Producer Randall Poster Talks FM (WSJ)

[michelej1]

By John Jurgensen for the Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/...fleetwood-mac/

August 14, 2012
A Music Producer Pays Homage to Fleetwood Mac

To assemble a tribute album to Fleetwood Mac, producer Randall Poster faced two daunting challenges: picking a cross-section of songs from the band’s 17 studio albums, and recruiting artists who could interpret these tracks–some of them numbingly familiar–in a fresh way. To pull that off, Poster drew on the craft and connections he has built up over more than a decade as a music supervisor, selecting the songs that permeate shows like HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” and films by music-obsessed directors such as Martin Scorsese and Wes Anderson.

Out Tuesday, “Just Tell Me That You Want Me” features a diverse roster of contributors, including Best Coast (“Rhiannon”), Antony (“Landslide”) and MGMT (“Future Games”). It’s the third tribute album Poster has overseen, if you count the soundtrack to the Todd Haynes-directed Bob Dylan portrait “I’m Not There.” Last year saw the release of a Poster-produced Buddy Holly tribute, which boasted Cee Lo Green, Paul McCartney and Patti Smith. The set sold 80,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan, a strong showing for a tribute album. The producer recently talked about putting together the Fleetwood Mac project, what makes some tribute albums fall short, and why he can’t get enough of singer (and ex-wife of Jack White) Karen Elson.

How did you get started on tribute albums?

The Buddy Holly album started with his 75th anniversary, and the people involved in his business let me run with it. By virtue of the success of that project, the people from the record label asked what I wanted to do next, and Fleetwood Mac was the answer.

Buddy Holly’s catalog is relatively small. Fleetwood Mac’s spans more than four decades.

Having been captivated and a bit of obsessive, I thought it would be interesting to draw a line through the band’s beginnings to its more recent incarnation. There’s the early Peter Green Fleetwood Mac, the mid-career Bob Welch era, and the classic Stevie [Nicks], Lindsey [Buckingham] era. Part of the goal was to bring Peter Green and his music into people’s awareness, along with the fact that the band didn’t start with “Rumors.”

What was your process?

We put together our master list of songs that we would have to have in consideration. We tagged about 30 tracks. The Stevie songs are the most magnetic, in a way, and the most famous and challenging. A lot of those songs were taken on by singers who have a distinct sound themselves. We didn’t want this to sound like bands sitting around a campfire singing Fleetwood Mac. Sometimes it’s someone you really want to work with, or a recent discovery, and sometimes connections come through certain producers I work with.

What’s a pairing you wanted from the start, and one that was more surprising?

Antony [Hegarty]. From the outset, the notion of his doing “Landslide” was something we wanted to get done. And one of my favorite singers, Bonnie Prince Billy, knows [producer] Matt Sweeney, who is part of my regular cast of characters. And it came out that he had this notion to cut “Storms.” I didn’t preconceive that and it turned out fantastic. Then there’s a band Gardens & Villa [“Gypsy”]. I curated a little music festival at South By Southwest and they were on the bill, so I wanted to include them.

Karen Elson is the only artist on both the tribute albums you’ve produced.

I just made a commitment in life to put her on everything I do. She sings great, looks great, and is great. So there’s no end in sight, really. She and Beck had been working together a bit, so this was a perfect chance for them to do a finished track and get it out into the world.

What makes some tribute albums fail?

When these things don’t work, they can be a bit cheesy. That’s because people will settle for what they get. We don’t settle. Where we tried something and it didn’t work out, we cut the losses rather than corrupt the whole thing.

How often did that happen for you?

I think it happened once on each album. It’s just hard to do. If you don’t find the door to an interpretation, it’s clear that it’s not right. Artists like to have the interplay with the producers and, if they have the time, to take some notes from us. The Kills went in to do a Peter Green song, “Man of the World.” It just wasn’t working. They ended up doing a great version of “Dreams.”

How much direction do you give them from the outset?

Antony doing “Landslide,” that’s the recipe, but I’m going to let him frost it as he sees fit. Generally they send you a rough cut. Then I might say, can we fatten the bass or add a layer of psychedelic guitar? With [Sonic Youth’s] Lee Ranaldo, there was a point when I said, why don’t you cut “Albatross” and let’s get J Mascis on it?

Did any past or current members of Fleetwood Mac have any input?

Nope, nope, nope. But soon after the tracks started premiering online, they announced tour dates for 2013. So I’m taking credit for the reunion.

How does this process compare to that of music supervision on a movie?

I use a lot of the same skills with a certain added freedom. I think of these album as if they’re movies. What’s a nice change up is that it’s not contingent on taking these pieces of music and fitting them into a 40-second [film] sequence. I don’t have to justify the expense [of licensing a song] or say where I’m going to fit it into the movie. The one benefit of middle age—and I’m constantly looking for them—is that by virtue of my body of work and the filmmakers I work with, it just helps me get these things done. There’s a trust. People think, I may do this and I may not make a lot of money, but at least I can be part of something that has a lot of integrity.

What else are you working on?

I’m finishing Harmony Korine’s “Spring Breakers.” I worked with Sam Mendes on the new James Bond [“Skyfall”]. I’ll get started on “The Hangover Part Three” right after Labor Day. And I’m finishing up “Boardwalk Empire.” For that we recorded a song with Karen Elson, wouldn’t you know.