Glyn Johns interview: My 50 years of producing rock classics. Next time you’re in the home of someone who lived through the golden age of rock‘n’roll – 1963-1976, from the Beatles to punk – try this simple experiment. Go to their CD or vinyl collection and look at the sleeve notes on the classic albums, such as Beggars’ Banquet and Let it Bleed by the Rolling Stones, Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake by the Small Faces, Shine on Brightly by Procol Harum, Abbey Road and Let it Be by the Beatles, Slowhand by Eric Clapton, Mad Dogs and Englishmen by Joe Cocker, Who’s Next and Quadrophenia by the Who, Self Portrait by Bob Dylan, Stage Fright by the Band, Desperado by the Eagles, Harvest by Neil Young, Led Zeppelin’s first album, Joan Armatrading’s second and third albums, or Combat Rock by the Clash. You’ll find a phrase constantly recurring: “Produced by Glyn Johns.” Variant readings may say “Engineered by Glyn Johns”, or “Mixed by Glyn Johns”, but you get the picture. It’s too late for the monopolies commission to look into it, but it sometimes seems that just one man was responsible for the sound of rock history. George Martin and Phil Spector may occupy higher profiles in the producer pantheon, but Johns, over the decades, has been the go-to guy for clarity and atmosphere. “Glyn created truly beautiful ‘soundscapes’,” says Pete Townshend. “He fashioned stereo pictures that were enchanting, engaging and immersive. He did this with a concentration and focus that was without par.” Johns’ career stretches from 1964, when he engineered the first Kinks singles, “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night,” to Benmont Tench’s You Should Be So Lucky this year. To mark 50 years in studio and stadium, he’s publishing a memoir of his adventures called Sound Man. In it he charts the evolution of recording from the days when singles were the only popular records, albums were rare, studio engineers wore collars, ties and white coats like lab technicians, and very few musicians (well, none actually) rolled spliffs and swigged bourbon during recordings.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 20:09:09 +0000
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