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 I saw the Phil Spector "Back to Mono" box set at Costco recently - for $15! This has been one of my favorite musical treasures; when it came out in 1991, most of Spector's masterworks hadn't been available for decades. It has 3 CDs of classics by his stable of artists (Ronettes, Darlene Love, Crystals, Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans), plus stuff he did as one-shots for other artists ("River Deep, Mountain High" by Ike & Tina Turner, "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" for the Righteous Brothers, etc.). The fourth CD is his famous 1963 Christmas record, the definitive rock & roll xmas treat, which everyone should own!
He was perhaps the most influential producer of the late fifties
through early sixties. He was one of the first to realize that a
record isn't simply a recording of a live performance, but an entirely
different medium, and made the studio itself the star. He as the
autuer of the music world; the groups he produced were often given
second billing to the fact he was the producer.
His concept was the "wall of sound", total information overload,
baroque masterpieces that evolved into something of Wagnerian
proportions (Wagner would have loved him). If one bass guitar was
enough for other producers, Spector would use 2 or 3, plus an acoustic
bass, all playing the same lines. And he had great sidemen he worked
with, the legendary "wrecking crew". Hal Blaine on drums, Leon Russell
on piano, Carol Kaye on bass, Tommy Tedesco and Al Viola on guitar...
the cream of the LA studio scene, players who worked with Sinatra and
the other top artists of the day.
He had numerous disciples, with Brian Wilson being the most well
known. Most of the classic Beach Boy records were done in the same
studios, with the same musicians that Spector used. There is a story
that Brian would have nightmares of Spector chaing after him with an
axe for stealing his style. Listen to the opening bars of "Little
Deuce Coupe", that's Leon Russel tinkling the ivories, with Hal Blaine
and Carol Kaye laying down as solid a rhythm as you'll ever hear. Both
Brian and Phil were obsessed with making 2:30 masterpieces designed to
sound good coming from the rears speaker of a 1958 Chevy convertible.
They had rather primitive recording technology and these aren't what
you'd call super hifi, but man do they rock.
And both men worked in the medium of Mono (Brian was deaf in one ear,
Phil just couldn't get enough tracks on his tape recorder), much like a
filmmaker using black and white.
He was also a friend of John Lennon, and produced the Plastic Ono Band
recordings, and a notorious remix of "Let It Be". He also produced for
the Ramones.
This is a highly recommended collection of some of the greatest pop
music of all time. It is pure pop - no aspirations to high art,
although it is in its own way - Phil was just trying to make a buck.
He was notorious as a very loose cannon in the studio, often
threatening artists with pistols (and tragically, he stands convicted
of murdering his gal pal now). He was abusive to his wife (Ronnie of
the Ronettes), keeping her a virtual slave for years. He screwed
artists out of royalties. But what an artist! A very complex genius. There are three disks of the greatest recordings of his top artists, and the fourth brings them together for the greatest rock and roll Christmas album of all time - not to be missed!
http://www.history-of-rock.com/spector.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Spector
http://www.history-of-rock.com/spector_producer.htm
http://www.stormpages.com/dpeneny/spector_jukebox.htm
PS - a bit of trivia - if you remember the opening scenes of "Easy
Rider", where the pasty faced creepy guy buying the drugs steps out of
the limo - that's Phil. He also appeared on many episodes of "I Dream
of Jeanie."
Recommended listening
Recommended reading
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