Smooth Operator by Sade came over the radio on the way to Cape Cod. As it played I ran it forward in my head so I was ready for the chorus, to BBFB-It. It sounded good in my head but you have to actually hear it to know if it works.
Smooth Operator is a very simple song to play from a technical standpoint. The crucial thing is to keep that slinky vibe going without making the song sleepy. The guitar is my main Fender Hiwy One Strat with the bridge Vintage pickup selected. Now that I think of it, I could have used the Les Paul for the rhythm since it would probably have a slicker sound. Oh well.
The I tried to make the vocals as smooth as I can. They turned out just at the edge of sloppy, there are two places I wanted to redo but I decided to let genuineness (laziness) rule the day. For the lyrics I wanted to match the mood of the song, kind of sad and tragic, with the story of Bruce Wayne’s tragic early life. I used ‘Batman’s Toys’ as a link to Bruce’s childhood. He is eager to stop other tragedies, in a doomed effort to stop his own.
This song was written and recorded in the time it took to make a two-bag shopping trip. I had figured out the chords earlier this morning from watching a guy on YouTube. I didn’t want to do all 4 bars of the opening lick that the sax player does on the album. You have to keep these songs as short as possible. So I had to make something up for the second bar that was in the spirit of the sax but worked as an opening to the vocals. I improvised the little base line before the chorus. I think it is right, but not 100% sure.
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