of the night, with curlers in her hair. She had to sit down because she was so pregnant. She laid down three takes in total and then she went home. The rest is history.”
“Wow. That’s so fucking cool.”
“That’s fucking kismet at work or something. It was the most famous performance of her career, in the end. And you can hear why, right? She sings it with such power and emotion, you can hear her voice actually break on the track.”
“Seriously? How did I not notice that? I’ve listened to that song hundreds of times.”
“Listen to it again. You’ll hear it. You can hear the guys like, whoop with excitement in the background. Because she fucking slays it.”
“Huh.” I could see her thinking about that.
“Sad thing is, nowadays, a lot of producers would probably cut that shit out, just loop the most ‘flawless’ cut of her vocals back around. Or fix it. But the album is called Let It Bleed. You’ve gotta let it bleed sometimes.”
“Shit. I can’t believe I razzed you about ‘Heart of Gold.’ There must be a ton of shit I don’t even hear when I listen to music.”
“Doesn’t matter. You just listen, and everyone hears what they hear, right? You have your own personal experience with it. You take it on and it becomes yours. Maybe it even becomes your favorite song. Like something you’d ink into your flesh.”
She smiled a little. “I love that so much. That her voice broke and they didn’t fix it. Makes me love the song even more. The soul she infuses into it… that’s what grabbed me when I first heard it. Not just the sound of her voice.” She reached to open her laptop and checked the time. “It’s almost time for your call with the band. I’ve got us set up. They’ll be calling us when they’re ready.”
“Okay.”
“So… how do you remember that whole story?” she asked me. “You paid attention, because it was important to Gabe?”
“Well, I’m a musician. What am I gonna do except make music… and listen to music, and read about music?”
“And yet you didn’t know ‘Heart of Gold’ was a love song…” she teased.
I liked that. That she was comfortable enough to tease me.
“And that would be why I keep listening. There’s always more to learn.”
“That’s true. You just schooled me pretty thoroughly about one of my favorite songs. I seriously didn’t even know there was anything more to know about it than what I heard when I listened to it hundreds of times over. I feel kinda stupid now.”
“Don’t. Stupid would be not listening at all. Not being open to listening.”
Damn. I heard myself say it, and I could hear the voices of so many people in my head. People who tried to get me to listen to them when I really didn’t want to listen.
“So, before we get on this call, maybe I should ask you what exactly it is you do as a producer,” she said. “I wanted to ask you on day one, but I should probably confess that I was afraid to because I thought you’d fire me on the spot.”
“Good thing you didn’t ask.” I smiled, so she’d know I was kidding. “By the way, you’re fired.”
“Seriously.” She poked my knee. “If you had to sum it up, to try to explain to somebody like me who’s utterly clueless…”
“Okay. Basically, I’m responsible for this album. It’s my job to make sure that it turns out as good as it possibly can. So, that’s it in a nutshell. But that didn’t really tell you anything, did it?”
She smiled. “Not really.”
“The answer you get would probably depend which producer you ask, honestly. A producer’s job can really vary. I’ve known producers who do little more than sit back and listen, and yay or nay things as they go, and maybe they earned that position, but that’s hardly any better input than my dad could give.”
“And your dad would be…?”
“Moderately clueless about music. He still thinks Bon Jovi is what the kids are listening to.”
“Right. Go on.”
“I’m more of a hands-on, up-to-the-elbows type of producer. I’m providing the studio on this project because I can control the sound that comes out of that studio and that’s what I want on this album. Basically, I put my favorite bands and any heavier bands through Little Black Hole because the studio, the equipment, and the staff there are set up for that. I oversee every single aspect of the project, no matter how