CMT Blog: Kate York

More and more, the success of music producers is governed by whether or not they own a studio. Some of my favorite producers in Nashville operate starkly and simply in very modest environments, but from the sound of the records you would never guess. For example, Neilson Hubbard is a producer in East Nashville (the hip part of town in case you didn’t know) who built a small studio in his back garden and has produced some great records including Kate York’s Sadly Love and Matthew Perryman Jones’s Throwing Punches In the Dark. You wouldn’t know these records came out of a studio roughly the same size as the average American living room.

One of my favorite records of all time, Patty Griffin’s Thousand Kisses, comes from such a humble place it is almost unbelievable. The producer, Doug Lancio, recorded this in his basement and when I visited him for the first time I couldn’t believe how comfortable it felt. He has all the expensive gear, but other than that it feels like you’re in someone’s living room. Just listen to the opening track of Patty’s record and you can feel the intimacy of Doug’s home. You can’t manufacture that in a high fidelity studio.

The producer of a record should be like the skipper of a ship - not always hands-on, but making decisions that are the difference between life and death. In these days of declining sales and falling budgets, record companies are turning to producers who own their own studio to bring the record in under budget. In other words, you might be a great skipper, but you ain’t going far if you don’t own your own ship.

I was salivating over the holiday sweets in Williams-Sonoma over the weekend, when the voice of Dolly Parton singing “Hard Candy Christmas” clawed its way into my brain and stayed there ALL DAY. In the song, Dolly has just been dumped and doesn’t see how she’ll ever get through the holidays. To wit: “Maybe I’ll clear my junk. Maybe I’ll just get drunk.” Not too merry. Still, she won’t let sorrow bring her down. The song rivals George Michael’s “Last Christmas” as one of the most crushing Christmas songs ever, yet so easy to sing along with. In this song, he gives his heart away, only to find out that it was “regifted” the very next day. The nerve! He spends the rest of the song convincing himself that next year he’ll find someone even better under the mistletoe.

The singer Leigh Nash, formerly of Sixpence None the Richer, released a digital EP last year covering both of these songs, and it’s a special treat. I’m wary when artists sing “O Holy Night,” because as much as I love the song, only a few people can belt out that big note with conviction, but still sound reverent. Nash’s take on the hymn is rather subdued, and very sincere, and it’s the spiritual highlight of the project. Along with “Wishing for This” (the title track, which she wrote), Nash offers lovely renditions of Ron Sexsmith’s “Maybe This Christmas” and Kate York’s “Eternal Gifts.” All three songs suggest that there’s always room for self-improvement, and that the holidays are an ideal time to turn things around. That’s a Christmas gift that keeps on giving.

However, being sort of crotchety, I must warn you that the first song is “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” which is undoubtedly my least favorite Christmas song ever. The woman gives every possible explanation why she couldn’t dream of spending the night – and yet SHE WON’T LEAVE!! The art of flirtation is lost on me, I guess. Besides, like Dolly, I have better things to do around the holidays. Maybe I’ll hit the bars. Maybe I’ll count the stars until dawn. Me, I will go on.