Re: Get me going on the blues - 25yrs

[Gatorharp@xxxxxxx]

bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:

<< It's no wonder why a blues album can be
 recorded in the studio in as little as 1 day, but rock records often take as
 much as 6 months to 1-2 years, because the way they're recorded is with a
 vocal reference track, and a rhythm track,  >>

this is a very simplistic reason for the length of time spent in the studio.  
another reason is that blues material generally falls into a small handful of 
structures.  any true blues player is gonna know what "12 bar" or "boogie" 
means.  if you say, "12 bar jimmy reed shuffle in g", you are liable to get 
pretty close to what you want the first time through (again, assuming you're 
working with musicians who know the music).

many other forms of pop music don't follow such strict structures.  time is 
often spent learning the song.
for another, especially during the seventies, many artists began to prize a 
sound over the idea of being done quickly...steely dan were probably the 
champions there, but then again, most of their songs also had a strong groove, 
regardless of how they pieced it together.  lots of time was spent just getting 
freakin' drum sound. 
and, really, few, if any, of these artists are in the studio all that time.  

steven j gatorman