Neal Hall, Sun Court Reporter Vancouver Sun

Sarah McLachlan fans were noticeably absent at her Vancouver trial Wednesday now that the singer is no longer on the witness stand.

McLachlan, who is being sued over songwriting on her 1988 debut album, finished her testimony Tuesday, when the courtroom was packed.

But there were only three people in the public gallery as record producer Greg Reely testified Wednesday morning.

Reely, 35, who produced McLachlan's first album, Touch, testified McLachlan had no experience in the recording studio when the album was recorded beginning in March 1988. He said she needed to be coached with her vocals, guitar and piano playing.

"She tends to play a lot of variations and wandered a bit," he recalled. "I suggested she not play too many variations, keep it simple."

Reely said he was concerned after listening to McLachlan's voice on the demo tapes, which were made by Darryl Neudorf, who is suing McLachlan and her record company, Nettwerk. Neudorf claims he co-wrote four songs on Touch.

Reely said he tried getting McLachlan to feel comfortable in the studio. "I think we all thought: She's got the voice; it's just a matter of getting it out of her."

He said he tried to give her encouragement and she seemed to loosen up and relax after a short time in front of a microphone in the studio.

"I'm very proud of the performance I got out of her," Reely told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen, who is hearing the case without a jury.

The producer recalled Neudorf was in the studio while McLachlan was recording her album. Sometimes he was in a back lounge working on song parts, other times he would be recording, he added.

Reely played drums and percussion on a couple of songs and Neudorf ran the recording console while Reely was at the drum kit, he said.

He added Neudorf also played drums and recorded various drum sounds on sequencers and samplers; the sounds were later inserted on McLachlan's master recordings.

Neudorf, 34, claims he co-wrote the music for the songs Vox, Steaming, Strange World and Sad Clown. He claims he also co-produced Touch and wasn't adequately compensated for his work.

The former drummer of 54-40, now a Vancouver record producer, is seeking a greater percentage of the estimated $6 million in retail sales of the album, which has sold more than 625,000 copies worldwide.

Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are McLachlan's manager, Terry McBride, and his business partner Mark Jowett, who discovered McLachlan in Halifax in 1985 and signed her to a five-record deal in 1987.

McBride and Jowett are expected to testify this week at the trial, now in its fifth week.

At the beginning of 1988, after moving to Vancouver, McLachlan was 19 and was working at a coffee shop while recording her first album. She had never written a complete song before.

McLachlan's latest album, Surfacing, has sold five million copies and has won her Juno and Grammy awards for songwriting.

The 30-year-old singer also founded the successful Lilith Fair concert tour that features female performers.