You'd think being a construction worker for almost a decade would have dulled Craig Street's ear for musical detail, but in the last four years the 43-year-old record producer has become a finder of lost loveliness. Here's how he builds a wall of sound on albums like Cassandra Wilson's New Moon Daughter and k.d. lang's new Drag:
· Stay open to chance. Wilson's Daughter includes the sound of chirping frogs: ''You could hear them faintly on the track, and it felt right, so we left them there.''
· Give in to the Dark Side. ''I learn from what people are afraid of. That's usually where they're strongest.''
· Strive for la dolce vita. ''Fellini is an inspiration — he loathed rehearsal and adored it when things went awry.''
· Don't hide rawness. ''Sometimes a little flaw makes a record real. It's like a beautiful woman in a gown who doesn't shave under her arms; it doesn't detract from the glamour. In that way, I make records with hairy armpits.''
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