard,” making reference to the general feel of the songs in vague terms. !e actual shapes of the songs revealed themselves while we were working in the studio, and in some cases this took a while. For instance, for a long time we didn’t know where the song Copenhagen was going, and when we did "nally capture it, we were none the wiser about it until the next day when we listened back to the tracking. We recorded all the takes – and some songs took 15 takes, others only six or seven but we nearly always used the second-last take. Don o#en likes that take, so much so that it became a kind of joke, as in: ‘let’s do one more, so the one we just did will be the one!’ We recorded everything on ProTools, at 24-bit/96kHz, but didn’t do a lot of micro-editing. If we did edit something, we were generally taking out or adding big chunks.” AN UFLAGGLINGLY GOOD ATTITUDE Don Was’ cheerleading vibe is also acknowledged in the liner notes on the album, where he is Eric Liljestrand (above) has been working with Lucinda Williams for years, apparently. credited with “un$agging and unforgettable He knocked Don out with the sounds for her new album right from the get-go – in part, good attitude.” Continuing his portrayal of the thanks to Capitol’s magnificent Neve !"#! console, which he describes as “a good vintage desk that’s in fantastic shape.” sessions, Was explained, “My job as a producer is to create an inspiration-friendly environment, and one way of doing that is by casting. Casting the right people is important. I recall an actor ‘HOME’ STUDIO MADNESS: SEX, DRUGS & (SOME) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL complaining that Woody Allen didn’t give him many directions, and Allen’s thing is: “I cast the Don Was hails from Detroit, Michigan, where he was born daylight. Another time we found out that a company that in #$%& and given the name Donald Fagenson. Once he made trousers we liked was going out of business, so right actors so I don’t have to tell them how to became involved in the music industry he adapted his we thought, ‘Man, what are we going to wear the rest of deliver each line.” It’s the same with producing other name, in part because he became tired of being our lives?’ so we tried to buy the company! We had this records. !e right musicians are the ones that mistaken for Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen. As a bassist, famous film director living next door, and because Richie will understand where the artist is coming from, Was formed the band Was (Not Was) with David Weiss is the loudest guitar player I have ever heard in my life, (aka David Was), which enjoyed substantial international this guy would call up to complain about the noise. Since and they’ll have great ideas, so I don’t have to success during the early ’'"s. It disbanded in #$$&, we were not zoned to be a studio, we could be closed do too much. I want to be the dumbest guy in freeing Don Was up to fully dedicate himself to his down. So we put a big bag of reefer in his mailbox. After the room! When you’re working with a band it production efforts. The band briefly reconvened in &""' that, every time he ran out of pot he would complain for an acclaimed fifth album, Boo!, and a tour. The #( years about the noise. I thought to myself, ‘Now I’m basically a can be relatively easy, because you just want the from #$$& to &""' saw Was’ production career reach drug dealer, just to mollify this guy.’ I was a mess.