I left this track, "Fast, Fast Women and A Slow Race Horse," for last. For sure, I always got a kick out of the lyrics* (it truly might have been Charles' story), but the torturous editing process is what I've remembered most. And honestly, as I played in back in headphones the other day, my ear didn't the seemingly hundreds Tom and I made in the original.

This one was tricky for a number of reasons. First and foremost I think is that while Charles had all the requisite narcissism to lead a band (and con us into making an album) he wasn't a particular strong musical leader. So generally, it was always the rhythm sections that kept the band together.

But, on this session the rhythm had an interesting sub. Instead of the drums being wo-manned by the rock solid traps of Ola Dixon, snare drummer extraordinaire Bobby King** (Larry Johnson's acoustic accompanist) was sitting in. Bobby produced an awesome sound with one, small drum, but alone he was no match for Charles and Lee Roy and the pushing of the tempos up and down. The result was we must have printed 15 takes of this song during the session.

Now, add in my producing partner Tom Pomposello and his desire for the perfect track. He couldn't let this one go. We did the editing for this album all during the days and nights in his one bedroom apartment in Commack, New York, with his five year old son Travis and wife Christine trying to live their lives and get a little sleep. That didn't deter Tom from insisting that we take four bars from this take, one bar from that one. Every verse was a pastiche and amalgam of magnetic tape, carefully cut and spliced into the final take. And remember, all of these takes were mixed live, directly to two track tape, not only with variations in speed, but with subtle distinctions of mix too!

Oh! And isn't there a spoken intro somewhere around here we can use? 

Ah, youth. We had a great time recording Blues from the Apple, all trials tribulations aside. While it wasn't fast women or a slow race horse that made us lose all our cash, blues and jazz recording made our lives pretty damn good at the time.

(Click here for all four parts of this post.)

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* Tom said the song was Charles' adaption of one by one Sonny Moore (not the one from Skrillex), but my Google research turns nothing up on Sonny or his fast women. 

** From the Blues from the Apple liner notes:  Originally from New Orleans, Bobby [King] has spent a good deal of time on the road always looking for a gig. He has previously recorded with Charles and nowadays is associated with Larry Johnson. The fact that he works with a single instrument is as much a statement of the financial plight of a musician who makes his living from playing blues as it is a tribute to a percussionist who can create as much sound with a rigged snare and brushes as many drummers do with full paraphernalia. 

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Fast, Fast Women and A Slow Race Horse