Recording
While prepping for the forthcoming studio sessions, the band focused on their vocal interplay by practicing barbershop quartet-styled songs, which helped both Cuomo and Sharp achieve a newfound collaborative comfort during rehearsals. Sharp, who never sang before joining Weezer, got his falsetto background vocal abilities—"I had to sing an octave higher than Rivers. After a lot of practice, I started to get it down." Fifteen songs were rehearsed for the album during early practice sessions in New York in preparation for the Electric Lady Studios album recording. Ten of the songs appear on the album, but four of the songs were cut: "Lullaby for Wayne", "I Swear It's True", "Getting Up and Leaving", and a reprise version of "In The Garage". The other song, "Mykel and Carli", was attempted during the Electric Lady sessions, but was also abandoned. It would be recorded a year later and became a popular B-side.
The band briefly considered self-producing, but were pressured by Geffen to choose a producer. They ultimately decided on Ric Ocasek; Cuomo explained his choice: "I'd always admire The Cars and Ric Ocasek's songwriting and production skills." During production, Ocasek convinced the band to change their guitar pickup from the neck pick-up to the bridge pick-up, resulting in a brighter sound. During these sessions, founding guitarist Jason Cropper left the band and was replaced by current guitarist Brian Bell, leading to some speculation about how much Bell contributes to the album. While Bell's vocals are clearly audible on some tracks, Cuomo re-recorded all of Cropper's guitar parts. According to Ocasek, all ten tracks were laid down by Cuomo in one day, each in one take. Cropper's writing credit on "My Name Is Jonas" is earned by his coming up with the intro to the song.
Read more about this topic: Weezer (1994 album)
Famous quotes containing the word recording:
“Self-expression is not enough; experiment is not enough; the recording of special moments or cases is not enough. All of the arts have broken faith or lost connection with their origin and function. They have ceased to be concerned with the legitimate and permanent material of art.”
—Jane Heap (c. 1880–1964)
“I didn’t have to think up so much as a comma or a semicolon; it was all given, straight from the celestial recording room. Weary, I would beg for a break, an intermission, time enough, let’s say, to go to the toilet or take a breath of fresh air on the balcony. Nothing doing!”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)
“He shall not die, by G—, cried my uncle Toby.
MThe ACCUSING SPIRIT which flew up to heaven’s chancery with the oath, blush’d as he gave it in;—and the RECORDING ANGEL as he wrote it down, dropp’d a tear upon the word, and blotted it out for ever.”
—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)