Sometimes a small musical detail gives a song its character.
In this month’s blog, “The Devil’s in the Details,” I describe slipping a familiar childhood taunt into a bass line, planting a hint of a lyric that arrives later in the song. It’s one of the pleasures of making music: finding ways for the instruments to join in the storytelling.
For this month’s Featured Song, Defying the Sun, from our OMG album, we had a different idea. We wanted to give a studio recording the energy of a live performance.
The lyrics set the scene for a musical showdown. An ancient, forgotten melody emerges, a golden figure answers a bold challenge, and the stage is set for a contest against a seemingly unbeatable opponent.
“They say the sky’s too high to reach
But rules are only walls to breach.”
There’s a wonderfully cheeky confidence in that. Our challenger knows the odds, but he’s going to play anyway. By the time we reach “strings ablaze and fingers numb,” you can imagine someone pouring everything into the performance.
That was the spirit we wanted to bring to the recording.
The crowd atmosphere helps create the feeling that this showdown is happening in front of an audience. The lead playing adds to the excitement. Together, those touches invite you to picture the performance as you listen.
And it’s a fun song. For all the mythical stakes, there’s pleasure in hearing someone take on an impossible challenge with that much conviction.
Working on the final bass parts for WooWoo & VooDoo has reminded me how much these decisions matter. A musical hint can prepare you for a lyric. A crowd can turn a recording into an imagined event. A lead can give the confrontation in the words a voice of its own.
That’s why Defying the Sun feels right for this month.
Turn it up. Imagine yourself in the crowd. See who you’re rooting for.