"Behind The Glass-Top Record Producers Tell How They Craft The Hits"
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Howard Masey is an Associate Editor of EQ Magazine and Reviews Editor for Surround Professional. He has written for Musician, Recording, Keyboard, EM, and Billboard magazines. Before going into music journalism he was a professional recording engineer and producer, as well as a published songwriter and touring and session musician. This book is a compilation of 37 interviews and 2 panel discussions on the art and technique of music recording and production. The interviews were originally conducted for a feature series in Musician magazine and later continued in EQ magazine. The introduction is the first of two panel roundtables, this one is from the East Coast. This bunch is a rather elitist group of corporate types that I really didn’t like until my second read through. These guys don’t appear to have much regard for the home recording artist, giving the impression that only someone of their caliber could possible comprehend or master their craft. Thankfully the interview get better. Then isn’t it ironic that the first conversation is with Glen Ballard, producer of "Jagged Little Pill;" seventy-five percent of which was recorded on his home studio. Ballard is my no means a man off the street, having assisted and trained with Quincy Jones. He has some good tidbits about how the album got made and gives a good endorsement to ProTools. One clever feature of each chapter is at its end is a short listing of "Selected Listenings" for each producer. Part Two of the book is entitled "Roots" and has interviews with Al Schmitt (Aja, Breezin’), Arif Martin (Pick Up The Pieces, several Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan works, and The Bee Gees’ "Nights on Broadway)." Brian Wilson and bad boy Phil Spector are also in this part. I was surprised how down to earth Spector was; he gave some good kudos to the home studio and engineering student. He presents some pretty good technical counsel here also. I'm sorry to say that there are no juicy stories about his gun toting escapades, but it's not that kind of book.This section is filled with the big label heavy hitters. Most of them are very down to earth though, and give some solid career and technical advice. Part Three, "Meanwhile on the Other side of the Atlantic..." starts out with George Martin, famed Beatles producer. Martin has also worked with Jeff Beck, America, and Paul McCartney. If you’re a Beatles fan there is some good stuff here, from stories of how the albums were made to how the band like to work on projects. Alan Parsons is also in this section and he, too, gives some good technical views. Andy Johns is in here, too. He takes great care not to down any new up and comers of any home producers. Like so many in this book he seems to genuinely respect the technology so readily available today. Johns doesn’t give any good Led Zeppelin, Stones, Tull, or Van Halen stories but he has tons of great recording insight to offer. Part Four is "Back in the States" with Jack Douglas and some good stuff. He gives a brief low down on how he mics Steven Tyler. Nile Rogers is in this section also. Rogers, an early digital pioneer gives some insight into how he mixes and in what sequence. The next part (five) goes "Across the Pond Again." Craig Leon begins this part. He explains how he took a classical background into recording The Ramones and Blondie. Part Six is called "Young Guns," I’m not sure why, as no one here seems all that young and their credits are pretty impressive. Its in this section that we get our only female producer, Sylvia Massy Shivy. She has some great stories on experimental recording techniques, some of which are pretty elaborate. Plus there is the customary "women in this business" rap. Shivy has worked with Johnny Cash, System of a Down, and Tool. The book concludes with a second panel discussion, this time from West Coast producers. These guys don’t give a lot of technical information but rather the discussion focuses on the future of producing music and where it might be years from now. |
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