crawltilldawn asked: that single piano note at the beginning of Lakeside View has given me so, so much peace and comfort in the times I need it most, I cannot even. please pass on my regards to whoever proposed that, I thank them profusely
Well thank you so much! The way we usually work in the studio means that that wasn’t necessarily going to happen - I lost the ability to write musical notation (I could re-learn it I’m sure but it’d be a slog) when I stopped studying piano formally when I was young, so when I play in the studio, I’m playing from my own charts, which are chord names written in sequence on the cards they use in comic-book bags. Every take’s a little different, especially as a session progress - I’ll throw in different beginnings or whatever to keep myself anchored in the moment. (I envy the steely discipline and spiritual presence of session musicians who don’t need any of this romantic hoo-hah and who just keep playing until the producers get what they want.) I think that was a third or fourth take - or possibly a revisiting of one we hadn’t been able to nail the day before - and since the song starts with unaccompanied piano & voice waiting for the band to drop in, I had leisure to start it however I wanted. So I hit that note and it just sorta went I AM HERE, LISTEN TO ME and held it & I think the vibe of it translated to Peter & Jon too (the instrumental is live, I’m pretty sure the vocal is too on that one) and we got a take we liked.
So nobody proposed it – it was spontaneous – so according to me God gets the credit but if that’s not yr deal you can credit the band for delivering such a great take that the one with the opening note got the nod!
