Many years ago I remember a local Philly radio station discussing the most underrated bands of the day. They listed The Kinks and Rush and one other band that I don’t recall today. But this has made me think for a long time about record producers. Who do you feel would make that list? It’s not as though they’re unknown, they just don’t rise to the surface when names are mentioned.
Prior to Sir George Martin producing the Beatles, who even knew what a producer was? His role as the fifth Beatle opened up the world of record production to the general public. Other names have been highly regarded over the years; Roy Thomas Baker is one that comes to mind.
But what about those names not instantly rising to the surface? I’d like to hear your votes. I’ll start with my number one name that I have thought about for many years; Jeff Lynne.
As an example, the 1977 ELO double album Out Of The Blue is about as great a production gem as anything. Jeff wrote all the songs in under a month, (I know, Handel wrote Messiah in under a month too). The recording took a bit over two months. There are so many examples of production genius on every song. His use of an orchestral string section as just another instrument in the band is a totally different concept compared to what the Moody Blues did. His orchestra was even used as a lead instrument many times, as if it were one instrument.
Jeff’s use of echo was ear-catching because it was not for background, but more for enhancing the pulse of the rhythm. His use of background harmony vocals was used similarly, just like another band instrument would be placing accents throughout the song. Even though his backing vocals were not the sky scrapers that Queen built, they still accomplished a similar end result in some places. His use of chunky Gibson Les Paul guitar rhythms were huge. And his arranging skills always impress me. Although I’m sure keyboardist Richard Tandy had something to do with that as well.
What is really amazing is that he did all of that without a single plugin. No digital editing, only tape. You had to get it right. It makes me feel lazy with today’s technology. If you really want to hone your skills, use tape and outboard hardware gear. Digital? What’s digital?
So therefore, Jeff Lynn gets my vote for underrated record producer. If I could give my second vote, it would go to Jimmy Page. I won’t go in to all of the reasons that I just did with Jeff, but because he is known as a masterful guitarist and songwriter and performer, his production skills get pushed to the rear, but just as brilliant as Jeff Lynn.
Who would you vote for and why? Thanks for chiming in.