Gentle Spirit, Jonathan Wilson’s critically acclaimed 2011 solo debut, sounded like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young getting high on The Dark Side Of The Moon. The new Fanfare sets the Wayback Machine for a slightly more recent vintage—roughly 1975. The Sopwith Camel cover and occasional jazz flute filigree notwithstanding, Fanfare sounds like Crosby, Stills & Nash crashing the recording sessions for Wish You Were Here, only to find out that Steely Dan has already done all the blow. Tin soldiers and Nixon have come and gone. Jimmy Carter’s in the White House and Cecil Taylor is on the lawn. Wilson will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on him.
Wilson: This is simply the most insane recording studio in the world. It’s like the most over-engineered, over- the-top facility I’ve worked in, and it shows in the sounds that can be conjured in this place. With more than $2 million in microphones alone, the most badass Neve console probably on the planet, literally thousands of pieces of holy grail vintage gear. John McBride has created a candy store for a producer/gear nerd/musician. A dream workshop. It combines the down-home Southern charm of Nashville with the most ridiculous gear collection in the world. I love it.
