Arrangements and influences
Slowly, I’m coming to realise that the things I love about the songs that I love are not only about how they are written. The more closely I listen to music, the more I recognise that, even though I’m often drawn in by compelling lyrics and by certain chord structures and melodic and harmonic devices, song arrangements also make a huge difference. Up until now, I’ve never really had the opportunity to think or work much on the arrangement of my own songs; for those few songs that have involved other musicians and engineers (like ‘Watershed’ or ‘Clematis and Concrete’, which you can find on Bandcamp via the ‘Audio’ page of this site), I’ve pretty much left it to them to bring their own ideas for their parts, even if we’ve always explored those ideas and ‘edited’ together.
Obviously, ahead of the Abbey Road recording of ‘Bloodrush’ next month, I’m having to think much harder about the arrangement of the song. I think this is especially tricky because the demo version has become so ‘established’ in my mind as ‘the song’; and because people have been so positive in their feedback about it. In large part, this is thanks to the beautiful violin parts that Jill O’Sullivan recorded for the demo, and the hard work that Andrew Howie did in getting the best out of me when recording the guitar and vocals.
I’ve shared that demo with quite a few musicians whose judgement I trust, and whose work I love. I even chanced my arm and sent it to Ron Sexsmith (whose songs [and song arrangements] I have loved for many years) and he was kind enough to reply. The advice has been pretty consistent and might be summed up as suggesting that ‘less is more’; i.e. don’t change too much and don’t overload it. Add some light percussion, upright bass, piano and backing vocals. Keep the intimate, acoustic feel of the song. Those are certainly my instincts too, although rehearsing with James did make me wonder about the kind of ‘sonic wash’ that ambient electric guitar might provide. Fortunately, the Glasgow-based musicians are heading into the rehearsal studio for the first time on 1st July (and probably the only time all together, until London), so we’ll be able to try a few things out.
One other way that I have prepared is by putting together a short playlist of six songs that I love — and the arrangements of which I love. You can find it here (and I promise that it will improve your Sunday morning!): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7LmXqxOKa67M11F3Nt7Lbu?si=66f990e65ea74f3e
There are songs on here by Ron Sexsmith, Bonny Light Horseman, Kris Drever, Laura Marling, Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop, and Declan O’Rourke. I’m not going to say why or what I love about all of these songs and arrangements, but I will say a few things about some of them.
Firstly, if you click on that link, you’ll see that ‘There’s a Rhythm’ by Ron Sexsmith tops and tails the list. It also appears twice— in two differently produced arrangements — on his first record (released in 1995). I’m assuming that happened because he couldn’t choose between the two versions, and I can’t either! I’ve been listening to that record for a quarter of a century and I still don’t know which version is ‘better’. Maybe that’s the point — they’re just different. They’re also useful in thinking about ‘Bloodrush’ because the first version is more acoustic and the second has more of that ‘sonic wash’ I mentioned above.
Secondly, if you listen to ‘The Harbour’ by Declan O’Rourke (an artist who, in contrast to Ron Sexsmsith, is very new to me), you can hear that amazing ebb and flow between simplicity and depth produced by the coming and going of the strings (something that also features on Laura Marling’s ‘Song for our Daughter’). I love the way that this kind of arrangement and production draws you in and carries you (perfectly complementing the story in the lyrics) but doesn’t overwhelm you. The song comes from Declan O’Rourke’s recent record ‘Arrivals’ (produced by Paul Weller), which is one of the most lush and beautiful records that I’ve heard in years.
Finally, I couldn’t resist putting ‘Steel and Stone’, written by Sandy Wright and arranged and performed here by Kris Drever, on the list. This is partly because, to be honest, this is the kind of song I aspire to write, and that inspires me to write (although that’s true of everything on this playlist). In fact, the kind of sound produced by Kris’s current band is what first came to mind when thinking about how I’d like the arrangement and production of ‘Bloodrush’ to sound. Some people have been kind enough to say that the song already reminds them of Kris’s songs (which, of course, I take as a huge compliment). But I guess that begs another tricky question that I never thought I’d have to ask: What’s going to be distinctive about how Bloodrush (and anything else I ever record) is going to sound? Perhaps the answer is about the careful mix of our influences and our own voices. Everything we write (and every arrangement too) is bound to be shaped by what we’ve listened to and loved; hopefully, it becomes distinctive because none of us have precisely the same set of influences and experiences, and because none of us have the same voice.
Anyway, as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.