First off, I appreciate the post. Yeah, I do get all that and know I am being a bit myopic. In the abstract it just seems weird a group of guys working together to write and record an album are doing a significant part (or parts) of it separately.
I hope I didn't come off as condescending or saying you were being myopic, because I actually think it's a valid point and there definitely is a weird aspect to it (even though I mentioned arguments as to why it "makes sense" for them to do it separately).
In my heart of hearts, it would make the most sense for the band to sort of live together for a while. Not necessarily sleeping in the same room
, but you know, meeting constantly in a rehearsal space, hashing out ideas together, making a sort of drawing board version of the album... do some pre-production before setting out to the studio. Because then it's just a matter of recording it in the way that's most cost-effective, because the material would be born out of the collective interaction of all five members. But that takes time and money since most of them don't live in the same neighborhood anymore (as far as I can tell).
Ultimately, they're choosing to create in the studio and JLB may or may not be there for it. The end product will give out the "illusion" of a full band effort, but they've done that before and it has worked (and very often that's the case for many recordings).
