DAY 4 – March 29 RECORDING THE NEW CD

Trevor’s song ended up sounding great once we had ironed out a lot of the parts. He had adjusted a lot of the song differently to the way we rehearsed it in rehearsals and it made the whole song a lot stronger. In the end it was mega and I used a Marshall 100 watt with 1 X 4 X 12” Cabinet which has been modified for me by a guy in Germany and it sounds wicked on his song. We were all very very happy with the way it turned out.

Trevor wanted to drive home last night as he is only an hour away but we were fogged in so he couldn’t so he had to stay and join us for a couple of well earned relaxing drinks at the end of the session.  Well today we are still hard at it and getting great results. Today we started on another Mick & Phil song which is a power ballad. We spent some time getting the arrangement right and all the parts in the right place and recorded it in 3 takes.

This way of working really captures a great feel on each song because if you keep recording over and over again the edge is lost. We spend the time getting everything just right and then push the record button and everything jumps up a level. We work on the arrangement and also the way things are miked for the maximum sound and so far the results have been stunning so we will keep on doing it this way. As the saying goes if the car ‘aint broke then don’t fix it.

I tried my home amplifier a Tech 21 combo and it had a wicked sound that we will use later on, probably for some solo parts. Russell has already cracked a cymbal today such is the power he plays with. Trevor and I went for a walk today and froze our nuts off. Boy the weather has turned cold. We felt we needed some fresh air as being cooped up in the studio for 3 days is no good for you.

Yesterday Bernie went shopping while we were working on arrangements and now our supply of Red Wine, Beer and other such goodies are waiting for us after a good days recording. Christos is still pulling my guitars to bits and giving me a heart attack each time as I see the necks ripped off etc but in the end they play beautifully so I am thankful to him for that. That way we get no buzzes on the recordings. We are just about to start another song after dinner so I will carry on the report then.

I am back again. This is a Mick and Phil song in a typical Heep shuffle. A couple of run throughs to get the energy level up and it was done in 2 takes. Amazing stuff and so exciting. Tonight we will look at another song before we finish the day to try and get the arrangement up and running so we can start it tomorrow. Another Mick and Phil song that will probably be the epic song of the CD. Job done and it is time to relax before an early night.

What a great day!