Half Deaf, Completely Mad: The Chaotic Genius of Australia's Most Legendary Producer

by Tony Cohen, John Olson (Primary Contributor)

The music and mayhem behind the seminal sounds of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Models, The Go-Betweens, Hunters & Collectors, Cold Chisel, The Saints, The Cruel Sea and so many more
'The most obsessive, single-minded character I've ever seen, outside of the mirror' -Nick Cave
'I first met Nick Cave ... at Richmond Recorders in January. I appeared shoeless, red-eyed and late. As usual. The grand piano was overflowing with bits of metal, microphone stands, anything that wasn't nailed down. "That should sound interesting," I said. It was the start of a great love affair.'
Maverick music producer-engineer Tony Cohen defined Australia's punk and rock sounds in the late '70s, '80s and '90s. His long and celebrated career took him from the studios of Melbourne and Sydney to West Berlin and London's Abbey Road, working with innumerable bands up until his death in 2017.
In candid reflections, Tony shares details of his decades-long relationship with Nick Cave (The Boys Next Door, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) and provides behind-the-scenes access to recordings by Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Cat Stevens, Jim Keays, Lobby Loyde, The Ferrets, Split Enz, Laughing Clowns, Models, Magazine, The Reels, The Go-Betweens, Hunters & Collectors, Cold Chisel, Beasts of Bourbon, The Saints, X, Michael Hutchence, The Cruel Sea, TISM, Paul Kelly and so many more.
Half Deaf, Completely Mad is a hilarious, tragic and triumphant memoir that reveals a chaotic genius who lived hard and LOUD.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published May 30, 2023

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars!

“I made an effort to clean up, without much success. It was beginning to seem like drugs first, music second.”

I’m a fan of many of the bands, artists, songs and albums that Cohen was partly responsible for engineering, mastering and producing. This isn’t a strong book, so much of it was too bitty and fragmented, particularly in the early stages giving a real slapdash, half-hearted feel. But of course the reasons for this are soon made apparent.

This is a very easy read, though not a great one. It’s hard to hold interest, when so often you trudge between the dull diaries of juvenile excess, scuzzy houses, and the overall mood of low-rent grimness awash with all the clichéd trappings. The moments of technical insight and curious trivia, were enjoyable and really give you a renewed appreciation for the job of music producing. I was amused to see that even he admitted to how awful the Birthday Party’s “Junkyard” album sounds.

To be fair this does pick up around half-way, when it leaves Australian shores and we at least get a change of scenery, if not the same old story. In many ways this was actually really sad, there’s no glory or glamour in all those wasted years and squandered opportunities, the overnight stays in various jail cells, petty crime, chronic addiction and all the other horrible dark stuff that came along with it.

[David Gagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read. Tony Cohen reveals in this memoir the not-so-glamorous story of the recording industry in Australia (mostly) during the 70s,80,s &90s (mostly). The chapters with Nick Cave are the most insightful, and the pages on microphone settings & recording technology etc not as much. I'm listening to some of these recordings today with new found interest. The lifestyle surrounding the music industry and Tony's drug addictions are a sad reminder that there is a fine line between madness & genius. In the end the music survives in all its glorious beauty.

[Aaron]

Great Ozzie bio of a technical and artistic genius! TOny Cohen was a Melbourne, Australia music producer who literally defined the modern Australian rock sound, producing all the classic Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds records, lesser known classic by bands such as the Laughing Clowns, Hunters and Collectors, Australian 'X', the Model and in the 90s the Beasts of Burbon and the Cruel Sea, along with dreck like Cold Chisel.

Kudos to John Olsen for knocking Cohen's stories into a narrative, but Cohen is a great, natural storyteller, and he gives vivid descriptions of growing up and working in bayside suburban and Inner city Melbourne, London and Berlin recording in classic studios like Hansa and Abbey Road!! He also chronicles quite frankly his speed and heroin addictions and how crazy drug use and abuse was in the 80s and early 90s Australia and which ultimately killed him... But the most interesting part of this biography are his vivid technical descriptions of his sound recording works, which is a treasure for musician and audio technologists, even audiophiles! Chapters are bookeneded with the recordings whivch can be track on streaming services like Tidal or Spotify. There is also talk that the novel will be adapted into a PodCast..stay tuned!

[Simona · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many great albums

[Hugh Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun but wish Tony was as mad as the title lets on (barely registers at "half mad" on the mad scale imho).