[potsie]

The shapes of colours look like states, provinces, townships to me, almost like a map of origins...of the songs or their subjects. Unlikely to actually be that, of course, but it's what I thought of when I looked past the silhouette of the hand to the map-like combos of straight & jagged lines in the shapes. Like somehow I will discover there's a song in the tracklist abt the person who features in 'Bobcaygeon', & a secret map of Bobcaygeon on the cover.

After reading this I had to go back and count the number of colour swatches on the album cover. I would have been blown away by your theory if there had been 23. Unfortunately there are 33. But still a very interesting thought.

[chagrinfalls]

The shapes of colours look like states, provinces, townships to me, almost like a map of origins...of the songs or their subjects. Unlikely to actually be that, of course, but it's what I thought of when I looked past the silhouette of the hand to the map-like combos of straight & jagged lines in the shapes. Like somehow I will discover there's a song in the tracklist abt the person who features in 'Bobcaygeon', & a secret map of Bobcaygeon on the cover.

After reading this I had to go back and count the number of colour swatches on the album cover. I would have been blown away by your theory if there had been 23. Unfortunately there are 33. But still a very interesting thought.

Yeah, trust me when I say I counted the shapes twice just to be sure before I posted. The theory I'm going with, lol, is that 10 songs didn't make it onto the final album :wink:
I hope Gord does an interview or two, & I hope he's asked about the artwork.

[potsie]

The music was recorded swiftly over two four-day sessions in January 2016 and February 2017, with the final album often reflecting first takes.

I've never understood why musicians wear "first takes" as a badge of honour. You would never see a writer say, "The new novel from x, with most chapters representing first drafts". First takes can mean that you played it 50 times and never nailed as well as you did the first time, and that's fine. However, in the case of Gord recording 23 songs over 8 days I would have to believe that first takes for Introduce Yerself is going to mean a lot of "one and dones". There is a certain charm in something that is fresh and not over-cooked, but it also leaves the question of "Could it have been done better?" lingering in the air. Which is the question that I sometimes find hovering above Coke Machine Glow. For as much as I love it, it feels like an unfinished record at times (vs. the more complete The Grand Bounce). I think I'll probably feel the same about this one.

I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth here as I'm very grateful for anything, and understand that time is not a luxury for Gord. I guess what I'm questioning is the marketing. It seems to set it up for diminished expectations, as in "You don't like it? Well, it's a bunch of first takes. What did you expect?" It is not far off from calling it an album of demos and is an odd choice.

[TG]

The music was recorded swiftly over two four-day sessions in January 2016 and February 2017, with the final album often reflecting first takes.

I've never understood why musicians wear "first takes" as a badge of honour. You would never see a writer say, "The new novel from x, with most chapters representing first drafts".

You never read kerouac i take it??

[potsie]

The music was recorded swiftly over two four-day sessions in January 2016 and February 2017, with the final album often reflecting first takes.

I've never understood why musicians wear "first takes" as a badge of honour. You would never see a writer say, "The new novel from x, with most chapters representing first drafts".

You never read kerouac i take it??

To answer your question, I've certainly read Kerouac. In fact when I hear the line "Roman a clef" in the bridge of "Lionized" the first thing I think of is On the Road, maybe the best example of that style (although Fear and Loathing is close!). Kerouac turned out a first draft of On the Road a number of years before it was published, and certainly did so in one sustained burst. However, this underwent three more drafts before publishing. So, yes, his style of spontaneous prose would be a close proximity to "first take" recording, but not a direct match. Anyway, it is the marketing of the album by explicitly mentioning "first takes" that I find curious. That's not to say first takes can't be great, it's just not a descriptor I think you'd want to use in marketing, unless you were trying to position the album as being "different" by contrasting it to how albums are conventionally made.

[TG]

. Anyway, it is the marketing of the album by explicitly mentioning "first takes" that I find curious. That's not to say first takes can't be great, it's just not a descriptor I think you'd want to use in marketing, unless you were trying to position the album as being "different" by contrasting it to how albums are conventionally made.

Thats a fair enough point.

I personally like writing fussed over and music not. Love them both, but I much prefer Coke Machine Glow immensely over The Grand Bounce. There's warmth and immediacy to CMG, where as TGB seems sterile to me.

Different strokes, I suppose.

[direwolf74]

The music was recorded swiftly over two four-day sessions in January 2016 and February 2017, with the final album often reflecting first takes.

I've never understood why musicians wear "first takes" as a badge of honour. You would never see a writer say, "The new novel from x, with most chapters representing first drafts". First takes can mean that you played it 50 times and never nailed as well as you did the first time, and that's fine. However, in the case of Gord recording 23 songs over 8 days I would have to believe that first takes for Introduce Yerself is going to mean a lot of "one and dones". There is a certain charm in something that is fresh and not over-cooked, but it also leaves the question of "Could it have been done better?" lingering in the air. Which is the question that I sometimes find hovering above Coke Machine Glow. For as much as I love it, it feels like an unfinished record at times (vs. the more complete The Grand Bounce). I think I'll probably feel the same about this one.

One of my favorite aspects of CMG is the raw/improvisational nature of the recording. I actually prefer it to the Grand Bounce, and I think it's one of the best and most unique Canadian albums ever made. Could it have been polished up a little more? Sure. Would I want that as a listener? No way. At least not in the case of that particular album.

Having spent time in a recording studio with various bands in my younger days, I can tell you that the first take is often the best one. Especially if you've already rehearsed the songs before going in to the studio. There's something to be said for not over-thinking things too much, relaxing, and just letting her rip. It's more like a live show that way. I'm guessing that's what Gord and Kevin Drew were going for with this new album. I wouldn't be surprised if the songs were already fully written and practiced for the most part before they recorded them. Therefore they were able to go into the studio and knock it out in 8 days. I have no issue whatsoever with first takes or quick recording sessions, provided the songs are good and it doesn't sound like crap.

[potsie]

I personally like writing fussed over and music not.

That's an interesting statement. I like them both fussed over a bit but if I had to choose I'd tend to agree with you... more time on lyrics and melody and less on music. This wouldn't apply to every band I like, but it would apply to Gord.

Love them both, but I much prefer Coke Machine Glow immensely over The Grand Bounce. There's warmth and immediacy to CMG, where as TGB seems sterile to me. Different strokes, I suppose.

I think the Grand Bounce ranks higher than at least a few of the Hip albums for me (probably M@W, WATS, and NFPA). As much as I love CMG, I'm not sure I can say that about it. I think there is a lot of warmth to TGB and I love what Chris Walla did production-wise. It still has some rough charm to it. In fact, speaking of "first takes", the first word out of Gord's mouth on TGB is "one more take", indicating that the version of East Wind on the album is definitely not a first take!

[potsie]

One of my favorite aspects of CMG is the raw/improvisational nature of the recording. I actually prefer it to the Grand Bounce, and I think it's one of the best and most unique Canadian albums ever made. Could it have been polished up a little more? Sure. Would I want that as a listener? No way. At least not in the case of that particular album.

I think CMG is the album that Gord had to make at that time. Too often solo albums from artists sound just like their day-job-band, since a singer is an integral part of any band's sound. CMG sounds vastly different from anything the Hip had done to that point, and that's exactly what I would have wanted from him at that time. With recording it can be a fine line between polishing the tunes up a bit and sanding off all the edges until they're beach-stone smooth. I certainly don't want the latter but I think there is a happy medium to be found there. How can you know how good a tune could be unless you run through it a few times?

Having spent time in a recording studio with various bands in my younger days, I can tell you that the first take is often the best one. Especially if you've already rehearsed the songs before going in to the studio. There's something to be said for not over-thinking things too much, relaxing, and just letting her rip. It's more like a live show that way. I'm guessing that's what Gord and Kevin Drew were going for with this new album. I wouldn't be surprised if the songs were already fully written and practiced for the most part before they recorded them. Therefore they were able to go into the studio and knock it out in 8 days. I have no issue whatsoever with first takes or quick recording sessions, provided the songs are good and it doesn't sound like crap.

I differ from you in thinking on the level of preparation for this album. I would be very surprised if these songs were well practiced before they were recorded. I think this album is going to be as raw as anything Gord's done to date and I think many of these tunes are going to represent "rough drafts". And maybe that roughness and spontaneity will match well the emotional nature of the songs. In the end, I'm not opposed to "first takes". As I mentioned above, I just find the marketing of it as being odd.

[Killer Whale Tank]

I can't listen to "Secret Path" either. It's just too sad; and since I became a parent years ago I just don't have the emotional capacity to absorb representations of that kind of pain, especially involving kids. Now sure, you can say that it's the least a white-privileged guy like me can do, given that the victims of residential schooling had to endure much worse, for years; but ultimately art/entertainment are not a penance to be endured.

As for this one: I wouldn't make a religion out of "first takes," but I am DEFINITELY on the side of spontaneity and live-off-the-floor recording. I agree with Nick Lowe that the modern recording process, with its endless tracking and curatorial care over every track, tends to siphon the life out of the music so that it can't breathe. Even excellent acts, whether U2 or The Shins or whatever, tend to have a suffocating quality to their work under these circumstances. That said, it is imperative that this "first take" approach be applied to fully-prepared songs. If you're going in with half-written numbers and recording the first plausibly completed version of them you get, then there are likely to be too many similar melodies and non-melodies and too much tonal similarity. In other words, first takes are one thing, improvisation another. A whole album of the latter will likely grate after a while.

I think we can all understand Gord's urgency. And I hope the desire to pay tribute to his loved ones led him to whittle away with precision and determination at these songs while they were still in the gestation stage. I'm sure the lyrics are fully-considered, but what about the melody and the music? There are definite artistic dangers here: of private writing, the aesthetic equivalent of in-jokes, of allowing the artist's personal sentiment for his subject to get in the way of his ability to craft something that will move strangers to that relationship - and also of confusing a privately very meaningful lyric with a fully-realized song. Nor, given his personal situation, is Gord likely to receive much constructive criticism, from Drew, or from anyone; this too can be a barrier to creative excellence.

Conversely, the deeply personal and unguarded nature of the project could lead to a unique artistic masterpiece, like "Plastic Ono Band." Or (most likely) a mixed result. Whatever the outcome, it'll be fascinating to hear.

[andrew sharpe]

Good points by all...I also cringe whenever I hear artists brag about how quickly they banged something out (We recorded this whole album in two nights!)...I don't see speed as any sort of achievement in itself. I will say I expect this album to be similar in style to Secret Path, more beat poetry than pop music, with mismatched melodies and improvised instrumentation, so in that style it makes sense to publish first takes.

[Moof_Milker]

Great points/comments here. Reminds me of something I've heard Neil Young, who often uses early takes, say...and I'm paraphrasing wildly from memory...
With every take of a song in the studio, the further detached from the emotional core of the song the artist can become...despite the song getting "better" technically with each take. One approach is not better than the other. There's a time and place for both quick recording sessions and longer recording sessions. It's like the difference between a taking photograph and a painting a portrait. Sometimes I like taking photos...and other times I like painting pictures.
Applying this analogy, 'Introduce Yerself' sounds like a photograph.

[potsie]

Great points/comments here. Reminds me of something I've heard Neil Young, who often uses early takes, say...and I'm paraphrasing wildly from memory...
With every take of a song in the studio, the further detached from the emotional core of the song the artist can become...despite the song getting "better" technically with each take. One approach is not better than the other. There's a time and place for both quick recording sessions and longer recording sessions. It's like the difference between a taking photograph and a painting a portrait. Sometimes I like taking photos...and other times I like painting pictures.
Applying this analogy, 'Introduce Yerself' sounds like a photograph.

Great analogy. In keeping with the Neil Young reference, his long-time producer (and "Ocean's Next"-famous) David Briggs was fond of saying, "The more you think, the more you stink". I guess he must have preferred Neil's photography more than his painting.

[swm]

Many, many years ago I read Dylan was a 2 takes max guy.

[arewhyehen]

Many, many years ago I read Dylan was a 2 takes max guy.

With all this Tom Petty news today, there was an interview of him on the radio talking about recording an album back in the day with his band and they only would work on a song for 1 day, because by day 2 they got bored or it and lost interest, so if it wasn't finished at the end of day 1, they would scrap the song and start a new one the next day.