Behind the Glass: Top Record Producers Tell How They Craft the Hits

by Howard Massey

In this prime collection of first-hand interviews, 37 of the world's top record producers share their creative secrets and hit-making techniques – from the practical to the artistic. George Martin reveals the technical and musical challenges of working with The Beatles, while Phil Ramone, producer for such artists as Billy Joel, discusses studio wall treatments. Offering real-world advice on everything from mics to mixing to coaching a nervous singer, producers interviewed include Arif Mardin (Aretha Franklin), Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys), Alan Parsons (Pink Floyd) and more.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference

328 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is quite a bit of recording advice and engineering information within Massey's interviews with a wide range of producers, but the simple fact is that the book is dated. It was, after all, printed 10 years ago (which is forever in any technology based industry). I'd still recommend this book to aspiring producers/engineers for the gem blurbs and potential for new perspectives, but keep in mind that it isn't a crime to entirely skip over the, "Will digital ever replace ADAT?" questions. Most of the techniques they talk about are still relavent, save for their opinions on the use of DAWs since, again, the software was 10 years younger than today at the time. Remember, digital recording technology has come a long way since these interviews were conducted, so this book should not be considered a valuable reference in support of any analog vs. digital philosophy.

[Mike R.W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Music is one of the greatest things in the world.

If you've ever found yourself behind the glass, because maybe you're an engineer, producer, musician or record label salesman - then you know it's one of the greatest places you can be. Ever. Like, best of all time.

When it comes to "having a session", there are not many, if any, experiences in life to relate it to. A session means a block of hours where people play music with the purpose of recording it. That’s the reason people have assembled and the electricity is on.

A session can take any number of turns. Or maybe it'll have its fair share of ups and downs. And, every once in a while, things will maintain a smooth continuity of a flatline.

The studio environment is deceptively satisfying. Rooms built for pleasing acoustic elements are generally equally pleasing on the eye. Sometimes it may be straight lines in the furniture and walls, or maybe the lighting and the placement of equipment.

You can count on comfortable seating, that's for sure. A good session may mean sitting in a chair for easily more than 12 hours and it's best not to be uncomfortable.

Then there's the glass. The view. The live room. The space. The control room really is controlled. It's made for people to feel comfortable. The live room is a place for people to create sounds in the most pleasing and enhancing environment possible.

Folks behind the glass love to talk about recording music, naturally. This leads to talking about microphones and tape machines. You're definitely going to talk about cable and wiring, that's for sure. You're going to talk about "top end" and "punchiness." Yeah, that has more "punch."

You'll refer to treble, the high end of the frequency spectrum, as "airy" and where you can find some "shine" or "gloss." It can certainly be too bright, so be careful. On the other side, in the low end, we're looking for "thumps" that hit. Bass will be considered "round" or maybe "muddy."

The best sessions, and the ones that are worth it, truly worth it, are the ones that result in good songs getting permanently printed for replication. Songs that sound good and often have meaning. Songs that make you move your foot or think about eighth grade. Maybe these are songs that will be loved by many, many people.

This implies that yes, some sessions are a waste of time. Some sessions create permanent recordings of bad music. The problem is, some music you consider good, I consider bad. And vice versa.

So - what can we do? We have to keep tracking. And try to do something wrong, you know, get out of your comfort zone. Try to ignore what the label of that knob is and just use your ears. Maybe don't depend on your memory of what "sounds good."

Regardless, you have to keep hitting record.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parts of this book are fabulous and interesting. Nile Rodgers on how he thinks about songs like houses- with a strong rhythmic foundation etc. fun stories about throwing guitars off cliffs etc, George Martin talking about the power of limited options. Some of this book is super dated: wow we're really moving to DAWs, I wonder how that will effect stuff. Wow, project studios bla bla. But fundamentally full of interesting stories, good advice. A very fun read if you're a producer, although probably too technical if you're not.

[Patrick Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative.

Such a great book. Wonderful insight from amazing, world class engineers and producers. I learned a great deal from this book. Lots of tips and a wealth of wisdom. A central theme is it's all about the song, first and foremost, everything else is second, gear, equipment, etc...

[Joseph Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, some really great stories but remember this written a while ago now so this book may be a little better for the older audience or those wanting more of an insight to those times. Overall super glad this book was made and an important one for any industry collector.

[Shaun Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent time capsule of what it was like to be a producer in 1999. Some lessons here for the modern age, some fun history, some foreshadowing of things to time - excellent book, and if you think "that's not important because it's not the way things work now", well, that's not the point of reading this book. Enjoyed thoroughly, second read through. Plan to read volume 2 sometime soon.

[J. Best · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this book started out strong, but started to drag on. Its an interesting look into the head of some of the greatest producers of all time and, while there are some gems here in terms of tips for production/engineering, a lot of the information is dated, such as analog vs. digital, large studios vs. home studios. I did think that it picked back up in the "young guns" section, but again, this book is about 14 years old, so even the young guns are not so young today. And although they overlap, I felt there was much more emphasis on engineering over production. Again, a great look into the minds of some legendary producers, but dated in terms of technology.

[Mark Reiter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of interviews is aimed at project recordists looking for tips from the pros. There's good stuff on the philosophy of making good records but not much in the way of technical help. Well worth they time if you make records and are curious about the methodology of folks who do this work on the highest level.

[Serdar · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's great about this book isn't the technical information provided by the producers, but the way their discussions about recording and producing music give rise to discussions about the creative process generally. My favorite one of the discussions in this vein is the conversation with Nile Rodgers, out of which I've mined any number of insights for further discussion.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved reading from top producer/engineer's experiences in the studio. If you need inspiration as a recording engineer or producer, hell, even if you're just into the sound of music, this is a great read.

[Scrote · Rating 4 out of 5]

a little too Reader's Digest in its brevity with each producer but still fun to hear some of their insights.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

intviews & information , does your mind good , if your into recording pick it up , you can always learn somthing new!

[Zulf Zulf · Rating 5 out of 5]

its good book for sound designers

[Fernando Benavides Roldan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una recopilacion de entrevistas con los mas y mejores productores en la historia, para todos los que estan interesados en el audio y en la produccion este libro es un manjar

[Wally]

A very good look at the recording world- some good production insights.