This is one of a long list of complimentary articles about my experiences with a true genius, Bob Crewe. He changed the music business, himself, with his array of artists, his musical sounds and his promotional talents.
He not only created a sound of an artist, but he came up with his songs, lyrics and rhythms and then he would promote the recording after the record was pressed. A good example was, “The Bob Crewe Generation” and the “Girl Watcher’s Theme”. The Bob Crewe Generation was Bob, himself as an artist who was about to face Al Hirt, the Jazz Trumpeter who was two weeks away from releasing another version of the song. Here was a case of an unknown artist getting a two week jump on a big time artist and of, course, BOB WON the WAR!
One thing, if nothing else, I learned and kept the concept with me for most of my life. It was, “It’s WHAT NOT WHO”…..
After a final take on a song which was being recorded, Bob asked the janitor to listen to what Bob was thinking was the “Final Mix” of a recording. The JANITOR? I couldn’t believe that Mr.Genius was asking a total amateur who hadn’t an inkling of what a mix was…. for this man’s opinion!
Bob asked Tory, the engineer, to put the recording on one single tiny “mono” speaker and play the mix. The Janitor
thought he was kidding. He said, “Sir, I don’t know anything about what you are asking”. Bob just said, “Are the Drums too loud?” … he played it twice! The janitor listened intently and said, Yes .. I think they are a bit too loud! Bob replied, “I agree … I thought so, but I wanted to make sure!” …. Everyone in engineer’s booth couldn’t believe that Bob Crewe had confirmed the result from a person who was so far from being professional, this entire situation was hard to believe.
Crewe explained to everyone that it took someone with a clear mind who was far removed from the recording business to CONFIRM Bob’s own thoughts. Bob said when he is saturated and tired it is easy for his ears to become, “Overloaded”. After all that work, Bob explained, it is easy to waste all that time with a unbalanced mix. New “ears” were needed and the janitor was the perfect person for Bob to confirm his own suspicions.
So from then on, I tried to remember that over-saturation can set in when a long recording session takes place. This tedious situation can easily hurt one’s prospective when trying to balance up to 24 tracks of different sounds on a recording tape.
IN OTHER WORDS, “IT IS NOT WHO, BUT WHAT!”
The who was the janitor, the what was this removed person’s prospective!
It is also a piece of psychology to keep to the thought and not give credit to the one who spoke the words and thought up the idea. I have said quite often, “It was YOUR IDEA, I just thought of it!?