![]() ![]() During a day of recording, Harry sang two lead parts and some harmonies, less work than she did previously with Gottehrer. He remembers Harry disappearing into the bathroom in tears for several hours at a time during recording. Chapman was far more cautious of demanding much from Harry as he saw her as a highly emotional person who would vest these emotions in the songs they made. Ĭhapman took an unorthodox approach when recording with Harry whom he describes as "a great singer and a great vocal stylist, with a beautifully identifiable voice. They just wanted to have fun and didn't want to work too hard getting it. They were really, really juvenile in their approach to life-a classic New York underground rock band-and they didn't give a fuck about anything. None of them liked each other, except Chris and Debbie, and there was so much animosity. The Blondies were tough in the studio, real tough. Chapman recalls the atmosphere at the Record Plant in an interview for Sound on Sound: Bassist Nigel Harrison became so frustrated with Chapman's drive for perfection that he threw a synthesizer at him during recording. As a result, Chapman spent time improving the band, especially Stein with whom Chapman spent hours rerecording his parts to ensure they were right. Similarly, according to Chapman, Jimmy Destri would prove himself to be far better at songwriting than as a keyboardist, and Clem Burke had poor timing playing drums. Sessions with Chris Stein were hampered by his being stoned during recording, and Chapman encouraged him to write songs rather than play guitar. However, Chapman found the band difficult to work with, remembering them as the worst band he ever worked with in terms of musical ability, although praising Frank Infante as "an amazing guitarist". In June 1978 the band entered the Record Plant in New York to record their third album, and first with Chapman. Harry's cautiousness abated after she played Chapman early cuts of "Heart of Glass" and "Sunday Girl" and he was impressed. However, lead vocalist Debbie Harry was far less enthusiastic about Chapman's involvement as she knew him only by reputation according to Chapman, her animosity towards him was because "they were New York. Drummer Clem Burke recalls feeling enthusiastic about the proposition, believing Chapman could create innovative and eclectic records. Peter Leeds, Blondie's manager, conspired with Chrysalis Records to encourage Chapman to work with Blondie on new music. During a tour of the west coast of the US in support of Plastic Letters, Blondie encountered Australian producer Mike Chapman in California. Mike Chapman, in an interview for Sound on Sound, recalling Blondie's initial musical inexperience īlondie's second studio album Plastic Letters was their last album produced by Richard Gottehrer, whose sound had formed the basis of Blondie's new wave and punk output. I basically went in there like Adolf Hitler and said, 'You are going to make a great record, and that means you're going to start playing better.'" "Musically, Blondie were hopelessly horrible when we first began rehearsing for Parallel Lines, and in terms of my attitude they didn't know what had hit them. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |