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Fri, 13 Nov 1998 04:04:03 EST
Among producer Steve Lillywhite's greatest achievements is helping U2 break
through with their masterpiece, War.
[ Fri., November 13, 3:04 AM EST ]
U2, Dave Matthews Producer Reflects On 20 Years Of Hits
Studio-veteran Steve Lillywhite gives lowdown on guiding some of the biggest
albums of the past 20 years.
Contributing Editor Colin Devenish reports:
Not everyone could boast about being behind recordings from some of the
biggest rock stars of the past 20 years, but producer Steve Lillywhite can.
Despite his major role in developing high-profile artists such as U2, Dave
Matthews, Peter Gabriel, Phish and the Rolling Stones, the veteran sessions-
producer knows his place in the recording studio.
"I am not a songwriter. ... The musicians I work with build this ship, and
it's my job to steer the ship into port. I'm the captain," Lillywhite said
Monday in an online SonicNet/Yahoo chat.
"You can't say in words what attitude really is, but he [Keith Richards]
passes on a rock 'n' roll attitude." -- Steve Lillywhite, record producer
"On some records I have a lot to do with arrangements and others not so much.
XTC had spot-on arrangements, whereas early U2 albums needed guidance. So we
worked together on making them what they were."
What they were ultimately proved to be albums by some of the biggest names in
rock, such as U2, the Stones, Peter Gabriel, the Talking Heads, Phish and the
Dave Matthews Band. Most recently Lillywhite took the helm for the recording
of the Dave Matthews Band's latest multi-platinum offering, Before These
Crowded Streets.
While he's modest about his work, Lillywhite was thrilled and proud about his
association with these modern-day jam-rockers. "When I heard 'Remember Two
Things,' I thought, 'this is a band I must produce,' " he recalled.
Lillywhite described the different approaches they took in recording each
album.
Among the three CDs, he said, there were three sounds and three ways of
recording. "On the first album, the basic tracks were done with Dave
[Matthews] and guitar player Tim Reynolds panned left and right. And that was
pretty much it. There were no electrics on that record.
"Tim would overdub more acoustics. Dave never does a guitar overdub. When it
came to Crash, we kept them acoustic and miked them up through amps."
For Before These Crowded Streets, which included such songs as "Don't Drink
the Water" (RealAudio excerpt), he said that he and the band went back to just
acoustics but then did a fair amount of electric overdubbing with Reynolds.
Violin and saxophone were much the same on each album, he said, explaining
that he adds reverbs and choruses post-recording.
"Dave's grown up a lot ... lost some innocence, but gained something else.
Experience, I suppose," he concluded.
With this host of production credits to his name, Lillywhite should have
little trouble finding new acts for his own Gobstopper Records label, which
the producer said he hopes to have up and running by May.
Lillywhite also was instrumental in getting U2's career launched, working on
two of the Irish-rock superstar-band's biggest records, War (1983) and Joshua
Tree (1987), considered by some to be two of rock's greatest pieces of work.
He remembered Bono as the most attentive in the studio, urging the band to
come up with a tighter and tougher sound.
As he remembers it, U2 became more experimental in their recording as their
albums became increasingly successful.
"They were serious on the first albums. As success came, they loosened up more
and more," said Lillywhite, who worked behind the boards for U2's first three
LPs. "And as they grew up they became more confident."
Lillywhite cited "With or Without You" (RealAudio excerpt) from Joshua Tree as
his favorite U2 track.
"I sort-of molded that song and really enjoyed putting that together," he
said. "Even though at the time it was really intense stuff, I just look back
and remember it being fun."
Lillywhite also worked with jam-icons Phish on Billy Breathes (1996). During
his time with the Phish, he said, he helped them to develop a singular sound
and allowed them to develop their musicianship rather than fret over
production.
"I really enjoyed that album, certainly; the second half of that album is one
of my favorite pieces of music I've ever done, just because of the way it
flows," he said.
While Lillywhite, who cited U2's Achtung Baby and Radiohead's OK Computer as
his favorite albums of this decade, has helped guide so many artists to
success, he has not been above picking up a tip or two along the way from rock
veterans such as Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, whom he produced on
the band's Dirty Work (1986) album.
In fact, he said, it's what he learned from such veterans that helped him
develop his style.
"It's attitudes. You can't say in words what attitude really is, but he [Keith
Richards] passes on a rock 'n' roll attitude. ... I'll give you an example.
The way he plays the guitar, it goes out of tune very easily," Lillywhite
said.
"So towards the end of a song it would go sour," he continued. "And I would
turn down the guitar sound, but he said. 'Turn it up,' and somehow it sounded
right. That's what I learned -- even if it sounds wrong, turn it up loud and
it'll sound right. But if you are intimidated and turn it down, people know
it's a mistake."
"I learned a lot from them, more so than they learned from me."
des
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