The Ledge - Dream list of producers for Christine’s solo material

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Dream list of producers for Christine’s solo material

Am I the only one who thought Patrick Leonard did an incredible job with Christine’s songs for the Chain boxset? Love Shines and Heart of Stone blew me away when I heard them, and they hold up to this day. Billy Burnette said Leonard was really expensive, and based on his previous work with Madonna, I believe it. What a hitmaker he was! Imagine a solo album with 12 songs instead of just 2! Or even a FM album with Billy as well.

Peter Asher- he produced many albums, including Linda Ronstadt and 10,000 Maniacs. His style would have been fascinating with Christine’s material, I think. Maybe less commercial, though.

Arif Mardin- he produced Bette Midler songs like From a Distance and Wind Beneath My Wings. Could he have provided songs from hitmakers like Diane Warren for Christine? Would he have been too much of a snooze for Christine’s songs?

Curious who else might have been a good match for Christine.

I'm not too familiar with producers, but I wish that there had been one or more collabs of some kind between Christine and Elton John. A pair of hit-making British pop pianists... how did their worlds never collide musically?

The best connection I know of, and one that proves their compatability, is Elton's cover of Don't Stop for the Rumours cover anthology album.

Patric Leonard.

I mean, can't argue with his work thus far.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveMacD (Post 1276337)

Patric Leonard.

I mean, can't argue with his work thus far.

He’s the one. Those two Christine songs he produced for THE CHAIN compilation are spot on. He knew exactly how to get the most out of her talents—and how to exploit the supporting accompaniments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aleuzzi (Post 1276342)

He’s the one. Those two Christine songs he produced for THE CHAIN compilation are spot on. He knew exactly how to get the most out of her talents—and how to exploit the supporting accompaniments.

Those songs are soaked with McVie. I agree. Nice to hear her talent shine through.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr (Post 1277236)

Those songs are soaked with McVie. I agree. Nice to hear her talent shine through.

Yes, definitely.

Two thoughts regarding Patrick Leonard; first, while the glory days for FM at that point were past, I can’t help but wonder what a full album of songs produced by Patrick would have sounded like. Judging from the two songs he did produce, they would have been incredible, and Christine would have finally come into her own. Could Patrick have also worked wonders with Billy’s songs, too?

Second, what would Patrick have been able to do with Stevie’s material then? Most of us agree that her writing well had been tapped since the Wild Heart- When I See You Again, Welcome to the Room Sara, Paper Doll, Freedom, the Second Time, Affairs of the Heart, most of Rock a Little, OSOTM, and Street Angel were all evidence of that. Could Patrick have done something better with Affairs of the Heart? He made Christine’s songs sound so lush, I think he could have done the same with AOTH. Also Planets of the Universe, if anyone would have thought of that old nugget.

I love Behind the Mask, but knowing the album underperformed and many fans don’t care for it, I can’t help but wonder what the end result would have been if FM had paid out big bucks to Patrick Leonard to produce or at least co-produce Behind the Mask. Imagine Heart of Stone and Love Shines on that album and already the album jumps up several notches.

If only…

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwboy (Post 1277253)

I dont really disagree with you. But its important to remember that BTM was not chasing pop success the way Tango was. The band dove deep back into blusey sound and did not embrace a pop sound. Having said that, YES Chris still can write some good pop songs like Save Me and Skies The Limit. But the album is good IMHO because it stands on its own. All the songs have real instruments. Chris plays keyboards all over it and no drum machines. That is something I did not like on Tango. Stevie's songs were the weakness of the album as crazy as that sounds. Long story short, I admire them for going what was pleasing to their ears compared to chasing Tango's sugar pop radio success.