EQ Magazine - August 2008 - (Page 9)

THE ART OF SUGGESTION David Kahne on Producing Paul McCartney B Y M I C H A E L M O L E N DA Producer David Kahne’s career has zoomed from engineering San Francisco obscure punk and new wave acts in the late ’70s for 415 Records, to becoming an A&R executive at Columbia and Warner Bros., to producing vocal legend Tony Bennett and one of rock’s icons, Sir Paul McCartney. As he helped mold 2001’s Driving Rain and last year’s Memory Almost Full, Kahne is, in fact, one of the few “repeat” producers McCartney has enlisted besides George Martin. Here, the versatile producer—who revels in guiding artists without imposing a personal production sound—relates what it’s like sitting in the studio with a Beatle. Some producers have a vision and a sound in mind that requires the artist to fit into their world. I’m definitely not that guy. If the artist is capable of delivering a great performance, well, that’s why I want to work with them, so I wouldn’t want to impose any methods that would prevent them from being comfortable. I also don’t put any restrictions on an artist as he or she works through a challenge, or reaches for a goal. Here’s an example of that hands-off approach from Paul McCartney’s Memory Almost Full. We first recorded “Nod Your Head” as a piano song—just Paul playing piano to a click track—and I loved the dissonance of the A in the bass and an Eb on the right hand through most of the song. I didn’t specify anything to Paul, other than an opinion that the dissonance got me hoping the song might be way more aggressive than a piano and vocal. So Paul grabbed his old Epiphone Casino—the one he played “Day Tripper” and all that stuff on—and plugged into a Pete Cornish overdrive pedal and a Marshall, although he usually played through a Vox amp. The pedal was cranked, and when he hit it, the guitar went insane! Paul’s tech rushed over to turn off the amp, but Paul stopped him, and he started moving around the room to try to control the feedback. I think I told him, “Just start playing and it will quit.” He was playing the Eb as I hit David Kahne. Record, and he started playing to the track as soon as he heard the groove come in. It was a very aggressive guitar sound, and it inspired the way he played drums and sang. The final track had the vibe I was hearing myself, but if I had pushed too hard at the beginning to get there, he may have been a bit resistant. Letting the song take shape his way was the key. How does one critique and collaborate with a legend like Paul? I’m not going to say it’s like working with anybody else in the world! But if I think something could be better, I have to say it—even though I can’t wipe away who I’m saying it to [laughs]. It’s a little tricky sometimes, but Paul wants the truth. When he’s working on a new song, he’s completely open. There’s absolutely zero complacency in his musical life. As he has an amazing grasp of rock history and styles, and can do so many things brilliantly, how do you focus all of that varied talent into a cohesive production concept? Well, Paul knows what he wants, so you kind of have to follow his cues. But when I first met with him, I said I really liked the raw vibe, aggressive guitar sounds, and zooming around on the bass that he brought to “Oh Woman, Oh Why” [from Ram, 1971]. So we went for that vibe on Driving Rain—although the results weren’t as cohesive as on Memory Almost Full— and then he did Chaos and Creation in the Backyard with Nigel Godrich, and we continued with the approach on Memory. I really like the grittiness of “Mr. Bellamy,” “Only Mama Knows,” “That Was Me,” “Vintage Clothes,” and “Nod Your Head,” because I love it when Paul is really singing his ass off. He’s completely unique when he does that. I mean, he can obviously sing beautifully in many different ways, but that aggressive approach was more what I wanted. I remember hearing your Pearl Harbor and the Explosions single in 1979, and, as a snotty San Francisco musician at the time, I thought it sounded awful. But when I listened recently to your 1979 production and the cleaner re-recording you did for the band’s 1980 Warner Bros. album, the aggro indie version kicked the crap out of the major label track. That’s actually the example of my production life! I engineered six songs, and there was tons of stuff I didn’t get right, but I thought, “Wow, this feels really good.” Nobody would sign it. Then, Howie Klein put out “Drivin’” on his 415 Records [a San Francisco indie label], and it did really well, so all the labels were back offering ten times the money they could have got it for in the first place. Of course, www.eqmag.com AUGUST 2008 EQ 9 http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - August 2008

EQ Magazine - August 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Lyrics Born, Fink, David Kahne on Working with Paul McCartney, What a Future with no Record Industry looks like Tool Box ?uestlove Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Cakewalk Sonar 7 Apple Logic Pro 8 USM Mic Round-Up USB Mics Chameleon Labs 7720 Sounds Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - August 2008

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