1968 Conqueror of American Rock - Chapter 155
Only Noblemtl
155. Share Your Heart (5)
Joan Baez is considered an American singer-songwriter and human rights activist. Her family converted to Quakers, a Protestant denomination, when she was young. This greatly influenced her non-violence and progressive ideas.
Her family moved from Baghdad to California, USA when she was young. She became interested in folk music when her aunt took her to a concert at the age of thirteen.
At the time, she was severely bullied and teased at school because of her multi-ethnic ancestry and dark skin color. She started singing to gain popularity and recognition and to escape her loneliness.
As her singing skills began to gain traction, ridicule and discrimination gave way to praise. In the same year, she met a philosopher named Ira Sandfall, who had a profound political impact on her.
She committed her first act of civil disobedience in 1957, refusing to leave school during an air raid drill. This was the beginning of her political career.
She released her first solo album, ‘Joan Baez’, in 1960, performed solo at the Newport Folk Festival, and held her first concert in New York City. Her long hair, acoustic guitar, and clear voice became her signature.
Afterwards, he began a national tour with Bob Dylan, appeared on television, and began his human rights activism in earnest.
In 1964, he refused to pay federal taxes to protest the Vietnam War, and when a record label released his demo album without permission, he filed a motion to ban its distribution.
The following year, he co-founded the Institute for Nonviolence in Carmel Valley, California, and helped workers who went on strike for fair wages. He also stayed up all night on Christmas Day to protest the death penalty in Quentin.
He was so progressive that he was imprisoned twice in 1967.
She, who even wrote and sang the song ‘I Never Will Mary’ declaring that she would never get married, married David Harris, who was five years her junior and was leading the movement to refuse military draft in the Vietnam War, in 1968.
“When I went to Woodstock last year, I was pregnant with Gabriel and my husband was in prison. But now I’m back here thanks to James, haha.”
She held her son in her arms and her voice was as clear and soft as a singing voice.
“Thank you so much for participating in my project. It will be a great help.”
“James and I make different types of music, but the content is not that different. It’s just that I make easy folk music with a radical message, while James makes rock music with a soft message.”
Despite her delicate appearance, she had an inexplicable strong aura. If she had been born in Korea during the Japanese colonial period, she would have definitely shouted for Korean independence, and if she had been born now, she would have been shouting for the overthrow of the dictatorship.
“Still, it’s amazing that a new band that debuted here last year took over this farm.”
“Max Yasger was just about to clear out the farm. I was really lucky.”
“Okay, really good. Someone like James would fit in much better than Michael Lang. I had a misunderstanding that Sparkling Ripple had made the whole album with a hippie spirit just to get hippie attention. But after seeing what they’ve done since then, it’s not like that. They created a clean zone on the Sunset Strip, and they even held a charity festival like this, and they’re doing such meaningful projects. Even though they’re young, I respect them.”
“Oh my, you’re flattering me too much, haha. This is just the beginning. I’ll be counting on you in the future. And starting tomorrow, we’ll start recording and filming the instrumental parts, and the vocal parts will follow. When you go into the recording, you can leave the baby with the troupe members for a while. They’re good people. They’ll take very good care of him.”
“Yes, our Gabriel takes after me and doesn’t cry much, haha.”
As she smiled brightly, the baby smiled too.
* * *
The recording went smoothly. All the equipment was top-of-the-line, and Brian and I took turns as engineers.
The video team, led by director Robert Smith, placed the cameras so that everyone could be captured equally, and began recording and filming the performers first.
To ensure consistent sound quality, the drums were recorded by Hyung Seop, and scenes of other drummers were additionally filmed to match the track. Hyung Seon also recorded the bass first, and then scenes of bassists from other teams playing were filmed.
Jake and I recorded the backing and the entire track first, with Joe Perry providing the crunchy arpeggios.
The guitar solo was made so that all guitarists could participate equally. Since the song’s message is important, the solo was not made too long. Even if it was short, I played a few phrases and built up harmony, and implemented guitar orchestration in the latter half.
It was a familiar process for Queen and us, but guitarists from other groups who were new to the world of overdubbing were speechless and said it gave them goosebumps.
Other orchestrations were placed throughout the song, even if they weren’t necessarily the main solos, to add fun elements and keep the song from getting boring.
The grandiose music performed by the 10 members of EGO and Angela was so magnificent that it would rival a philharmonic orchestra. Tom Waits’ heavy piano also decorated the intro and finale.
“Thank you all for your hard work. As expected, you are all veterans, so the instrumental part was finished faster than expected. Still, we will go film one more time to match the recorded track.”
Robert Smith, who dreamed of becoming a film director, has now turned to directing music videos. He has finally found the field where he can best demonstrate his abilities. He joined CW and took charge of the video team in earnest.
My thoughts that we would have a long relationship when I first met him and worked with him in Vietnam have become reality. I can confidently say that director Robert Smith will go down in history as one of the most successful music video directors not only in the United States but also in the world.
Robert, I will definitely make it happen. I have already seen the future Michael Jackson music videos dozens, hundreds of times.
“Cut, that’s great! Since the performers finished so quickly, I’ll be able to capture the vocalists’ delicate expressions at my leisure starting tomorrow, haha.”
One singer sings one or two verses. It would take quite a few takes to capture that delicate emotional line.
Sometimes it’s two people singing together, sometimes three or more, and we’ll probably have to use up the entire remaining schedule to film the final scene where they all sing together.
* * *
“Andrew, can you try singing with a little more force?”
“Yes, I will try that.”
Andrew’s vocal power is strong even in the lower mid-range, so his output is higher than that of other singers.
– Christmas is coming up again this year.
(Christmas is coming this year too.)
Andrew sang comfortably and with ease, and his voice came out in a comfortable and sweet way that melted women’s hearts.
“That’s very good. Let’s sing it with a little smile this time.”
Andrew adapted to the camera quickly, even though it was his first time shooting video.
Next it was Jacuzzi’s turn.
– It’s time for us to share our heart.
(It is time to share our hearts.)
Since Jacques also had a mid-low range, they were placed together in the front. Jacques had a smaller sound box than Andrew, but instead, he could freely mix the opaqueness with the real sound. The slightly recessed husky voice was attractive.
“Okay, good job.”
Jacques, who already had filming experience, sang comfortably, even sweeping his long brown hair back. His handsome face was captured in the camera angle in a more attractive way.
Next it was Joan Baez’s turn.
– When we decorate the tree and prepare gifts,
(When we decorate the tree and prepare presents,)
Her clear voice passed through her vocal cords and resonated throughout the studio with beautiful vibrato. All the vocalists gathered here were amazed by her tone.
Bao followed suit.
– Somewhere, people are dying.
(Somewhere, people are dying.)
Bao’s large, honestly open eyes added seriousness to the lyrics. It was Bao’s unique, appealing voice, with a husky tone mixed in with his beautiful voice, different from Jacuzzi’s.
– They need our love.
(They need our love.)
Sister Stella is the leader,
– They need our love.
(They need our love.)
Aerosmith’s Steven and Jack then sang together in harmony.
Between the first and second verses there is a brief twin guitar section played by Brian May and myself.
The beginning of the second verse was Diana Ross and Michael Jackson’s part. I wanted a picture of various races coming together. Of the 47 people gathered here, there were only two black people. So I arranged them to sing one more verse each.
– We are one.
(We are one.)
– We live under the same sky.
(We live under the same sky.)
As expected of the greatest singer, Diana Ross effortlessly unleashed her soul. Michael Jackson, who was next to her, took over the song.
– Skin color doesn’t matter.
(Skin color doesn’t matter.)
– God created us equal.
(God created us equally.)
This may be the last song where we can hear Michael’s beautiful voice before puberty. He did it perfectly, as expected from the man who would become the future King of Pop.
– But the world we live in isn’t fair.
(But the world we live in is unfair.)
This part was left to Tom Waits without hesitation, who used his beast-like voice to harshly spew out the world’s unfairness.
– We can make a better world.
(We can make a better world.)
Rob Halford’s thunderous, razor-sharp high notes were used to get the message across.
The bridge was left to Annie and Freddie Mercury.
– In the quiet of the night,
(In the silence of the night,)
– Underneath the starry light,
(Under the stars,)
-There’s a melody that calls,
(There is a melody that is being sung,)
– Echoing through these walls.
(Echoing through these walls.)
The two showed off their fantastic duo, looking at each other and giving and receiving, as if they were watching a short musical trailer.
After recording the individual parts and harmonies, we filmed the latter half of the song repeatedly. Director Robert Smith filmed each verse from multiple angles to capture the artists’ emotional lines.
We focused on filming for two or three hours a day, and spent the rest of the time resting. Everyone began to feel the charm of the quiet atmosphere of the farm. When we woke up in the morning, we drank fresh milk and took a walk while smelling the refreshing phytoncide.
Annie and Angela taught Michael how to ride, and the musicians gathered in the barn and jammed freely.
Every evening we lit a bonfire and had a meal together.
Joan Baez gave a small concert by the campfire, playing guitar. Her toddler son, Gabriel, toddled along to his mother’s songs.
Jack, along with Annie and Angela, would sit down with the children and tell them storybooks and perform shadow plays.
We had such a dreamy week at Bethel.