Good Vibrations: A History of Record Production

by Mark Cunningham

A blend of the creative, the human and the technical, this book chronicles the development, decade by decade, of record production. Leading artists recall their earliest encounters with the recording studio environment, comparing then and now.

Genres: Music

440 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1996

About the author

A devoted Horslips fan since his early teens, Mark Cunningham first interviewed the band in 1995, for Hot Press magazine. Later, he created the souvenir brochures for the band’s reunion tours, and produced videos for their general promotion.

Mark’s early career was focused on work as a bass guitarist, composer and producer. He produced the first official BBC Children In Need charity single, and played a supporting role with several well-known artists.

Moving into music journalism in the early ’nineties, Mark contributed to a wide range of magazines, as well as writing two popular reference books – Good Vibrations: A History Of Record Production and Live & Kicking: The Rock Concert Industry In The Nineties.

In 1998, Mark co-founded TPi (Total Production International) – a monthly magazine for the live industry – and its associated annual TPi Awards event.

Since leaving TPi in 2011, he has worked in a marketing role for leading live sound company Clair Global, as well as advising on numerous entertainment production initiatives worldwide.

Mark lives in Southend-on-Sea, in the south-east of England.

For further information on Mark’s career activities, please visit

Reviews

[Googoogjoob · Rating 2 out of 5]

A missed opportunity. A lot of information has gone into this work, but it comes across as basically a series of anecdotes or potentially-illustrative moments rather than as a coherent narrative history. The focus is on recognizable names who tried to do new things production-wise, rather than on the year-to-year state of music production at large, or on the technological side of things. So- sometimes diverting, but hardly ever enlightening.

[A-ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bunch of information in need of organization. There very little cohesion, just some stories and summaries of interviews. This is not to say that the book was unemployable. It contained some interesting anecdotes, but it could have been better with a decent editor.

[Fernando Benavides Roldan · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesante investigacion sobre las producciones desde el principio y hasta grandes grupos que han marcado la historia de los productores