This particular song is pretty mid-tempo. Not slow but not crazy fast, and his solo is, for lack of a better way to describe it, a bluesy moody little lead over a slower breakdown in the song. Then the song picks back up and my dumb Chuck Berry falling down stairs solo takes off from there.
Anyway, the tracking session just highlighted some shit I'm always banging on about - know your parts. I've been telling him for weeks..."write your solo so you know how to play it without thinking about it". And to his credit I think he did. He tried. He definitely did some preparation. He just got stiff and froze when the red light came on. We had to do four or five takes for this pretty simple solo and I had to cut-and-paste a few pieces from other takes into what is the final main take. This is not my preferred method of doing things. But now that it's final and "on tape" he can just play it the way it's recorded and be good with it. I find it's always easier for anyone to play parts after they've recorded them. It's like doing a cover of your own song.
It also highlighted to me how bad ass we are that recording doesn't freak us out. The other guys were like "I hate recording". And I'm all "WTF why? It's so easy. You're just playing your parts. This is your lasting statement." And I think that last part is why guys that mostly play live hate recording. They can hide when they're playing live. Little nuances and timing slips and flubs can kind of blend in when the full band is going. When you're tracking in a room with everyone watching it can be nervy for people that aren't used to it. You are naked. We can all hear every little thing that's wrong. Playing live is supposed to make you better. I'd argue it's a crutch for some people. They're gonna shit uncontrollably when it's my turn. They're about to see 100000% recording preparation and confidence on full display. I'm gonna rub it right in their faces too.
