Paul Carmody explains why, when it really comes down to it, there are more important things than 'big' production.
Although it's a few months back, I've just read TJ Stone's Sounding Off article about artists over‑producing their material due to the lack of a good idea, and found myself nodding in agreement. We producers sometimes can't leave a track alone, and all too often the search for the perfect sound seems to outweigh the search for a good idea in music. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going on one of those 'old music is good and new music is bad' speeches, I just think many of us are getting sidetracked from the main game — namely hooks and melodies.
Be it classical or grunge, a piece of music rests entirely on its hooks or melodies for success. Take EMF's 'Unbelievable' as an example of a basic track that capitalises on a brilliant idea. The hook line is sensational and grabs you from start to finish. Of course, good production can help. The little harmony line in the bridge of 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' by Savage Garden is the part of the song that I unconsciously wait for — but don't be fooled, it's the melody throughout that made it a huge hit, not the extra vocal tricks or the vibrato guitar.
Some bands avoid the 'dreaded' melody as if it is mandatory to have a tuneless dirge in order to be credible, but Radiohead's 'Creep' is very melodic — and surely they are a credible band? I often hear people say 'I could write a pop song in five minutes easily, but...' But what? If it were that easy, we would all be knocking off a monster hit and then flitting down to our newly built beachside studio to create some over‑polished, self‑absorbed angsty tunes because we'd have enough money not to care. I know I would.
It's great to hear 'over‑produced' material like Robbie Neville, Boston or even some of the Blur stuff — but remember, they also provide the appropriately magic melody or hook line. Trevor Horn's work with Seal and Frankie Goes To Hollywood may be super‑produced, but it's the hook melodies that make these songs brilliant — otherwise nobody would ever have heard them. The extra production simply makes the most of a great idea. There's no doubt that a big studio sound is a wonderful thing, but the fact is that it can still be attained only in a big studio (they don't spend a million on a desk because it's just a 'little' bit better than a Mackie). But a good idea or melody can be attained anywhere, which is why 'Your Woman' by White Town was a hit despite lacking the engineering genius expected by the music machine.
A record company once asked my partner, Steuart DeHoedt, and I to produce a cover song into a dance pop record. We worked in several studios, sent the product to a proven international producer for extra input (who added more incidental bits of special production than you could shake a stick at), had it in everything from 24‑track to Cubase to Pro Tools, got it mastered beautifully, had a sensational film clip and broad radio coverage. Sadly, the track did very little commercially. As an extra mix we included a ballad version which was recorded and mixed in one day in a tiny pre‑production studio, with all the effort of an afterthought. Months after the release of the pop‑dance version, a small community radio station began to play the ballad mix and, with no video, no re‑release copies, no personal appearances and no money, the thing charted nationally. It was the simplicity of the ballad production that allowed the original melody to shine. The pop version was so full of incidental wooshes, riffs and clever production tricks that the original melody became clouded.
So, instead of whipping the vocal through the latest plug‑in, try this: hum the melody of The Beatles' 'Yesterday'. Now hum the melody of your song and ask yourself an honest question. Is it as good? Is it as memorable? Is it the best you can do? Styles vary, of course, but the principle is the same. Don't compare your ideas with your favourite songs, you've probably been influenced enough by them already. Hum it against a long‑term number one (new or old). Forget the backing — it's the hook or the melody that counts for everything. This is what I do and, believe me, I've thrown out plenty of personal favourite tracks. Of course you may not be writing for the charts, but surely most of us are working towards music for an audience wider than our own CD player?
Unfortunately there is no Pro Tools plug‑in that will create an elusive idea, and no matter how many times I put a compressed hi‑hat through a delayed then distorted reverb, the loudest thing in the track is always the vocal melody and/or riff. So I will be taking my own advice here and leaving the current single I'm producing alone by just making the most of the melody idea, which I think is pretty good. I wonder what will happen?
Paul Carmody is a producer and writer of pop, rock and dance music, and has also written music for television programmes such as Neighbours.
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