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A little bit, yeah [chuckles]. But I’m really glad we did The Essential Jewel Songbook (Koch Vision) for both DVD and Blu-ray. My producing partners at Soundstage are really into the tech side, and they did a great job. But high-def is much more fun when you’re watching sports. And I think National Geographic shows and Planet Earth are amazing in HD.
Than you see performers on television in HD, like on Leno and shows like that, and you can hear hair and makeup artists groan all across the country: “We don’t have to see them that close up.” [chuckles]
Another nice thing about HD is, of course, surround sound. What was your goal with the 5.1 mix for Songbook?
It was a little bit challenging because there are three distinct setups for the two shows here — a band, an orchestra, and then there’s me, acoustic. But I let the songs and their moods dictate the mix. In the band setting, I wanted to make sure you’d feel the pulse and the emotion from them without that getting in the way of the vocals, which needed to stand out to get across the feelings of the songs. Recording with an orchestra is always different, but hopefully you’re in a great hall — which we were [the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet, Illinois] — and you get a natural blend when you place the instruments around the microphones. It’s an old-school way of doing it, but really effective.
In general, I tried not to sweat anything except to make sure we evoked the right mood. I don’t think that becoming too tweaky is all that helpful if it sacrifices ambience and emotion. Technology should serve emotion; it should heighten the emotion. That’s the master goal.
A lot of really talented producers, when they have less technology at their fingertips, are able to get amazing, emotive performances. Once they become obsessed with technology, they wind up sacrificing emotion and mood,
and the recordings get very cold and very precise. You have to remember that there is a certain magic involved with music, and you can’t sacrifice that for the experience the listener is going to have. I think of Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay,” with that little crazy bongo drum sound that [drummer Kenny Buttrey] did there. You have to remember that there is that magic, and you can’t sacrifice that for the experience that the listener has.
I try to give a timeless feel to all of my records — with the exception of one where I intentionally went the other way [0304]. But sometimes it takes retro sounds to invoke the proper mood and spirit; it’s really fascinating. I want my records to still sound good in 15 years, instead of being dated like, you know, those ’80s “pouffy” bangs [both laugh].
It’s good that you feel you can experiment with range like you did at these two shows, because some people will always try to put you into a certain kind of style “box.”
It’s funny how people like to do that, but luckily, during shows, I don’t have to be in any one box. I do like range. I like doing loud songs, I like solo songs, and I like singing with orchestras. My fans have always allowed me to do arias and yodel within the same show! I’m proud of that. I’ve always felt I’m better live than I ever come across on a record anyway. I’m more inspired onstage, and I get the most out of what I do when I’m really in sync with the audience.
By the time you get to sing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” in front of the orchestra, you’ve been onstage for well over 2 hours with a full band, and yet your voice is intact.
I’m really fortunate to have a real strong workhorse of a voice. I think it’s because I sang so much as a child. I really developed those muscles by doing 5-hour sets in barrooms. I’ve never been really precious about my voice. And I get personal satisfaction doing a 2-hour show with a rock band and then coming out to do an aria [“Per La Gloria D’Adoravi”], a cappella, really clean, and with vibrato before “Rainbow.” I find that to be really challenging — and really fun.
What’s nice about this DVD and Blu-ray release is that there are a number of songs that have never been on an album of mine. I have probably 500 songs in my catalog and do a lot of stuff that’s never been recorded live, and this is the first time that some fans will have a real recording of them. Before, they’d just bootleg the shows or whatever to get those songs.
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I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about a CD companion to this, actually. It’s a great idea.
You’ve said the live thing is a little more “real” for you.
I grew up bar-singing with my dad ever since I was 6, and he really taught me to read the crowd. My dad never wrote a set list. He just could read the crowd, see what the mood was, and followed that. That’s what I was trained to do. I don’t like set lists; I just call songs out. Some audiences are energetic, some are tired and just got off of work and they don’t want to be challenged that deep right away. You kind of have to roll them into it later. Some audiences want to have emotions — they want to have their hearts broken, they want to feel things, they want to cry. Every night will be different. It’s a different animal every night. I get the most satisfaction out of what I do when I’m really in sync with the audience. I think they have a better experience that way too. It feels really neat.
Your storytelling moments in between songs seem to bring people into the show even more. They feel very genuine.
Thank you. A lot of artists will use their music as propaganda to further their image as superhuman or supertalented. I’ve always kind of resisted that. I like feeling something that everybody gets to share, kind of like we’re in my living room and getting to know each other. I don’t like that distance between the audience and the artist. My shows gear themselves toward not being a daunting experience. It’s something I enjoy. It’s a little bit old school, but I really like those types of performers. Bette Midler is great at it too.
As somebody who tries not to be pigeonholed, how do you see the state of radio these days as opposed to when you started out?
Radio is still a great partner if you want to use it to sell records. As the business model and record industry changes, when you have a hit song, radio still moves the needle the most. Not always, though; you can still have radio hits that’s don’t move records. It’s that magic combination of having a radio hit and being able to properly promote the artist, not just a cure ditty you hear on the radio but an artist or somebody you actually feel moved enough by that you want to buy their album. It’s a real balancing act.
It’s fascinating as a songwriter to try and write songs that are smart and that you think will get radio play. It’s easy to write a dumb song that you feel will be a hit. And it’s easy to write a smart, artistic song that will never see the light of day. Putting those two things together is difficult, and something that’s a fun challenge as a writer.
And it’s also a lot to do with relationships. Like going into the country format — for [2008’s Perfectly Clear], I did 250 radio visits in person, and I got to know the country side of things, a different format than what I’ve worked within before. So I really took my time, a good 9 months that I went around and introduced myself so that those radio programmers would really get to know me — and I’d get to know them.
Do you see your next studio project to be in a similar vein, or is it too early to tell?
I have a couple of things I’d like to do. I do have another country album that will come out. I can also put out my own project in between, my own label releases. I can independently do a record, so I look forward to that. And then another country record, and I’ll be out of my deal, and then I can hopefully goof around on my own. [chuckles]
How do you find the right balance between the technical side and the emotional side of a song?
You have to realize the average fan doesn’t understand what they’re hearing. They understand that they’re moved. Listening to records with my husband Ty [Murray, the rodeo champ], he’ll say something like, “That sounds ’70s,” and I’ll say, “That’s because of the tone of the settings.”
Do you and Ty watch DVDs or Blu-ray Discs when you have downtime?
We do a little bit. I tend to watch everything on my computer or my iPhone, just because I travel so much.
Who are your favorite artists?
I think that there’s room for everything, but I have diverse tastes. I like listening to Maria Callas, and I also love listening to Loretta Lynn. I find that anybody’s who’s following their passion fervently to be really compelling, whether it’s Joni Mitchell or Etta James. All of those influences have come out in my music and my writing.
What’s your take on vinyl?
I love vinyl. And I’ve signed quite a few album sleeves, like my first record, Pieces of You, a lot of my dance remixes, and limited editions of my albums. Now, it’s hard to get your label to go along with it. It’s an expense that’s hard for them to feel good about. I don’t think my current label would look at that and think it’s worthwhile. [chuckles]
Speaking of my first album, I did a lot of Pieces at Neil Young’s ranch, and one of the few things he said to me was, “Always go analog.” [chuckles again] Good advice.