This really isn't so complicated for me,,I guess.. I have done both things. Both have given what I think are fine results. More importantly, every time I have {Eh-hemm} "produced" for a song writer,They have told me they could not have done the record without me.. It has been suggested to me in the past that these folks don't,,, " deserve" to make records.. I say this is a bunch of Horse shit.. They can write and sing. I can make sounds and arrange a band and know who to call for the tunes to be "played" in a way that I think the writer will find pleasing.. This is a good thing. Right/???
I have also recorded bands that wanted me to produce,,, had them walk in the door and blast through their tunes,,,, I say,,,,," Fuck man,, all I can do for you is engineer!! You sound killer just like this. Don't change a thing!!"
Now, I'm not going to take Production credit for telling the band how cool they sound. Some have insisted that I take co-producer title though.
Hey, none of this shit has sold big numbers so maybe my example means "nothing" but I think I have recorded stuff that sounds really cool and came from the hearts of great writers. If some guy at a huge Label wanted to roll some of this shit out and make some hit's, he could. Period.
I'm saying that either "hard" argument for or against bands wanting and or needing help is total bull shit. The exception is, there are people who are out to get their name as producer on as many recordings as they can,regardless of what they think of the music. They just want Credit...... Steve has mentioned this whole credit thing before. None of this should be a moral struggle. If you do a bunch of work that shapes something, take credit, if you don't,,, don't.
Funny, non of this seems hard to me at all.
Ivan.........