Daniel Lanois

Daniel Lanois helped Bob Dylan create Oh, Mercy. They recorded it in a house in the Garden District of New Orleans and captured some of the vibe of The Crescent City. Whenever I listen to the album, it always reminds me of an Allman Brothers concert back in the early 70's I went to down in some warehouse near the river just off the amazingly named Tchopitoulas Street. The music was powerful and energetic, but there were these amazing moments of relaxation, lazy blues licks floating in the humid night. 

The main thing about Oh, Mercy for me, though, is that it's a touchstone for how you produce a CD. There's an amazing sound palette Lanois brings to bear in the arrangements that pull performances out of Dylan that are among my favorites. 

Lanois also writes and performs his own music. This video is of a song he wrote called "The Maker", as performed by Emmylou Harris and Spyboy. He's expanding and playing with the song form just like he does with CD production.

Beatle Tracks

This turned up on Dave Barry's blog today. Abbey Road came out during my junior year as an English major at Duke University. Pete Seeger, Ian & Sylvia, Doc Watson, Laura Nyro, Joan Baez, Gordon Lightfoot, and The Grateful Dead were some of the performers I heard on campus during those undergraduate years, but new albums from the Beatles seemed the real punctuation points. Speaking of music and memory, hearing how they came up with that sound of the times brings it all back. All the music that was coming out then wasn't so much a cultural indicator as it was the culture itself. I wonder if there will ever be a time again where a single stream of music is such an integral part of society at large.

Brain Playing Horn

Here's a YouTube video of Dennis Brain that Terry Teachout put up yesterday in his regular Wednesday series. It starts with a nice little demonstration of the natural horn. I enjoyed seeing the curved fingers, as with my long fingers I have to do that. Also interesting even he can't make that low note sound like much more than a "blat".