Product Description

Behind every classic pop record is a musical mentor whose job it is to coax the finest performance from an artist, while a technical virtuoso captures that unforgettable sound for posterity . In this book , the great record producers and engineers come out from behind the control room glass to talk about their work with popular music's most legendary performers.

Bestselling author and journalist Richard Buskin interviews more than sixty producers and engineers, takin us in their own words on a multi-decade musical odyssey ranging from big band, jazz and folk to rhythm & blues, rock, pop, punk, disco, metal, alternative and every other nook and cranny that has brought exciting performances together with an experienced recording hand. We meet the people who recorded Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Nirvana, Alanis Morissette, and more-and find out what those sessions were really like. Here is a very personal history of popular music told from a vantage point that may be new to us, but not to the many musicians who have labored in the studio: here is how it felt to help them make history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1141383 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09
• Released on: 1999-09-07
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 388 pages

From Booklist
In a foreword, Brian Wilson says that "so many of [his] all-time favorite records were produced by people interviewed" by Buskin that "I know you'll be fascinated to hear how they did it." Jimmy Miller, producer of some of the Rolling Stones' finest, recalls feeling pretty accomplished until he heard Sgt. Pepper for the first time and thought, "Oh, wow, what have we been doing? We're just kidding around." Bruce Botnick, engineer-producer of the Doors, the Beach Boys, and the Chipmunks, reports reacting similarly to a mono acetate of that Beatles' album. Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, Doors--sounds like another celebration of the '60s, eh? Well, there is a chapter of praise for the "fifth Beatle," Sir George Martin, and chapters about beloved oldies producers Mickie Most, Sam Phillips, and Jerry Wexler, among others, but the later, less beloved Quincy Jones, Don Was, and Giorgio Moroder each get a chapter, too. All the profiles are brief but rich in behind-the-scenes detail. A fine addition for pop-music collections. Mike Tribby

About the Author
RICHARD BUSKIN has been a fulltime freelance journalist specializing in popular culture for fifteen years.He has been published in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines in the U.S., the UK, Europe, Asia, and Australia.A native of London, he wrote the New York Times bestseller Princess Diana:Her Life Story, and books on The Beatles, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and British royalty.He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Customer Reviews

The often forgotten ingredient to the enchantment
Yes, very few music fans are actually aware of the role of music producers in the making of timeless (or in more subjective terms, special) recordings. Richard Buskin's opus, which begins with a passionate foreword by Brian Wilson, will help to clarify the work of past and present key figures in the record production world. To the initiated, the testimonies, anecdotes and other episodes that once were only confined to the control room come to life as the living proof of the utmost importance of such professionals in the making of the songs we all love, showing that they often need far more than just "good ears". Part diplomats, part businessmen, part psychologists, part marketing experts; record producer helped to shape music as we know it today. As a final comment, unlike Mark Cunningham's book (which is also fantastic, by the way), this one is not only confined to the UK scene.

A great look at behind-the-scenes heroes
While, no question, musical talent speaks loud and clear, a good producer and a good engineer sure help raise the volume level. This is a great collection of anecdotes from some of the top people in both areas (sometimes they're the same person!). George Martin, Sam Phillips and Quincy Jones you probably know, but the insights of others like Bob Rock (Metallica), Norman Smith (Pink Floyd), Bill Price (The Sex Pistols), Roy Halee (Paul Simon), Chris Kimsey (The Rolling Stones) and Leiber and Stoller (Elvis, The Drifters), as well as everyone else featured here, make for fascinating reading about what goes on in the studio. Hope there's a Part 2 somewhere down the road!