Like everything Brent Maher has done, his new work Night of the Orphan Train mixes the personal with the professional. That symbiotic relationship for some could prove a creative pitfall. For Mr. Maher, it’s helped define him a decisive gamechanger in modern music, working with some of the hottest acts in the pop culture pantheon, as well as helping bring them into the public consciousness – starting with the Judds in the seventies. “We probably worked together for about nine months, just tossing ideas around,” Mr. Maher said to Dale Kawashima, of SongwriterUniverse Magazine. “Musically, I needed to find ‘Point A,’ where the stylistic focus should be for the group. During this time, I approached songwriters and publishers for great songs that would be suitable for them. We came up with two songs that really defined the initial boundaries of The Judds.
The first song was ‘Mama He’s Crazy’ (by Kenny O’Dell), which was your traditional, great country song, a midtempo ballad. Then there was ‘Had A Dream’ (by Dennis Linde), which was a bluesy/country/rock song that defined the funky side of The Judds.”
He described that creative process as indicative of how he has liked to work with talent since. “The studio process, especially cutting the tracks, always went well…We never came out of a session empty-handed, because we knew from our pre-production that each tune absolutely fit like a glove. The tracking dates were a lot of fun and very positive…Anytime a producer or writer has the opportunity to work with gifted artists, where everyone respects each other and works together to create music which will have a life or legacy, it’s truly ideal…We really had great, great times together…One of the things I appreciate now is how well the records seem to stand up…People tell me there’s a timeliness to the Judds’ music, superseding any trends. I’m proud to have worked with Wynonna and Naomi to create music which lives on and on.”
It’s interesting seeing Mr. Maher graft that same set of standards to managing a project that’s entirely his own. Night of the Orphan Train is pure passion, all the way, in the best sense of the word. Because of his status in the fields of music production, Maher is able to simultaneously do something completely devoid of any studio interferences, yet balance that unrestrained freedom with the impulses of a mature, sophisticated producorial voice. Regarding the actual talent handpicked for the production, it was simply put a labor of love.
Maher came up with interesting and unusual choices, symbolizing his continuing to prioritize quality over popularity, including a standout featuring of indie music act The French Family Band. “I met The French Family band when I was finishing up a record with Joe Robinson who’s an incredible guitarist and singer/songwriter who happens to be from Australia,” Maher said to MusicRow. “I mentioned to Joe that I needed some young people to sing the parts for the main characters in act one. Joe said some friends of his, also from Australia, just moved to Nashville and he thought would be perfect. The French Family Band. Was he ever right! I can’t imagine these songs without the French Family band bringing them to life.”
Chadwick Easton