Under The Dashboard

Once again, here are some sonic musings on three projects lurking in our recent consciousness:

1. Madonna--"Ray of Light": The word to describe this vibe is "twinkly". Electronica whiz William Orbit did a great job establishing a kind of warmth within the sometimes icy setting of the techno world. Madonna's vocals are among her very best, the song selection is solid, and the whole concept has been realized beautifully and fluidly from start to finish.

2. Over The Rhine--"Ohio": The 2-disc tour-de-force of this husband and wife team is filled with the melancholy wisdom for which this group is becoming known. Their projects before and since are fine, but this to me will stand as a charmed musical moment. Always one of my first choices for the moody-broody times, this sounds like dim lights, sad reflection, and a twilight of grace from their living room to ours (they actually did record big parts of this in their very own living room).

3. Bettye Lavette (with the Drive-By Truckers)--"Scene of the Crime": Bettye is our girl, so we are admittedly a bit biased about her--run, don't walk, to get this and her previous project--"I've Got My Own Hell To Raise". She's rootsy, she's bluesy, she's soulful, she's been around the block but still radiates the energy of someone two whole generations younger than her. This project was truly a labor of love, and the seemingly unlikely choice of the DBT as her supporting band (who I just very pleasantly rocked with in the very first row hanging onto the fence at 80/35) turned out to be an inspired choice, aided by an earthy Americana production approach.

Who's been under your dashboard lately?

Under The Dashboard--an ongoing series

Since the car is such a frequent listening location for tunes, here are some "soundful thoughts about thoughtful sounds" (don't know if that really worked, but even the best wordsmiths have off days). Anyway, since the studio came into our lives, we sometimes listen to music much differently, with our "record producer mojo" working overtime in analytical frenzy. Consider these recent bits of under-the-dashboard ear candy:

David Gilmour, "On An Island"
Recorded in the plushest of studio settings, on Gilmour's luxury boat studio, this project's sonic mood is crystalline in its clarity, yet lush in its atmospheric textures. Simply put, it's just beautiful.

Blue Floyd, "Begins"
This just-released all-star project features 3 of our favorites, Marc Ford/guitar, Matt Abts/drums, and the late great Allen Woody/bass, among other luminaries. The tunes are mostly from several-years-old live performances, and its sonic mood is jammy live experimentation. You can just ease on down the road with this one, bobbing your head and swaying (but keep your eyes on the wheel).

Rolling Stones, "Beggars' Banquet"
From the first strains of track 1, the classic "Sympathy For The Devil", this project has a down-home feel to it, like Mick and the guys were on your back porch doin' it just for you.

Learning from more deeply examining "sonic moods" of numerous and diverse recordings brings an even better perspective on the importance of engineering, mixing, and mastering choices made in studio; in other words, the soundness of sound choices (hey, that was a little bit better, wasn't it?) . In future posts, we'll examine even more recordings with more sonic insights.

Feel free to share your own insights on the "sonic moods" of these and other projects...