Michael Bolton chats to I Like Music

To the extent that I'm involved, I'm just constantly acutely aware of where I want to go vocally. So there are times when I might suggest something musically that doesn't step right exactly where the voice is going to be, so instruments are fighting. But, sometimes, you want something peculiar that you get attached to as a vocalist, so you want an arrangement to move a little bit differently.

For example, in New York New York at the end, the area that we retard, that we slow down on "these little town blues" the big build, I wanted it to really move it into slow motion. So all I did was express it all to Chris Walden and he knew exactly what I meant and he explained it to the orchestra. And one of the things about Chris and all great arrangers is that they need to have to have a certain kind of rapport with the musicians. They have to have respect from the musicians, because you're basically trying to direct 50 to 80 pieces and that's a lot of people in a room. So you have to command their respect. But when Chris is done working they all walk up to him and tell him what a pleasure it was to work with him, because he has a demeanour and he has equal respect for all of the great musicians in the room, but he has a way of directing them very respectfully but firmly, 'this is where we're going with this arrangement.'
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