George Martin. Jimmy Iovine. Phil Spector. Bill Szymczyk. Jimmy Messina. Mutt Lange (yes. Mutt Lange). I'll post more as they come to me. I'm not a huge fan of 90% of what I hear these days, so the list is heavy on old timers.
Derek
Country is the only musical format where there is still any real division of Labor. Most artists don't write their own songs, and the labels hire producers for them. They are pretty much interchangeable parts (if you hadn't noticed
). Ever since The Beatles took over the control room on their 3rd album, thereby hijacking creative control from the label, bands have wanted to run their own show. (George martin was seen as a quasi member of the band-not a suit from the studio.) Most bands get that control, at least to some degree, but many songwriters insist that they need to produce the songs to get their sound. Buddy Holly was perhaps the first, unheard of in his time, but he wouldn't sign unless he was the producer. He said he couldn't "talk in music" to anyone else to get his point across.
In a lot of cases, the band hires the producer, although he technically works for the label. The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and the later Stones are a good example.
Another difference is this-There's a lot more to do for a producer on a country record. The star almost NEVER gets to bring his own band to the studio, so they all have to be hired and scheduled. In other formats, the band is a self contained unit. In the cases of some groups (oh, the Burritos say,) the biggest part of the job is babysitting, and keeping them sober enough to get some kind of useable tracks on tape.
In most cases, a producer is a good thing. Someone has to say "No" or "That's enough". In Nashville right now it's not. these guys are hired to make everything sound the same, which is why it all sucks out loud.
Gimme them old country-rock rascals any day of the week. They may have been Gypsies in the Palace, but they made some fine music.
JB
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<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by JB Arnold on 01 November 2003 at 01:57 AM.]</p></FONT>
-Derek
