atmospheric. Sherrill produced while Ron "Snake" Reynolds acted as engineer; it was Costello's first studio album not produced by Lowe. Alongside the Attractions, country musician John McFee, a member of the Doobie Brothers, was invited to contribute pedal steel and additional guitar overdubs to add an authentic country sound. Costello explained: "We wanted the sound but we didn't necessarily want the main instrumental line which usually comes from the steel in country to be somebody we'd never heard before." The sessions were filmed by a camera crew, who were directed by Peter Carr, for the TV arts programme The South Bank Show. The camera crew did little to ease the already tense atmosphere. Costello himself was in poor health: he looked pale, was overweight and was constantly drinking, which led to the recording of Haggard's "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" and Rich's "Sittin' and Thinkin". According to Costello, Sherrill acted as a poor producer. Compared to Lowe, Sherrill was distant, uncommunicative and more interested in personal ventures, such as buying speedboats, than producing. With different work ethics, the producer and artist clashed frequently, with the latter stating that "after a while it was less of a collaboration and more of a contest in cultural differences". Costello recalled at one point finding Sherrill and Reynolds comparing handguns behind the mixing desk. The producer also had little faith in the project itself; he and CBS saw the sessions as an "Englishman's indulgence, a cultural holiday in music he didn't really understand". He later recalled: "I entered into the thing totally in the dark. I really wasn't into him that much. I didn't know what I could contribute." McFee even remembered an instance where Sherrill pulled him aside and asked him "What the hell does this guy think he wants to make a country record for?" The Attractions also disliked Sherrill, although Nieve and Pete Thomas enjoyed country music and the project as a whole, while Bruce Thomas did not. One day the band ran through a fast rendition of Hank Williams' "Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do)?", which Sherrill enjoyed and requested they mirror the take with a second. He later declared: "I've heard that song since I was eight weeks old and it's the only time I've ever heard it done that way. In fact, it's what I thought he was going to do with all