Sheryl Crow – Sheryl Crow

A great producer needs a wide range of skills, and not all of those are technical. Good chemistry between producer and artist can be an incredibly important part of the creative process, and that is evidenced by the relationship between Sheryl Crow and her long-term collaborator, Trina Shoemaker.

By the time Crow and Shoemaker started working together, the singer-songwriter had already recorded two albums; although only one of them was ever released. The first of these was co-produced by Crow and Hugh Padgham, who had previously worked with the likes of Sting and Phil Collins. The two of them could not see eye to eye, and the album was shelved by the record label. Crow then began working on what would become here debut album with Bill Bottrell. This relationship worked for a while and the album they created together, 'Tuesday Night Music Club', was an enormous success. Bottrell was brought on to record the follow-up, but this time Crow wanted more control over the material being recorded and that very quickly caused friction; Bottrell walked out after only two days recording.

Shoemaker was the house engineer in the studio where the recording was taking place, and she just happened to walk in as Bottrell was leaving. Shoemaker takes up the story; 'the studio manager introduced us and Sheryl asked me to record her for a while. I agreed and prepared a cozy little setup. Sheryl started to jam with some other musicians -they were working on a song called 'Home', and I just ran the tape. At one point, Sheryl said, "We should run a multi-track because this is turning into a song." I informed her that I had been running a multi-track the whole time and played it back for her. She was blown away. After that she asked me to continue working with her. By the way, the cut of that song on [the Sheryl Crow album] is the very first take.'

The chemistry between producer and artist was immediate, Shoemaker intuitively knowing what Crow needed for the session, and this relationship only improved as time went on. Shoemaker explains; 'in fact, we've worked together so many times now that I can tap into her moods and cater to them. If she needs some cheering up, I'll put a bouquet of flowers next to her one day and bring her new lip gloss the next. Whatever she needs, I take care of it. I think it's important to adapt to the artist if you want to get the best out of them.'


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