Late last night I received two new mix tracks in my email box, from Jamie (my ex-husband and fantastic recording engineer – Jamie Bridges): one of which is a track that I recorded live with the band, in one take, on the day we did all the instrumental tracks.
This last track is referred to as my “reference vocal.” That means it’s the vocal I sing, in studio, so that the musicians can follow along when they record their tracks. Generally, ‘reference vocals’ are thought of as throwaway tracks, not meant to be kept or used on the final project, because the singer will go into the studio at a later date, alone, and record her final tracks, over the instrumental tracks, without the band.
Regarding that reference vocal, Jamie’s email said (and I quote):
This a frigging piece of Magic. There is no band on this planet that could play this elegantly around your vocal like this, but these guys. It was a lot of work to get this ruff mix up. But I think it was worth it. There are still a few details to fix and I need to up the level on the mix. The vibes have one distorted note. But your vocal is total magic. Go ahead try and top it I double dare you.
I said the same thing about “All I Want” and I was right.
This is why I use the best mic, micpre, compressor on your reference vocal. Most engineers would just use a Shure 58 and call it a day ( thinking the ref voc is just there to keep the band from f’ing up) – Jamie
I listened to the reference vocal and thought: “Yep. He’s right. This time!” It’s a keeper. I’m not going to touch it.
What’s really cool about it is that this particular song was thrown in at the last minute, with absolutely no rehearsal. Just Jonathan and Randy going over a few chords with Gerry on vibes, and me just having Alan count it in, and here we go.
That’s how they did it in the old days of jazz recording. Throw it together and see what happens. That’s what happens live on the stage, too…let’s do this song, in a totally different tempo, different key, different feel…and make some MUSIC!
So, it’s very exciting to capture on a recording, LIVE in the studio, what I like to call Magical Musical Moments. Unrehearsed. Unplanned.
The moral of this story?
There is no such thing as a ‘reference vocal!’ Each and every time that “RECORD” button is ON, sing it like you mean it, not as if it’s a ‘throwaway’ track.
You might just capture some Magic!
