Those of you who are old enough to remember LBS (life before streaming) will remember the liner notes that were written on the inside fold or back cover of a record. The log memorialized all of the intimate details of the session and the artists who collaborated on the making of the album. The stories you couldn’t hear in the music, but the ingredients that made the music special. A full description of the players and all of the circumstances of the session.
In a way, the liner notes were similar to the credits at the end of a movie – except, instead of walking out of the theatre while the credits rolled and the music played, the liner notes were a physical record that was housed in the sleeve and always in your possession to be read and appreciated at your leisure (usually while listening to the album). The album cover, along with the liner notes were an extension of the marketing, branding, and appeal of the record. I will always remember the record covers of The Beatles “Sgt Pepper” with 58 people on it, Pink Floyd’s prism on “The Dark Side of The Moon”, David Bowie’s naked torso and painted lightning bolt on his face on “Aladdin Sane”, Prince sitting on his purple motorcycle on “Purple Rain”, and let’s not forget the naked baby in the pool reaching for the almighty dollar on Kurt Cobain’s and Nirvana’s “Nevermind”. I also remember the liner notes for those albums. If you know these works of art, you’re probably humming some of the tunes from the session in your head. These album covers and the liner notes left an indelible mark on our memories of the band, the songs, and the record. All significant, and all with their own backstory.
The liner notes gave me a roadmap of the album’s creation and deepened my understanding of the process. This “behind-the-scenes” information and background amplified my listening experience. I’d spend hours reading liner notes until in my minds eye, I was transported into the studio. After I read the description of the session, I could close my eyes and visualize the time of day or night the recording took place, see the entire string section, know the names of the backing singers, and put faces on every musician, producer, and engineer. I knew the make of the mixing desk and saw how many tracks were recorded.
Much like everything else in life, there were good liner notes and there were some “not-so-good” liner notes. Writing great liner notes became an art form in and of itself and there were some legendary writers who made their mark on the inside of an album.
Perhaps it would be much better if there were liner notes to accompany the final product on other things. How about liner notes for every apartment. (Details the offering plan and marketing materials don’t cover).
Who was the mason who laid the bricks?
Who was the stone cutter at the quarry where the stone for the countertop was sourced?
How many hours went into the pouring of the concrete?
What other buildings did the engineer work on?
What was the inspiration for the kitchen design?
Who lived in the apartment before?
And more.....
If we knew the backstory and had the liner notes, perhaps we’d have a deeper appreciation for our home.
Sidebar:
Most of you have probably never heard of Rudy Van Gelder. Rudy was a sound engineer who started a recording studio out of his parent’s home and then moved it to its own building in Englewood Cliffs New Jersey. Recording at Van Gelder Studio was a right of passage and the canvass to some of the greatest albums in American history. Thousands of incredible recordings were created in his studio with an extensive list of artists that included Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, Sonny Rollins, Hank Mobley, George Benson, Elvin Jones, and Cannonball Adderley. What made the sound in Rudy’s Studio special was the humanness in it – not the microphones. Much like the special studio musicians who made the rhythm section and backbeat to so many legendary albums recorded at Muscle Shoals in a small town in Alabama on the Tennessee River. There’s a great documentary that tells the Muscle Shoals story in a beautiful way. I highly recommend it...
Let’s do this!
-Shaun