Making of the ASIB Soundtrack

[Vitleysingur 13,789]

This profile from Esquire is such a good read. I highly recommend it.

Addiction, Tears, and Neil Young: Inside the Making of the A Star Is Born Soundtrack

The results are, in a word, dizzying. "Mystifying" also might work. Bradley Cooper is not a rock star, but across the expansive soundtrack (there are 34 tracks in total, including 18 original songs, plus one totally bonkers cover of Édith Piaf’s "La Vie en Rose") you’ll find yourself second-guessing that reality with increasing frequency. And even with her immediately identifiable pipes on full display, Gaga carries her character, Ally, through each of her turns at the mic—even, yes, during the very mediocre cut that lands her a spot on SNL in the film.

……

Much of the rest of the work came together in Los Angeles in early 2017 at the storied The Village studio when Nelson, Cobb, Cooper, and Gaga hosted a writing camp. "I called the best songwriters I know in Nashville," Cobb says of getting McKenna, Hemby, Lindsey, and Aaron Ratiere in the same room. That group would mainly work on material for Gaga’s character, Ally, to sing before and and then much after her absolution into the pop universe. "Every song was custom-written for the character, where the character was in the arc of that story."

……

Do you remember where you were when you first heard "Shallow," the chest-thumping anthem first teased in the film’s trailer? The songwriters do—and it was way before that clip went viral or the full-song version dropped last week to Internet frenzy. The first day of studio sessions in Los Angeles, Gaga met with them to discuss Ally. "She sits down at the piano and explains to us how they have similarities and differences," Hemby recalls. "And then she plays this song she had written with Mark Ronson, 'Shallow,' for us—and I mean, how you hear it in the trailer, full power, is how she sang it to us right there at the piano. My hair was just blown back."

"[Gaga] was so trusting with us," recalls McKenna. "I found her outrageously talented but also much more open than one would expect with a star that big. I really loved working with her. She really took our guidance, which I was surprised by. You figure she knows the character in her head and she’s freaking Lady Gaga. She probably could have done it on her own, but she really was a team player."

A particularly powerful moment arrived during the writing of "Always Remember Us This Way," a bleeding-heart piano ballad and one of the most affecting vocal performances of Gaga’s career. What "Time" means to Maine, "Always" means to Ally. "There was a moment where we all got choked up," says McKenna. "Whenever that happens when writing a song, it’s gotta stay!"

"There were moments when [Gaga] would start crying and I’m like, is this good crying or bad crying?!" Hemby remembers thinking, panicked. "Good crying, right?!"

Cobb adds of the session, "It was magic. [Gaga] got in the vocal booth on the microphone and the writers were in the control room. I was playing with the band, and it just happened. Her voice was as big as the house. All of us had goosebumps. That happens very seldomly."

Seeing the film and hearing the final soundtrack in the theater was uniquely rewarding, says Hemby, who attended the Nashville premiere. "It’s phenomenal. This film … it’s so true to life in so many different ways regarding the music business." As people see the film, they’ll notice that Cooper’s camera spends a remarkable amount of time focused on Gaga’s eyes. Hemby couldn’t agree with the direction more. "You want to talk about intense, expressive eyes! Sometimes she would look at me and all I could think was, 'Damn girl, you better have something really amazing to say right now.'"

 

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a23570117/a-star-is-born-soundtrack-lady-gaga-jason-isbell-lukas-nelson-interview/

[brizoda 3,857]

I like Jason Isbell

[Miel 15,009]

"My hair was just blown back" aka the heterosexual way of saying "wig".

Anyway, interesting insight. I'd love to see if there's more info, particular more videos, of the creation of these songs.

[Galagala 4,611]

They started writing song since early 2017.....before SB halftime show? Gosh I love a hard-working queen.