Q. Chris Bartlett’s CD is finished?

A. Yes, mastering was completed this weekend, and it’s on its way to the manufacturer.

Q. Care to give us any details?

A. I can tell you it’s epic. There are fourteen tracks, and total running time is just over an hour. But the time flies when you listen to it. There’s so much variety and interest. This first CD of Chris’s really showcases his versatility as a writer and a performer. He brought so much great material to the table it would have been a shame to edit down to seven or eight tracks. We still edited to get it down to fourteen, but that means there’s more for his next CD.

Q. How would you describe Chris’s music? What genre would you place him in?

A. Chris isn’t going to be constrained by genre. I really think he’s blazing his own trail here. I’d call it Alternative Rock for convenience’ sake. He’s definitely not cranking out Pop pablum. His music has real substance. His lyrics have meaning. He’s a writer. And you can pick up influences here and there, like Alternative, Southern rock and R & B, but musically he’s genre busting. I’ll leave it to the creative pundits to label his style of music.

Q. Your favorite tracks?

A. Come on :). As Chris’s producer, they’re all my children. I like letting the individual song dictate the production, and Chris’s songs, his singing, and his guitar tracks inspired some powerful, evocative backing tracks and arrangements. I’m tempted to use the word “anthem” to describe a couple of them… well, one in particular. And there’s a short instrumental Chris plays at the end that you just wish would go on and on, it’s just wonderfully moody and so strong. I’m thinking he’ll really expand that in live shows one day. And that track is just a coda, punctuation for the rest of the CD. It’s all very strong. The flow is so good and with such variety and so many strong, interesting songs I feel it will be one of those CD’s people put in the player and hit replay and just listen to it start to finish over and over.

Q. What was it like working with Chris?

A. He’s a poet and an artist. And all that that entails. :). But he’s not moody, or emo. He loves life, and lives it. But his music shows that he feels very deeply, and he’s keenly observant. And his songs are charged with depth and feeling and meaning because of it. You know, like I said — substance. That’s what got him the deal [with Explo-Sound Records], and it’s what brought me aboard. I heard the demo run-throughs he did, and as rough as they were — I think Chris had a bad cold when he did them — there was so much there that I knew I had to do this with him. Plus he’s got a great wit and that comes through too.

Q. Any technical details you want to share about the production?

A. Well, we put the familiar Compact Disc logo on the back cover. That’s the CDDA logo and it means a CD is mastered to “Red Book” standards. The reason you see that logo less and less is because more and more CD’s contain digital rights management software and other non-music or so-called “enhanced” content — sometimes hidden, sometimes not. We mastered to strict Red Book standards and put nothing but the music and CD text on the disc. [Note — CD text allows some CD players to display song titles and artist names while playing.]

We don’t want people to steal our music, of course, or anyone else’s, but we’re not going to try to stop it by intentionally doing things that generate ill will or distrust. We know there are still many people who take the high road and support artists they like by actually buying product. We want to reward them with assurance they’re buying music from us and not additional clutter and junk.

Q. Mind if we ask a couple of questions about you?

A. Uh oh. Go for it I guess.

Q. What’s your background as a producer?

A. Plenty of band experience, several genres, studio musician, writer, and twenty years of radio commercial production and engineering. I’ve been a student of production since the 1960’s, and I’ve studied the greats for years, both in music and radio commercial production. Many of the tricks of the trade and techniques are the same. But when it comes down to it, it’s all a matter of a good ear and good taste, with a willingness to let the music and the song shape the production, rather than force a style of production onto the music. I think that was Tom Dowd’s great strength as a producer. You never got a recognizable signature style from him. You had to read the label to see he did it. The artist’s vision came through, not the producer’s. But it was just good. It was always right.

[This isn’t meant] to diminish the work of someone like Phil Spector, or the Motown producers, whose styles were not only groundbreaking and amazingly influential but instantly recognizable. It works — approaches like that are incredibly successful and result in wonderful music. But I also think an artist brings things to the table that should be allowed to come through, instead of putting them in the mill and whacking them into a mold and stamping out something that sounds exactly like the last 5000 pop songs.

Q. So you’re saying you disdain Pop music today?

A. No, not disdain, there’s a lot of great music. But you have to admit there’s a sameness. I guess that’s why I listen to College and AAA radio so much. That’s where the innovation is. There’s always something really wonderful in those arrangements and mixes, always something fresh and interesting. I guess it’s because there are so many Indie labels producing that music — free from the cookie cutter shaping pressures of the bigger labels. It reminds me of the late 60s and early 70s, if you deduct Disco, there was a wild, eclectic mix of styles and music on the Pop charts. All interesting, some better than others, some terrible, but there was no single homogenized Pop sound like now. College and AAA radio still has that wonderful eclectic vibe.

And by the way, speaking of Pop, enough with the overdone melismatic singing, okay? It’s time people started singing more in a straight line again. But as long as there’s American Idol, and money to be made cranking out tons of McPop, that’s just not going to happen, is it? :)

Q. No, we guess not…

Coming soon, we’ll show you the cover art, give you the track listing, and give some details about a release date. And maybe Chris will preview some tracks on his site for you. Stay tuned for more updates!