A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician ) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance . The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a tour. Session musicians are usually not permanent or official members of a musical ensemble or band.
33-489: Open Road may refer to: Music [ edit ] Open Road (Donovan album) , a 1970 album by Donovan and his band Open Road (band) , the group Donovan formed to record and tour in 1970 that continues to perform after his departure Open Road (Gary Barlow album) , 1997 album by Gary Barlow "Open Road" (Gary Barlow song) , the titular track from Gary Barlow's 1997 album Open Road Open Road (Cowboy Junkies album) ,
66-724: A bossa nova rhythm and psychedelic pop melodies. And the album's allegorically fantasy-themed song "Celtic Rock" coined the name of a new musical subgenre . Open Road was released on vinyl LP in North America on Epic in July 1970, and then in the UK on Dawn Records in September. The album's cover features a photo, taken by Donovan's best friend " Gypsy Dave " Mills, of Donovan flanked by his two bandmates with their names typewritten in small print beneath each person. Some versions of
99-434: A 2001 album by Cowboy Junkies "Open Road" (Bryan Adams song) , a song from Bryan Adams' 2004 album Room Service "Open Road", a song from Bret Michaels' 2005 album Freedom of Sound The Open Road (album) , a 2010 album by John Hiatt Open Road (The Rippingtons album) , a 2019 album by The Rippingtons Films [ edit ] Open Road , a 2008 short film starring Andy Picheta The Open Road ,
132-461: A 2009 film written and directed by Michael Meredith The Open Road (1911 film) , an American silent film Open Road (2012 film) , a 2012 film directed by Márcio Garcia Other [ edit ] The Open Road (novel) , a 1951 novel by Jean Giono OpenROAD (Open Rapid Object Application Development), a programming language and a product of Actian Corporation Open Road (XM) , an XM Satellite Radio channel Open Road Recordings ,
165-541: A Canadian country music record label Open-road racing , a form of car racing The Open Road for Boys , a boys' magazine from the early 20th century Open Road Films , an American independent motion pictures studio Song of the Open Road (poem) , a poem by Walt Whitman Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Open Road . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
198-532: A nuanced sense of the playing styles and idioms used in different genres. For example, a sax player who mainly plays jazz needs to know the R&;B style if they are asked to improvise a solo in an R&B song. Similarly, a bass player asked to improvise a walking bassline in a rockabilly song needs to know the stock lines and cliches used in this genre. Regardless of the styles of music session musicians play, some qualities are universal: punctuality in arriving at
231-519: A part to fill a last-minute time slot. In the 1960s, Los Angeles was considered the top recording destination in the United States — consequently studios were constantly booked around the clock, and session time was highly sought after and expensive. Songs had to be recorded quickly in the fewest possible takes. In this environment, Los Angeles producers and record executives had little patience for needless expense or wasted time and depended on
264-399: A short-term basis. Typically, session musicians are used by recording studios to provide backing tracks for other musicians for recording sessions and live performances, recording music for advertising , film, television, and theatre . In the 2000s, the terms "session musician" and "studio musician" were synonymous, though in past decades, "studio musician" meant a musician associated with
297-588: A single record company , recording studio or entertainment agency . Session musicians rarely achieve mainstream fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders . However, top session musicians are well-known within the music industry . Some have become publicly recognized, such as the Wrecking Crew , the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and The Funk Brothers who worked with Motown Records . Session musicians may play in
330-438: A wide range of genres or specialize in a specific genre (e.g., country music or jazz ). Some session musicians with a classical music background may focus on film score recordings. Even within a specific genre specialization, there may be even more focused sub-specializations. For example, a sub-specialization within trumpet session players is "high note specialist." The working schedule for session musicians often depends on
363-657: The Barabajagal sessions. He moved back to the UK against the wishes of his management, who objected due to Britain's heavy taxation and its distance from the American market. For the first two months of 1970, Donovan booked time at London's newly renovated Morgan Studios and began recording and producing the tracks that would form his next album. He made demos of around 20 new songs with just vocals and acoustic guitar, including solo versions of "Changes" and "People Used To", before assembling his new band. Dubbed "Open Road",
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#1732781066010396-450: The 1960s and heading into new directions with their music. McCartney also loaned Donovan a guitar for some of the recording of Open Road . In addition to his mix of folk and rock, Donovan and his band explored a number of musical styles on the album. "Riki Tiki Tavi" takes Kipling's Indian setting and riffs it off of a reggae beat. Brazilian guitarist Antonio Carlos Jobim inspired the title of "Joe Bean's Theme", which alternates between
429-414: The 1971 album Windy Daze and non-album single, "Swamp Fever", then a final unreleased album without Husband and Lanzon before splitting up in 1971. Many of the songs on Open Road ponder the negative side of industrialization and the lost peacefulness of a previous time. While Donovan had touched on this some of his previous work, Open Road was his first album to expound on the topic at length, though
462-628: The A-side of Open Road’s sole single in all other markets. Backed with "Roots of Oak," (also on the album), the song uses the mongoose from Rudyard Kipling 's story in The Jungle Book as a metaphor for how people wait for institutions ("i.e.: the church, i.e.: the government, i.e.: school") to exterminate social ills. An earlier version of the song also preached abstinence from psychedelic drugs , stating, "Laboratory synthetic stimuli, only goes to fog up your third eye ." The song, "Poke at
495-472: The Pope" decries religious faith, particularly Catholicism . "Song for John" was one of Donovan's epistles written for his friends, this one dedicated to fellow songwriter John Sebastian . "New Year's Resovolution" was inspired by Paul McCartney who, fresh from his break with The Beatles , was recording his first solo album in the studio below Donovan, as the two musicians saw themselves transitioning out of
528-796: The Soviet Union, and then Japan, never fully embarking on their sea voyage. They also played a concert in Viareggio, Italy that was broadcast on Italian television. Donovan cut the tour short, returning to the UK to focus on his family and record his next album, 1971's H.M.S. Donovan , on which John Carr and Mike Thomson also appeared. The last gig that Donovan did with Open Road was at the third annual Isle of Wight Festival on 30 August 1970. Subsequently, Thomson and Carr continued to perform as Open Road , bringing in former Dada Lives bandmate Barry Husband on guitar and vocals, and church organist Simon Lanzon on keyboards. They recorded and released
561-452: The album reached No. 8 and the single "Riki Tiki Tavi" reached No. 35. In the U.K. the album reached No. 30. In August 2000, the German label Repertoire Records reissued Open Road for the first time on CD. All tracks by Donovan Leitch. Side One Side two Running lengths for some tracks on the iTunes download album differ, mostly due to the removal of seaside sound effects at
594-483: The band was Donovan's frequent collaborator "Candy" John Carr on drums, and bassist/guitarist Mike Thomson, who'd been a bandmate of Carr's in a group called Dada Lives and briefly in an early version of the band Amber. Donovan also hired engineers Robin Black and Mike Bobak, the latter of whom would work on several of Donovan's following albums. The sessions marked Donovan's first time playing electric guitar extensively in
627-431: The case of guitar, bass, woodwinds, and brass. It is expected that studio musicians will have well-maintained professional-tier instruments. In some cases, larger or heavier instruments may be provided by the recording studio, such as a grand piano or Hammond organ and Leslie speaker . In certain cases, a session musicians may bring some instruments or musical gear and use them with larger instruments that are provided by
660-415: The debut album from the short-lived band Open Road . While his previous work was composed by his playing solo on acoustic guitar and then recorded with a shifting cast of session musicians , Open Road was Donovan's effort toward writing and recording music as a member of a band. After working with producer Mickie Most on the string of successful albums, Donovan parted ways with Most upon completion of
693-618: The end of several tracks. Session musician Many session musicians specialize in playing common rhythm section instruments such as guitar , piano , bass , or drums . Others are specialists, and play brass , woodwinds , and strings . Many session musicians play multiple instruments, which lets them play in a wider range of musical situations, genres, and styles. Examples of "doubling" include double bass and electric bass , acoustic guitar and mandolin , piano and accordion , and saxophone and other woodwind instruments. Session musicians are used when musical skills are needed on
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#1732781066010726-678: The era, the two groups of musicians in Memphis, both the Memphis Boys and the musicians who backed Stax/Volt recordings, and the Funk Brothers in Detroit, who played on many Motown recordings. At the time, multi-tracking equipment, though common, was less elaborate, and instrumental backing tracks were often recorded "hot" with an ensemble playing live in the studio. Musicians had to be available "on call" when producers needed
759-483: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Open_Road&oldid=1235584780 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Open Road (Donovan album) Open Road is the eighth studio album, and ninth overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan and
792-419: The record featured neither Donovan's name nor the album title on the front, highlighting the name "Open Road" on the back, both as the album's title and as the name of the band featured on it. Other versions highlighted either "Donovan" or "Open Road" on the front. Open Road was Donovan's third-highest charting album in the U.S., reaching No. 17 within two weeks of its release and peaking at No. 16. In Canada
825-477: The remuneration terms. Some musicians may get the minimum scale rate set out by the union. Heavily in-demand session musicians may earn much more. The union rates may vary based on whether it is a music recording versus a film/television recording. While the film/television rates may be lower, there may also be residual payments to compensate them for reruns, DVD sales, streaming usage, and so on. Session musicians often have to bring their own instruments, such as in
858-427: The service of reliable standby musicians who could be counted on to record in a variety of styles with minimal practice or takes, and deliver hits on short order. A studio band is a musical ensemble that is in the employ of a recording studio for the purpose of accompanying recording artists who are customers of the studio. The use of studio bands was more common during the 1960s with groups such Booker T. &
891-683: The session; rhythmic and intonation precision; ability to play with good ensemble and excellent blending with the other performers; willingness to take direction from bandleaders , music directors , and music producers ; and having good musical taste in regards to choices with musical ornaments and musical phrasing . During the 1950s and 1960s, session players were usually active in local recording scenes concentrated in places such as Los Angeles , New York City , Nashville , Memphis , Detroit , and Muscle Shoals . Each local scene had its circle of "A-list" session musicians, such as The Nashville A-Team that played on numerous country and rock hits of
924-520: The studio, and he also took up producing the record himself. The trio were joined by former Nero and the Gladiators / Heads Hands & Feet keyboardist Mike O'Neill for some of the album's songs, and O'Neill stayed on to play a few gigs with Open Road, but O'Neill is nonetheless not regarded as a core member of Open Road. Donovan's intention was for Open Road to be the band he'd tour with indefinitely, primarily by sea on his own yacht . The plan
957-428: The studio, such as a synthesizer player, who might bring rack-mounted synth modules and connect them to the studio's MIDI controller stage piano . Similarly, if the studio has a selection of well-known bass amplifiers , and speaker cabinets, a bass player may only have to bring basses and effect units . The requirement to read different types of music notation, improvise and/or " play by ear " varies according to
990-406: The terms set out by musicians' unions or associations, as these organizations typically set out rules on performance schedules (e.g., regarding the length of sessions and breaks). The length of employment may be as short as a single day, in the case of recording a brief demo song, or as long as several weeks if an album or film score is being recorded. Musicians' associations and unions often set out
1023-570: The type of recording session and the genres of music being performed. Classical musicians and many jazz and popular music musicians are expected to read music notation and do sight-reading . In jazz, rock, and many popular music genres, performers may be expected to read chord charts and improvise accompaniment and solos. In country music, performers may be expected to read Nashville Number System charts and improvise accompaniment and solos. In many traditional and folk music styles, performers are expected to be able to play by ear. Session musicians need
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1056-574: The versions recorded for the album scaled back on some of his more politically charged lyrics. The lyrics printed on the inner gatefold sleeve include some not sung on the actual record, like the first verse of "Celtic Rock": Ye sons of Britain Who once were free Ye now are slaves to factory Those who walk the path of mole Expect in time to kill thy soul While “Celtic Rock” was released as an album single in Japan, its B-side, "Riki Tiki Tavi", appeared as
1089-643: Was to leave Britain for one year, in part to avoid the exorbitant tax that the British government was levying on pop stars. The band met up on the Mediterranean isle of Crete to prepare the ship, rehearse material, and document their time there for the film There is an Ocean , which went unreleased until 2005 when it surfaced as a DVD in the box set Try for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan . The group ended up flying from Greece to France, to
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