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Session musicians don't care about what they are playing, they are there to do a job, be paid and leave.
Hmn. I'm not sure. Some are - after all, it is a job where you play what you're given, and some parts are going to be less inspirational than others. But "session musician" has always been a kind of career dream - the thing I'd like Jim to fix me to be for a week or something. Simply because you're exposed to SO much music, and have to be SO talented just to cope with the diversity, and I'd love to try that.
There's a good article in this month's Sound on Sound on Nashville, and the recording artists there - and it points out something about the quality of the Nashville session players. The article describes the non-verbal communication in the studio - it only takes a nod at the pedal steel player, and he'll put in a riff, or a break, or something that's definably HIS, and THAT will be what makes the track. Session players can bring a lot to a track; they're very talented and very interesting people, and I think it's unfair to say they don't care about what they're playing.
In that vein, it's much like playing in a covers band; I have long hated Shania Twain covers, but I'll play them if necessary, because I also get to play Booker T. And that's what's worth it. Some jobs, for the session or covers player, make the rest worthwhile.
The thing with session players, though, is what harmony points out: soul. Unfortunately, it's not they don't have it (though many don't); often, they're not allowed to. But you're right, the energy in the band is what makes everything click: look at the Pistols. Sure, they got better at their instruments - but what links them at the beginning is the passion for the band, not the music. That's something I don't really get on with; I think inspiration/energy is vital, but I'm also a huge fan of great songwriting, production and musicianship. I like it when the lot come together. This is something that, being a musician into music, it's always hard to examine - it's a game of compromise.
The Mixerman journal's very interesting - but it doesn't tell me anything I don't know already. These days, I almost feel I can hear the autotune on bad pop tracks. Watching Making the Band is enough to make anyone feel bad enough about modern pop. These days, though, production is more and more becoming part of the music-making process. It makes live work harder (or more interesting, depending on your perspective); it also covers up for crap music a lot of the time. I'm as much a fan of some producers as I am of musicians or singers. Or composers, for that matter. It's like explaining how electronic bands can have a definable soul, or how live (not DJ'd) electronic music can be so marvellous (go and see Orbital if you're ever sceptical).
I suggest giving it some distance - a decade or so - and we'll see what's left over from possibly the most overproduced era of music ever. That'll show which bands mattered, which had the knack, and which acts it didn't matter about (if any). |
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