Patrick Leonard - It All Comes Down to Mood (180g Vinyl 2LP) * * *

Patrick Leonard's 2024 Studio Album It All Comes Down to Mood on 180g 2LP: Mixed by Kevin Killen and Mastered by Bob Ludwig. Lacquers Cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering.

You could be forgiven for not knowing Patrick Leonard by name, but most certainly, you know his work. The esteemed producer has helped bring to life career-defining recordings by Madonna, Leonard Cohen, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Jewel, Bryan Ferry, Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart, and Roger Waters, to name a few. He founded the critically acclaimed early ’90s alt-rock group Toy Matinee. But for the first time in two decades, Patrick Leonard is releasing music that is all his own: It All Comes Down to Mood, a sprawling, 16-track double album that brilliantly conveys his artistic genius.

So what does It All Comes Down to Mood sound like? The best genre descriptor might be “art-pop”. The songwriting is adventurous, both musically and lyrically. Elemental influences of all Patrick Leonard’s famous clients emerge in an organic way—but not overtly. “My vocabulary is pure ’60s and ’70s rock ’n’ roll and prog rock, but when I’m working, if something that I’m doing reminds me of someone else’s music, I stop,” says Leonard.” I have no interest in being an emulator.” The common denominator between the classic albums which influenced Leonard and his own album is that they reward attentive listening. Each of the album’s 16 tracks are like masterpiece paintings, which reveal more the deeper you listen. The production is pristine, the playing is endlessly tasteful and the lyrics thought provoking. But what brings it together is an emotional component that is rarified in modern music.

Supported by a dream cast of supporting musicians: Tony Levin, Tim Pierce, Wendy Melvoin, John Patitucci, Aaron Stirling, Martin Barre, James Harrah, Ian Anderson, Anna Mjöll, Gerry Leonard, and Paul Franklin—and working without the typical budgetary or creative restraints usually imposed by major labels, It All Comes Down to Mood is a record that probably couldn’t be made by anyone else today. It was a challenge that Leonard has readied himself for over his entire career. “You have to decide about everything—all of it,” says Leonard, speaking about taking 100% ownership of his own creative output.