Hidden Treasures - Producer Showcase: Glyn Johns

[Scott]

The Artist Showcases I've done have presented me with this topic quite accidentally. But it seems there are some producers who's touch is as good as Gold. Some of them seem to know exactly how to get out of an artist their very best. So, much like the Artist Showcases, I think we will look at some producers from time to time as well. It also gives me an excuse to use some of the more well known tunes if they fit the playlist feel, afterall this is about showcasing a Producer and how best do you that? First Up is Glyn Johns only because he was the co-producer of Rocks greatest album of all time, and that's The Who's Next...


Actually first up is some wiki info for you. Jon may not like it but this type of topic is perfect for Wiki... So it shall be! 


In the 1960s, while associated with the UK rock band The Presidents (band), Johns began working as a recording studio engineer at IBC Studios, Portland Place, London and was able to take the band in during weekends and try his skills at production and recording. The Presidents was his first true production work. In 1969, Johns was called upon to rescue the troublesome Get Back sessions for The Beatles. Johns compiled several versions of the album, which were all rejected by the band, before the project was eventually turned over to producer Phil Spector. Spector's version became the released album, which was retitled Let It Be. 


In 1971, he recorded and mixed The Who's Who's Next. His influence on The Faces' 1972 album A Nod Is as Good as a Wink... to a Blind Horse, which he co-produced with the band, can be gauged from the message that follows the credits: 'Thank you Glyn, you made all the difference'. Johns' output slowed down in the mid 1980s, although he undertook work with Midnight Oil, Nanci Griffith, and Belly.

In 2011, after a couple of decades spent largely away from production, Johns worked with Ryan Adams on his album, Ashes & Fire. In February 2012, Johns began work on the Band of Horses album, Mirage Rock. In a nod to Johns' work with the Faces, the credits contain the note: "Thanks to difference, you made all the Glyn."

On 14 April 2012, Johns was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, honoured for musical excellence.

Johns developed a unique approach to the recording of drums, known as the "Glyn Johns Method", characterized by an unusual overhead mic arrangement. The key to the method is to keep both overhead mics equidistant from the center of the snare. This method has been used consistently in professional recording to this day.

Johns has written a book about his life titled Sound Man published by Blue Rider Press on November 13, 2014.

PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/av7hmx1z

	The Eagles Eagles 1972 1 - Train Leaves Here This Morning Balance is the key element of the Eagles' self-titled debut album, a collection that contains elements of rock & roll, folk, and country, overlaid by vocal harmonies alternately suggestive of doo wop, the Beach Boys, and the Everly Brothers. If the group kicks up its heels on rockers like "Chug All Night," "Nightingale," and "Tryin'," it is equally convincing on ballads like "Most of Us Are Sad" and "Train Leaves Here This Morning." The album is also balanced among its members, who trade off on lead vocal chores and divide the songwriting such that Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner all get three writing or co-writing credits. (Fourth member Don Henley, with only one co-writing credit and two lead vocals, falls a little behind, while Jackson Browne, Gene Clark, and Jack Tempchin also figure in the writing credits.) The album's overall balance is worth keeping in mind because it produced three Top 40 hit singles (all of which turned up on the massively popular Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975) that do not reflect that balance.
	Eric Clapton Slowhand 1977 2 - The Core After the guest-star-drenched No Reason to Cry failed to make much of an impact commercially, Eric Clapton returned to using his own band for Slowhand. The difference is substantial -- where No Reason to Cry struggled hard to find the right tone, Slowhand opens with the relaxed, bluesy shuffle of J.J. Cale's "Cocaine" and sustains it throughout the course of the album. Alternating between straight blues ("Mean Old Frisco"), country ("Lay Down Sally"), mainstream rock ("Cocaine," "The Core"), and pop ("Wonderful Tonight"), Slowhand doesn't sound schizophrenic because of the band's grasp of the material. This is laid-back virtuosity -- although Clapton and his band are never flashy, their playing is masterful and assured. That assurance and the album's eclectic material make Slowhand rank with 461 Ocean Boulevard as Eric Clapton's best albums.
	The Who Who Are You 1978 3 - 905 On the Who's final album with Keith Moon, their trademark honest power started to get diluted by fatigue and a sense that the group's collective vision was beginning to fade. As instrumentalists, their skills were intact. More problematic was the erratic quality of the material, which seemed torn between blustery attempts at contemporary relevance ("Sister Disco," "New Song," "Music Must Change") and bittersweet insecurity ("Love Is Coming Down"). Most problematic of all were the arrangements, heavy on the symphonic synthesizers and strings, which make the record sound cluttered and overanxious. Roger Daltrey's operatic tough-guy braggadocio in particular was beginning to sound annoying on several cuts. Yet Pete Townshend's better tunes -- "Music Must Change," "Love Is Coming Down," and the anthemic title track -- continued to explore the contradictions of aging rockers in interesting, effective ways. Whether due to Moon's death or not, it was the last reasonably interesting Who record. The 1996 CD reissue adds five previously unreleased alternate takes and demos.
	Faces A Nod is as Good as a Wink ... To Blind Horse 1972 4 - Stay With Me Track was lifted off "The Defintive Rod Stewart" collection ... The Faces' third album, A Nod Is as Good as a Wink...to a Blind Horse, finally gave the group their long-awaited hit single in "Stay with Me," helping send the album into the Billboard Top Ten, which is certainly a testament to both the song and the album, but it's hard to separate its success from that of Rod Stewart's sudden solo stardom. In the mere months that separated Long Player and A Nod, Rod had a phenomenal hit with "Maggie May" and Every Picture Tells a Story, his third solo album, something that would soon irreparably damage the band, but at the time it was mere good fortune, helping bring them some collateral success that they deserved. Certainly, it didn't change the character of the album itself, which is the tightest record the band ever made. Granted that may be a relative term, since sloppiness is at the heart of the band, but this doesn't feel cobbled together (which the otherwise excellent Long Player did) and it serves up tremendous song after tremendous song, starting with the mean, propulsive "Miss Judy's Farm" and ending with the rampaging good times of "That's All You Need."
	Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin 1969 5 - Your Time Is Gonna Come Led Zeppelin had a fully formed, distinctive sound from the outset, as their eponymous debut illustrates. Taking the heavy, distorted electric blues of Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Cream to an extreme, Zeppelin created a majestic, powerful brand of guitar rock constructed around simple, memorable riffs and lumbering rhythms. But the key to the group's attack was subtlety: it wasn't just an onslaught of guitar noise, it was shaded and textured, filled with alternating dynamics and tempos. As Led Zeppelin proves, the group was capable of such multi-layered music from the start. Although the extended psychedelic blues of "Dazed and Confused," "You Shook Me," and "I Can't Quit You Baby" often gather the most attention, the remainder of the album is a better indication of what would come later. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" shifts from folky verses to pummeling choruses; "Good Times Bad Times" and "How Many More Times" have groovy, bluesy shuffles; "Your Time Is Gonna Come" is an anthemic hard rocker; "Black Mountain Side" is pure English folk; and "Communication Breakdown" is a frenzied rocker with a nearly punkish attack. Although the album isn't as varied as some of their later efforts, it nevertheless marked a significant turning point in the evolution of hard rock and heavy metal.

[RJhog (Admin)]

This was a well put together episode.  

Believe it or not, I have 4 of the 5 featured here (I'm missing The Faces).  Kind of ironic that they were featured here after seeing the sad news on Ian McLagan.  By the way, even though I own four of them, I really don't much listen to any of them with the possible exception of Led Zeppelin.

The one song that really surprised me was the Clapton tune.  It was really good.  Who is the female on vocals?  She sounded great.  I have to start a list of albums to listen to.  This is one that should be on that list.  Great pick.

Just listened to The Eagles album the other day.  So that one is kind of fresh.  The Zeppelin song and the Faces songs are both classics.  

No clunkers here.  Great job.

[Jon]

This is the female on vocals:

[Scott]

I did not know that!

[Scott]

Adding the Faces tunes at this time was purely accidental, I had no premonition or psychic knowledge at all. I am not a clairvoyant....

[Jon]

The first song is ok, I suppose. Maybe a bit too country, but the production is AMAZING!

The next three songs are allright in my book, all with AMAZING production. Two of those songs are played on radio quite a bit, one not. At least I think so since I don't listen to radio much, unless I'm putting and I tune into a classic rock station on the internet. 

The production on the last song is AMAZING, but it's really not a "hard rocker", is it? I thinks not. I'm sure the AMAZING production is even more AMAZING on the remastered remaster but I wouldn't know because I'm not really that interested in the first two LZ albums. 

At one time, 3/5.

Now, 2/5.

His brother Andy, who passed away last year, also produced a few albums here and there............

[Scott]

I seen the info about his bro... But didn't look into his discography. Not sure who I will showcase next but rest assured Mutt Langeg will make an appearance in 2015....

And yes, Jimmy Page did improve the once AMAZING production.

[Jon]

Rick Rubin

[Scott]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Rubin_production_discography

This guys a machine...  And there's a ton of crap in that list too!

[Meow]

[Gordon Williams]

Great idea on spot lighting a producer, Scott. Very cool and interesting. The play list is nice too. Good mixture of songs and styles. Amazing production or not!

My producer suggestion would be Brendan O'Brien, who is in my area of Atlanta. I have a great story about Brendan. Back in 1977, when I turned 18, at that time in Atlanta, you were now legal to go into any and every bar in town. I used to go a lot...I mean a lot...to the original Underground Atlanta. It had 3 different bars that featured live rock n roll.

Brendan at that time was already a guitar playing wizard. He played in Atlanta's biggest, best known, best cover band, called "Pranks". They played a ton of great stuff, and the whole band was extremely talented. They had a fantastic Zeppelin set they would do, where they would play quite a few Zep songs all in a row. Brendan was only 15, and technically should not have even been in the bar he was rocking. Excellent player, at quite a young age. Its funny how he ended up going into the production segment of the music industry, where he is in demand, and quite well know for his studio talents. Me and all my friends always felt back then that he would make it big one day...but as a player, not a producer.

I read some years back where he is very dedicated to his family, so that is probably why he chose the role of producing in music. So he can be at home with his family, and not out on the road. Impressive guy, I would say.