Ryan Monroe hadn’t considered himself a control freak by nature. Then he found himself at Redstar Recording in Silver Lake, Calif., with its myriad instruments scattered around, just begging to be fiddled with. For a guy who can play just about anything, it was impossible to resist. So Monroe took a breather from his continuing role as the 34-year-old bastion of versatility in Band Of Horses to record A Painting Of A Painting On Fire (RCM). Monroe hopes to tour this summer behind A Painting before things get too busy with Band Of Horses, which is finishing its fourth album with producer Glyn Johns and eyeing a September release. Monroe will also be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on him.
Monroe: This is my favorite episode of the Classic Albums series. Steely Dan, you either love ‘em or hate ‘em, and I’ve always loved the shit out of them. Every single one of their records sound impeccable: The musicianship is spellbinding, they have the most clever lyrics ever, as well as song structures that seem to be guided and constructed by a force beyond their control. What more could you possibly want out of recordings of music? Check out this Classic Albums. My favorite parts are when they isolate Michael Mcdonald’s background vocal layerings in “Peg” and Bernard Purdie’s interview about the “Purdie Shuffle.”
Video after the jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubC4tcevX_M
