COMBO’s new writer Wild Bill (from his Facebook page)
Hello everyone and welcome back! As promised, I am going to write a bit about Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers old school method of recording. I am sure you are all with me that the great Tom Petty is sorely missed. What incredible music he wrote and recorded! There are only a few bands or artists that never ran out of music and hits in their career, and Tom Petty is in that
group for sure. After his untimely passing on October 2, 2017, I watched several videos looking back. I found a very interesting interview on YouTube of Tom talking about his and the Heartbreakers’ approach to songs, songwriting, and recording. At the bottom of this article, I have included the links to the interview.
Songwriting
It all starts with the song. As Tom Petty said, “It’s coming up with the song that is still the great challenge, because without it, without the actual (good) song, it doesn’t matter what you do in the recording studio, it’s not going to work.”
In the Heartbreakers, Tom was the predominant songwriter. He would write the songs, and bring the finished songs to the recording studio. There, Tom would present the songs to the Heartbreakers for the first time. There was no pre-rehearsal of the songs before going to the studio. When writing the songs, Tom would rather be in a happy spirit rather than after a down moment.
“If I feel horrible, the last thing I’m gonna (sic) do to is look for a guitar to write a song… I’m not one to write when I’m bummed out.”
As far as the process goes, he just worked it out as ideas came. He said lyrics “Just come out of the air….there’s some kind of actual magic going on there.”
Just like a lot of songwriters, the songs may come in pieces. For Tom, “The Waiting” was one of those. “It can be really frustrating if say you have a great chorus, but if you don’t know what should come in front of that chorus. It can really drive you nuts.” For “The Waiting”, he wrote the chorus first, then had to work the rest of the song out later.
Recording
Before bringing the new songs to the studio to show the Heartbreakers, Tom would record the finished songs at home with vocals and a guitar, and if he felt the songs worked like that, they would sound even better with the band and bring them in to record. “If they don’t work on that level, I’ve found there’s really no reason to bring it in.” Once he was satisfied the songs are promising he said:
“We have a process. I come in and play it to them (The Heartbreakers) on guitar, they will kind of be in a circle and watch, and I don’t really think they’re judging it yet, they’re just trying to learn it. And once they learn all the changes, we’ll have (record) a run through, and if we made it through the end, we’ll go into the control room and listen right away.”
Then they will discuss the song while listening to it and make decisions on what changes to make. After that, repeat and record a new take with the new changes and listen again. They have always recorded all of the basic tracks LIVE together at the same time and will record as many takes as needed to get the perfect one. Then they will overdub parts and add sounds and effects as necessary to finish and polish the recording.
Personal Notes
I found their method and approach to writing and recording songs enlightening and inspiring in this day and age of making sounds with computers and samples, and recording musicians separately. When asked why he records the whole band at once for the basic tracks Tom said, “Because we can.” He said “Many artists simply can’t play”. He wanted to record with musicians and make their own sounds which would undoubtedly have more feeling.
I also like Tom’s approach in not rehearsing the songs with the band before going to record them in the studio. I know many think that the band should be heavily rehearsed before going near an expensive studio, but I agree with Tom’s method for a few reasons. It wouldn’t take too long to teach the songs to the band, and the ideas the band brings will be fresh. Then just listen in the control room, make the changes needed, and finish recording the basic tracks with the whole band at once LIVE. Just do everything quick and efficiently, but perfect of course! By recording the whole band at once for the basic tracks, you get that band sound you can’t get by recording the instruments separately. you get the feel of the musicians playing together which I’m convinced made their records better.
Thanks for taking the time to read my article! Everyone has their method of recording and to each their own, but I thought Ton’s method made sense in efficiency and process. Next time I go into the studio I will use Tom’s method. All the best in your next recordings and have a happy June! Below are the links to Tom’s interview.
Keep on Rocking!!
By Wild Bill McClintock
My article comes out at the beginning of every month.
Thank you for your support, and your support of COMBO!
Bill’s recommended Tom Petty videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIJc3HQBUEI&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4B3tivQqGs&t=534s
[Editor’s comments: This may work but only if you have great players in your band!]