Friday, February 17, 2023

La Fin de la Semaine Essay Question: Special Chairman of the Board Edition

From 1967, and produced by the incomparable Glyn Johns, please enjoy The Easybeats and one of the great lost singles of its decade -- "Heaven and Hell."

And now to business. To wit...

If you had a band, and could have your band produced and/or engineered by any producer or engineer in rock history, it would be....who?

Discuss.

(I think you can guess from the producer credit above who my choice would be. Heh.)

Meanwhile, have a great weekend, everybody!

PS: I'm bringing this whole subject up because I just started Johns' autobiography Sound Man, which is a smashing read with more rock celebrity stories than you can shake a tape reel at; I highly recommend that you order it Amazon now.

18 comments:

SteveS said...

I like Johns' mix of Get Back more than either Let It Be or Let It Be...Naked. That may not be saying an awful lot, but there it is.

Todd Everett said...

Kind of depends on what kind of act it is. For the kind of act I’d be - not hip-hop or metal, for instance - maybe someone like Pete Anderson, Brian Abernathy or Bob Johnson. Someone who knows music and their way around a studio, but doesn’t want to make it all about him or her, like Daniel Lanois or Phil Spector. Also, someone who can knock ‘em out without spending hours getting a drum sound.

Allan Rosenberg said...

Jimmy Miller pre hard drugs.

Captain Al

Shriner said...

Bob Ezrin has produced some of my favorite albums, so he would be my pick.

Cleveland Jeff said...

Glyn Johns, of course. In 1971 alone, he produced Who's Next, Faces A Nod Is As Good As A Wink...To A Blind Horse, and Boz Scaggs And Band. The trifecta!

Gummo said...

Argh, there's so many greats:

Glyn Johns for the clarity of his recordings.

George Martin for his arranging genius.

Mickie Most based on the unusual instrumentation on his Donovan recordings.

Brian Eno based on his Talking Heads records - their first album's sound was thin & flat; after Eno took over, they had depth and punch.

Steve Lillywhite because sometimes I love that lush, baroque sound.

I know I'm leaving out so many greats!

Alzo said...

If you held a gun to my head, I would have to say Phil Spector.

The Kenosha Kid said...

Martin Hannett
Shadow Morton
Shel Talmy

(depending on what kind of band it is)
PS, you should follow Shel Talmy on Facebook if you aren't already, he is very entertaining and has a good memory for details.

pete said...

Lowell George

cthulhu said...

My favorite album of all time is Who’s Next, so yeah, the brilliant Glyn Johns.

I read his autobiography when it came out a few years ago, and it has really good stories but I found it kind of disorganized. That said, his recollections of the early ‘70s stuff, especially the aforementioned Who’s Next, are fascinating.

Second choice would be Bill Szymczyk, for his work with the James Gang, Joe Walsh, J. Geils Band, and even the Eagles - e.g., whether you like the song Hotel California or not, it’s incredibly well engineered and produced. (and those iconic solos are a blast to play!)

Third choice would be the great Tom Wilson.

Allan Rosenberg said...

Alzo:

Would that be Phil Spector holding the gun to your head?

Captain Al

MJConroy said...

I'd go with Eddie Kramer and Todd Rundgren.

Gummo said...

Bob Johnston for his mid-to-late 60s work.

JohnT said...

Shelly Yakus and Mitchell Froom.

JB said...

I love Spector and Rundgren but George Martin is top gun for me.

danny1959 said...

Nick Lowe

jackd said...

Mitch Easter
Don Dixon
Can you guess when I was in college?

dorethyroad@aol.com said...

In the late,sixties ai roadied for a band on Buddah Records Jennifer's Friends
Their first single was 'The Land If Make Believe" recorded and written by
the Easybeats Both are available online- BTW - I was in H/S
Rob - no one will ever read this :-(