"Things ain’t what they
used to be.” We often
hear that well-worn phrase
coming from individuals who
don’t want to look ahead. But,
like all clichés, there’s an element
of truth to it—especially
when it comes to modern
record production. So why
is it that so many of us are
still drawn to stuff from the
past—things like classic songs
and albums? Was it the endless
budgets, elevated musicianship,
top-flight studios and
engineers, record-company
support, and intense competition
among peers that created
timeless music, or was that
magic simply the sound of
another era? Just last week, I
was having this discussion with
Al Di Meola, and he offered a
slightly different—if somewhat
startling—perspective.
“You listen to those old
records we grew up with,” Di
Meola said, “and they are just
so good. There was another
thing happening at the time,
and it was
total focus. We don’t
have that anymore—our whole
landscape has changed because
of society’s compulsion to be
fully connected at all times.
We’re constantly on our cell
phones—talking, reading
and sending emails, texting,
checking our Facebook pages,
and tweeting. There’s no longer
a time, like we had back
then, when you’re completely
focused on your work. And
when we went home [back
then], we immediately played
music on our stereo. We didn’t
have a computer to run to.
We didn’t even have, at one
point, a message machine to
check! There was so much less
involvement with networking
and constantly responding to
people. There was nothing but
the music.
“When you listen back to
those records, they are phenomenal,
and it’s obvious the
musicians were thinking about
nothing but the music. Sure,
today we can do many more
things with Pro Tools—we’ve
got a lot more channels and
many more sounds—but it
actually takes far longer to
make a record. That’s because
our focus is fragmented all
over the place. If you took all
that time we waste playing
with our gadgets and applied
it to the music, would the
product be better? In my estimation,
absolutely. That’s one
of the many things that have
changed in this business.
“Back then, we were playing
more.
That’s what you
spent your time on—your
instrument. Also, there was an
absolute focus on the project
when you were in the studio.
None of the other musicians
were answering their cell
phones, or texting and tweeting.
Everybody was more
involved in the project—paying
attention to the tracks,
commenting and reacting to
the music. Listening back to
records from that era, you
ask yourself, how come there
aren’t any records like this
today?
“I’d like to ask every musician
I work with to leave their
laptop and cell phone at the
hotel when they’re recording
with me, but that would
be difficult or impossible.
Everyone—including me—is
constantly checking in. But
for what?
“Look at something like
Casino [Di Meola’s epic 1978
album] . . . I was simply more
involved in my work when
I made that record—I paid
attention to every detail more
intently because there were no
distractions. Today, everyone is
so scattered. Personally, I feel
it’s an epidemic problem.
“We can’t, unfortunately,
go backward from new technology.
That’s not going to
happen. But once you identify
‘constant connectivity’ as a
problem, then you can address
the issue by being disciplined
about your music and how
you spend your creative time
and energy. Turn off the
devices that distract you, limit
your time on machines, and
think about nothing but the
music. Ironically, this is advice
we give to kids and teenagers
about their TV and computer
usage, but so often we don‘t
follow it ourselves.”
Di Meola’s words got me
thinking about experiences
I’ve recently had producing
records, and he’s right: Not
long ago, I was cutting solos in
the studio with a guitarist who
had two cell phones on his
music stand. He would stop
playing right in the middle of
his solo to take phone calls!
Out of frustration, I finally
yelled at him, “Shut those
freaking things off!” It wasn’t
pretty. And it’s not a great way
to make lasting music.
Another well-respected
artist whose record I was engineering
was incredibly distracted
by his phone. He was trying
to manage his business affairs
while laying down tracks. I
asked him repeatedly if we
could simply resume work at
another time, but he wouldn’t
hear of it. I knew his mind
was not intently focused on his
work, and the end product, in
my opinion, reflected that.
This is just something to
think about. As Di Meola
stated, we can’t go backward
and reverse the spread of cell
phones and computers, nor
can we eliminate our odd
compulsion to be totally connected
to everyone we know
and everything that’s happening
with them. But when
you sit down to make your
next recording, write your
next piece of music, or simply
explore your guitar, do yourself
a favor and
turn it all off. For
the sake of your project and
music, do whatever it takes to
achieve total focus.
Rich Tozzoli is a
Grammy-nominated
engineer and mixer who
has worked with artists
ranging from Al Di
Meola to David Bowie.
A life-long guitarist, he’s
also the author of
Pro Tools Surround
Sound Mixing and composes for the
likes of Fox NFL, Discovery Channel,
Nickelodeon, and HBO.