When it comes to autobiographical songwriting and studio preproduction, Joe Henry is a disbeliever. But that hasn’t held him back musically. As a producer, Henry has worked with the likes of Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and Aimee Mann. As a writer, his credits include Madonna and Me’shell Ndegeocello. His 11 studio albums, ranging from country to rock and soul, are nothing to shake a stick at, either. Henry’s latest, blues-inflected effort, Blood From Stars [Anti-] was borne from meticulous rewriting, followed by a whirlwind recording process.
But his attention to detail doesn’t stop with individual songs. Henry wants every one to work together as a whole “to push the story forward.” What’s unusual is that the story is completely fabricated.
In the past, Henry made “detailed demos” for his collaborators to draw inspiration from. This time, he made no demos at all.
In his Garfield House Studio in South Pasadena, CA, Henry played songs on guitar or piano for Blood From Stars’ cast of characters, the musicians took notes, and they were off to the races and recording within minutes. The album took less than five days to produce (hours were 11 AM to 7 PM), and it was performed almost completely live.
To give themselves options in the mixing process, Henry and engineer Ryan Freeland avoided mic bleed as much as possible. Pianist Patrick Warren and guitarist Marc Ribot were in the main room, but Ribot’s guitar amp was “in a doghouse under the stairs.” Bassist David Piltch and keyboardist Keefus Ciancia went direct. Drummer Jay Bellerose was isolated in his own room, as was sax/clarinet player Levon Henry (Henry’s son). And Henry sang in the vocal booth. Pro Tools ran continually while the musicians were playing.
“What I want to get on ‘tape’ is that moment of discovery somewhere in take two, three, or four, where people have the song but it’s so new that nobody is doing anything by rote,” Henry says.
The loping, bluesy track, “The Man I Keep Hid,” was recorded in one take.
In making the album, plug-ins and a Shadow Hills compressor represented some newer gear, but Blood From Stars benefited mostly from a collection of vintage gear. Bellerose’s antique drums (“which have very particular rattly, flappy papery sounds,” Henry says) were recorded with ribbon mics: RCA 77DXs for overheads, Royer 122s over the snare and floor tom, and an RCA BK-5 in front of the kick drum.
Henry’s 1912-era upright Steinway piano was captured with a combination of ribbon and tube mics.
Ribot played through Henry’s ’50s Gibson CF-100E cutaway acoustic, ’57 Gibson ES-175, ’52 Fender Telecaster, and a Spanish gut-string guitar. Amps included a mid-’50s Gibson tweed and a’65 Fender Blackface Deluxe through an old reverb tank.
A combination of Neumann M 49 and AEA A440 mics were used side-byside, an inch apart, for Henry’s vocals.
Some ’50s Gates Sta-Level and Level Devil compressors, the Retro Instruments Sta-Level replica, and some Ampex and Pultec preamps figured into recording, too. But all that vintage gear wasn’t responsible for making a great album in under a week.