hal blaine jo osborn...

Hal, Joe Osborn and Victor Feldman (1969)

Hal, Joe Osborn and Victor Feldman (1969)

Hal talks about the best work in his opinion that Joe Osborn recorded with him:

“I think one of the best recordings that I can recall is Dimension 5ive (on the album Portrait, by The 5th Dimension), which was written by Bob Alcivar. This is my all time choice of what a bass player should sound like. The bass player on that record was Joe Osborn who I feel is one of the unsung heroes when it comes to bass playing. Listen to him on this record

The way things happened with us - especially with Joe Osborn, in particular - we would play together, slightly behind the beat. We just played a tiny bit behind the beat, and that would lay perfectly on track. Somehow, rhythm sections have a habit of rushing it.”

Hal and Joe created magic. And Hal said it was because they not only listened to each other but watched each other when they were playing. They were in the pocket together and created a certain feel to the music by playing behind the beat. That came from experience and also paying attention and caring.

Hal - “You know, the only thing I can say is - and I have talked about this in the past - is the word "listen." If everyone is listening to everyone, then will all play together.”

Hal and Joe’s personalities were very vital to their success in the studio and how it sounded. They were both laid back, easy going people. I don’t think there was anything that ever rattled Hal. He also had a way of making people feel at ease both in the studio and outside the studio. In the studio this was important because it calmed the other players and they played better. I remember him saying sometimes things in the studio would get tense with people arguing over who should get the solo or what key to play it in, and he would say something like “hey guys that just reminded me of a story….”. He then proceed to tell a funny story or joke which would bring laughter and ease the mood

It’s a shame that the process of music has changed where the human factor is missing. Making perfect music with a computer will never have the sound that came from analog equipment and mistakes, which Hal said they left in there if the song had the right feel. Listening to Hal I realized that because of the genre being new and technical constraints of the recording equipment, all the people involved had to be creative and smart (musicians, engineers etc) Especially the rhythm section. Hal was talented playing his drums but even more so he was very creative and very intelligent. This is what gave him the edge. I’ll go into that later in other posts about how that shaped his music and his sound.

Hal was a treasure and part of the sting of him not being here is that his knowledge went with him. This is just my opinion but I believe a new trend could be started if people start making analog recordings. We see already a resurgence in vinyl where people want that warm sound. People have become too reliant on computers in many things and creativity is suffering. By the time music started getting whacky Hal was too old to have the fortitude to teach people the old ways although he tried the best he could. He really did. Even one month before he passed away he still wanted to teach people

Hal listening to a song before creating his part (1979)

Hal - "I'd usually ask, 'What is a song?' It's a story. If you're blasting on the drums at one particular loudness because you feel that it's your record, you're wrong. The songs were wonderful, and I personally listened to every new song in order to examine my motivation. I was like a painter as a drummer accompanist. I used my drumsticks sort of like a painter's brushes. I filled in spaces and colored my work according to that given story."

Hal often mentioned that he learned a lot from his brief stint in acting and how he approached making music like a method actor. Every note he played on a song, how each note was played, soft or loud, and every riff or hook that he penciled in to the score was carefully thought out and came from what he felt inside from the song. What Hal added to each recording with his personal touch was the icing on the cake that made those songs so good.