Ken Caillat's book...bits and tidbits

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by Gailh

Christine was classically trained and in one of the interviews for ITM she mentioned "ploughing through some Mozart" just to see if she can still sight read

Of course she can read music

Gail

Yes, I didn't see this post when I commented above. And yes, it was Mozart, not Beethoven. Good memory, Gail.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Yes, I took piano lessons for 7 years and I doubt whether I could find Middle C, but Christine has said that every now and then she will still play a classical piece just for the exercise and discipline. So, I think she still knows how.

Michele

Yes, I believe she said she played Mozart for fun. And it would take her a few days to plod through it.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

Yes, I didn't see this post when I commented above. And yes, it was Mozart, not Beethoven. Good memory, Gail.

Whoops... didn't read the whole thread either. ... .

[bombaysaffires]

oh there's definitely gossip and snark.... he makes reference to Lindsey's anger management issues a lot, and says LB not only got physical with him, but with a woman named Christina, and with Carol..... the gossip is just intertwined with some technical stuff and some rather juvenile descriptions of his swinging' single dude days...

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

the gossip is just intertwined with some technical stuff and some rather juvenile descriptions of his swinging' single dude days...

I got a sense of this reading portions of it in the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon.com, so I didn't fork over the cash.

[David]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

For what it's worth, I didn't lose my sight reading skills either. I stopped playing piano for two decades when, this past year, I returned to it and started working through some Bartok I had never played before. It was a little rough at first, but by the end of the second week, I was working through those pieces pretty quickly.

Will you help me with my Bartok?

[sodascouts]

Originally Posted by pwyll

I don't think anyone should really comment until reading the book.

I only have about 50 pages left and find it very interesting.
This isn't a tell all and gossip. It is more about the technical aspects of the recording process and the equipment used, etc. In fact, for the Stevie fans (including myself), I was surprised to find that there really much about Stevie in the book for the most part. As she is not a "musician", there was not much at all for her to do. A lot of decisions - even about some of the vocals were done when she wasn't even there.
The intent was not to minimize Stevie in the process, it is just the way it was. The instrumentation and retakes consumed much time in the studio. In fact, somewhere in the book, Ken estimates that Stevie's work on the album was only approximately 10% of the total recording. That makes a whole lot of sense.

The book is very interesting. I'm enjoying as it is NOT a gossip.

I recommend it to ANY fan.

Just got done myself. There is next to nothing about drama between band members. He apparently didn't even know SnL were breaking up until a few weeks into it. There is one paragraph about one argument between Stevie and Lindsey where he quotes three lines of dialog, but that's it. He does talk about drama between himself and LB, but I daresay that's not the kind of drama most fans were hoping to hear about.

The book is good for its information about the recording process. I played Rumours while reading it and I thought it was cool when he would tell you where in a song he used a certain lick or sound. I'd go back and listen to it, and it gave me a new perspective on sound construction.

[jannieC]

I finished the book over the week-end. Eh. The book should be marketed more to would-be producers rather than FM fans. I wasn't looking for dirt or drama about the relationships, but I was hoping for more about how the different members felt/acted about their songs, maybe?

The somewhat vague remarks about Stevie were interesting because he never said what happened. He would make statements about how at the time, he still thought she was just a sweet/cool girl back then (totally paraphrasing) but then never explains why that view changed. I also thought the ending was somewhat odd; the last sentence in the book makes reference to Lindsey's difficult nature.

Anyway, I wish Ken the best with this book and as I said, a would be producer or musician who is also a fan of FM would really enjoy it.

[Blueletter18]

I thought the part about John flirting with Linda Ronstadt when she and Governor Brown visited the studio was funny. That would be so awesome, LR and FM in the same studio!! I really hope Caillat writes a book about Tusk at least, and I would also love to hear about Mirage. I really like how he seemed to keep the drama to a minimum and based the book on facts.

[darkcat]

Myself, I would have liked a little more drama and a little less about the technical aspects of making the record. Overall I enjoyed it though. Did give more appreciation for all the work they did on that album.

[desertangel]

Just finished the book yesterday, while I lay in bed... sick. I liked it! I thought it would make a good HBO Movie-of-the-Week. It reads like it was written from his journal, although it does bounce around a little in terms of going off on certain tangents. For example, when his grandfather died, he expounded on family, but it does not take away from the general flow of the book. I thought it was funny in parts, such as when he describes getting crabs. I didn't get a good feel for band politics, it seemed more like he wrote from a perspective of how it was to be an employee of the band and how he observed his bosses. (Maybe I didn't pick up on it.) I dropped jaw on the part about his dog Scooter and how he ended up on the cover of Tusk, Stevie said she'd put a hex on him and when the dog died a few years later, Stevie made a snide remark about it then said she she should have been the one on that album cover. Sure doesn't sound like the Stevie we've come to know and love... WOW! The technical parts about the songs are interspersed with the personal anecdotes, so it doesn't bog down there either. I went back and made notes so I could listen for certain things like the naugahyde chair in Second Hand News... we may have already known about that one, but the only one I remember is the Kleenex box on Tusk. I would recommend it. It's not too expensive, particularly if you can get the Kindle version, and it will only take a few days to read. Did I learn anything new? I dunno... but it was pretty cool the way he wrote made you feel like you were there. The fly on the wall thing is always cool.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by desertangel

Just finished the book yesterday, while I lay in bed... sick. I liked it! I thought it would make a good HBO Movie-of-the-Week. It reads like it was written from his journal, although it does bounce around a little in terms of going off on certain tangents. For example, when his grandfather died, he expounded on family, but it does not take away from the general flow of the book. I thought it was funny in parts, such as when he describes getting crabs. I didn't get a good feel for band politics, it seemed more like he wrote from a perspective of how it was to be an employee of the band and how he observed his bosses. (Maybe I didn't pick up on it.) I dropped jaw on the part about his dog Scooter and how he ended up on the cover of Tusk, Stevie said she'd put a hex on him and when the dog died a few years later, Stevie made a snide remark about it then said she she should have been the one on that album cover. Sure doesn't sound like the Stevie we've come to know and love... WOW! The technical parts about the songs are interspersed with the personal anecdotes, so it doesn't bog down there either. I went back and made notes so I could listen for certain things like the naugahyde chair in Second Hand News... we may have already known about that one, but the only one I remember is the Kleenex box on Tusk. I would recommend it. It's not too expensive, particularly if you can get the Kindle version, and it will only take a few days to read. Did I learn anything new? I dunno... but it was pretty cool the way he wrote made you feel like you were there. The fly on the wall thing is always cool.

What I get is there was some real venom there... She was pissed offff over things. No wonder she branched out.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by desertangel

Just finished the book yesterday, while I lay in bed... sick. I liked it! I thought it would make a good HBO Movie-of-the-Week. It reads like it was written from his journal, although it does bounce around a little in terms of going off on certain tangents. For example, when his grandfather died, he expounded on family, but it does not take away from the general flow of the book. I thought it was funny in parts, such as when he describes getting crabs. I didn't get a good feel for band politics, it seemed more like he wrote from a perspective of how it was to be an employee of the band and how he observed his bosses. (Maybe I didn't pick up on it.) I dropped jaw on the part about his dog Scooter and how he ended up on the cover of Tusk, Stevie said she'd put a hex on him and when the dog died a few years later, Stevie made a snide remark about it then said she she should have been the one on that album cover. Sure doesn't sound like the Stevie we've come to know and love... WOW! The technical parts about the songs are interspersed with the personal anecdotes, so it doesn't bog down there either. I went back and made notes so I could listen for certain things like the naugahyde chair in Second Hand News... we may have already known about that one, but the only one I remember is the Kleenex box on Tusk. I would recommend it. It's not too expensive, particularly if you can get the Kindle version, and it will only take a few days to read. Did I learn anything new? I dunno... but it was pretty cool the way he wrote made you feel like you were there. The fly on the wall thing is always cool.

Yeah, I love the way he wrote too.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by David

Will you help me with my Bartok?

Sure...The best preparation for Bartok is Bartok. Start with the early stuff from Microcosmos, then build gradually. Those early "easy" pieces really do prepare you for the swirling difficulties that come later!

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

Yeah, I love the way he wrote too.

Okay, if you liked the book then I might buy it after all. I trust your judgment.