Napa, CA, 1996 - It was back in March of 1995 that we went into the
studio to begin work on what was to be Glenn's "follow-up" to the musical
groundwork he first laid out in 1977 on his initial solo album, "Play Me
Out".
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Living For The Minute had been the most recent working title for this, Glenn's sixth official solo effort but, as with both Against The Grain and Speak Your Mind before it, Living For The Minute was
ultimately eschewed in favor of the title that came to best represent the
album as a whole; namely, FEEL.
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It had been Glenn's intention for some time now to record an album
that went back to his roots and which fused together the myriad of his own
musical interests in a fresh, new, and exciting way. Jazz, soul, rhythm
and blues, (and yes, rock, too), were all to be represented on this
record, and shortly before Glenn finished writing the material that would
comprise his new album, he decided that this time around he'd be doing
things a little differently.
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As opposed to writing and recording this album with a band in place,
Glenn had decided that he'd work with a series of guest musicians instead,
players who would come and go throughout the process, lending their
talents to the songs for which they were best suited along the way.
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"I'm going to be fitting the musicians to the songs this time out,"
Glenn told me before we went into the studio, "and not the other way
around. I think the songs will be the better for it. You know? Not
compromising anything to fit solely within the abilities of a fixed band."
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And so it was in this way that friends and musicians like Matt Sorum, Richie Kotzen, Pat Thrall, Bruce Gowdy, and Gary Ferguson - to name
but a few - would all come to be involved in the making of FEEL, and it would be their job to help Glenn fully realize his vision along the way. It would be my job to capture all of this on film.
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Glenn and I had known each other for almost two years at this point,
having first met one another back in 1993 to begin collaborating on an, as
yet, ongoing project of mine; specifically, Glenn's biography. It was in
this capacity, as Glenn's would-be biographer, that I myself came to be
involved with the making of FEEL.
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It had originally been my intention to cover some of the sessions
for my book but, over the course of talking with Glenn about this, I was
ultimately afforded the opportunity to do something more; that is, to
photograph the better part of the project for inclusion in the album's
booklet art itself!
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Glenn had had a definite idea at that time of what he wanted the
album to look like, to feel like, and - in part inspired by the interior
photography he'd seen included on Richie Kotzen's own Mother Head's Family Reunion album - Glenn had decided that what he wanted photographically speaking was to capture the feel, so to speak, of the album's creation in the studio.
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And so, over the course of the next seven days or so, I shot roll
after roll of film, capturing the images of Glenn and his collaborators on
film as they worked. It wasn't always easy going. The studio was small,
the lighting was at best difficult to work with, and the hours were
oftentimes very long. Moreover, as with any recording session, there were
moments of frustration and/or tedium, and the added pressure of having
some guy lurking about with a camera just waiting to jump out and take
your picture was bound to add to some of this. Still, it was a lot of
fun, and by and large we had a good time, and, in the end, some great
moments in and around the studio were captured on film.
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Ultimately, however, when all was said and done, it was decided -
perhaps by the label - that a more "high fashion" look was wanted for the
whole of the album, and so my work was out and Burrn! photographer William
Hames' was in. For my part, while I felt ( and still feel) that the album
ended up with a great look and sound, I couldn't help but feel a bit
disappointed as well. It would have been nice to have given Glenn's fans a
look behind the scenes at the making of this remarkable album - to say
nothing of the self-satisfaction that would have come with seeing my work
at home, sandwiched in between the covers of a Glenn Hughes album! - but,
alas this time out it simply wasn't to be.
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Now, however, courtesy of the editors of Coast To Coast, some of my favorite photography from those sessions has at last found an outlet, and I couldn't imagine a better home for them than this. I hope that you enjoy
looking at these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.
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www.glennhughes.com
