The basic notes that follow are based on journal entries that I made during
the recording sessions for the "Dance Band On The Titanic" LP:
Jan 19: Tried many takes but couldn't quite get a good one of
"Mercenaries".
Jan 20: Finally got a good take of "Mercenaries".
Jan 21: Got a good take of an up-tempo "Seasons & The Sky", also referred to
as "So They Sail" (a song that didn't make the album). Started work on
"Michael".
Jan 22: Got a good take of "Michael".
Jan 24: Recorded "Country Dreams" and "Mismatch".
Jan 25: Tried, but couldn't get a good take of a song called "Time To
Listen" which didn't wind up on the LP. Also started work on "My Old Lady".
Jan 26: Got a good take of "Time To Listen" and "My Old Lady".
Jan 27: Got a good take of "She Always Said", another song that didn't make
the LP. Harry put down the acoustic guitar track for "I Wonder What Happened
To Him".
Jan 28: Got a good take of "Odd Job Man" and started running
down "Manhood".
Jan 29: Got a good take of "Manhood". Started running down
"Dance Band On The Titanic".
Jan 31: Tried many times but couldn't get the right feel for "Dance Band On
The Titanic". It looks like super-session men Steve Gadd on drums and Neil
Jason on bass will be brought in to do that one. Got a good take of "We Grew
Up A Little Bit".
Feb 1: Tried "Seasons & The Sky"/"So They Sail" again in an
up-tempo version.
Feb 2: Did a few takes of "One Light In A Dark Valley". Steve Gadd & Neil
Jason came in and did the track for "Dance Band On The Titanic"
Feb 3: Did a few more takes of "One Light In A Dark Valley" and then
rehearsed the long "Dance Band On The Titanic".
Feb 4: On this day we spent 19 hours (8 AM-3 AM) recording "There Only Was
One Choice". We did it in about ten takes which included about half a dozen
inserts/edits.
Feb 7: Tried a few takes of "Why Should People Stay The Same?"
and started rehearsing "Blues Man".
Feb 8: Got a good take of "Why Should People Stay The Same?" and recorded
"Blues Man" as well with Tom Chapin on guitar.
Feb 15: ...At this session we started recorded "I Do It For You Jane", a
song that Harry wrote for his new manager Jerry Weintraub's wife.
Mar 7: Got a good take of "I Do It For You Jane" with Doug Walker on bass.
Mar 8: Recorded the up-tempo tag ending to "One Light In A Dark Valley".
Here's an example of a lyric sheet and a chord chart which were the type of things that would be distributed to the band at the sessions. |