Classic Tracks | compendium of links
Classic Tracks
SOS takes you behind the scenes of the recording and production sessions of some of the most significant 'classic' tunes of the past 50 years. Best-selling author Richard Buskin weaves together technical and musical facts and anecdotes from the sessions to create an engaging series. TOP 5: Subscriber Access Required
Open Access unlocked Producer: Tony Clarke • Engineer: Derek Varnals  Producer: John Lennon • Engineers: Roy Cicala, Shelly Yakus  Producer: Van Morrison • Engineers: Shelly Yakus, Elliot Scheiner  Producer: Heavy Zebra • Engineer: Kevin Byrne  Producers: George Goldner, Terry Johnson • Engineer: Allen Weintraub  Producers: Stock, Aitken and Waterman  Classic Tracks  The Pogues 'Fairytale Of New York'  Classic Tracks For mixing Kraftwerk's synthetic beats and simple melodies with New York rap, 'Planet Rock' can be credited with creating an entirely new genre: hip-hop. This is how it happened... Producer: Paul Simon • Engineer: Roy Halee  Producers: Devo, Robert Margouleff • Engineers: Robert Margouleff, Howard Siegel  Producer: Mike Chapman • Engineer: Peter Coleman  Producers: Ray Minshull, Michael Woolcock • Engineers: James Lock, Kenneth Wilkinson  Producer: Trevor Horn • Engineers: Steve Lipson, Julian Mendelsohn  Producer: Jean Beauvoir • Engineer: Fernando Kral  Producers: Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland One of the most famous record labels of all time, Motown fostered a group of uniquely talented writers, engineers and musicians who often had to invent the equipment and techniques they used to keep their music at the cutting edge. Lamont Dozier explains how it was done... Producer: Al Kooper • Engineers: Al Kooper, Rodney Mills In 1973, a band from Florida and California went to a studio in Georgia to record a song, provoked by a Canadian, about Alabama - and managed to define the sound of Southern rock while they were at it. Producers: Chip Young, Billy Swan; Engineer: Chip Young In 1974 Billy Swan walked into Chip Young's Young'un Sound studio and, in two takes, recorded a million-selling single that had taken him 20 minutes to write. This is how it was done... Track: 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick' The story of how a characteristically chaotic and unorthodox 1978 recording session took Ian Dury & The Blockheads to the top of the UK charts. Producers: Nile Rodgers, Madonna, Stephen Bray • Engineer: Jason Corsaro In mid-1984 Madonna arrived at New York City's Power Station studios with Nile Rodgers to record the album that would make her an international superstar - using cutting-edge 12-bit technology. Producers: Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat, Fleetwood Mac In 1976, in the face of deteriorating personal relationships and massive record company pressure, Fleetwood Mac managed to create a record that would go on to sell 30 million copies. Producer: Billy Sherrill • Engineer: Lou Bradley 1973's 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World' was one of the defining moments of the Nashville sound, and was the product of a finely-honed studio recording process. Producers: Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller, Gareth Jones • Engineer: Gareth Jones Released in 1984, 'People Are People' perfectly combined Depeche Mode's love of pop music and experimentalism, and gave them their first US hit single. Producers: Paul & Phil Hartnoll • Engineers: Tim Hunt, Orbital Orbital were renowned for their amazing live shows, and the story of 'Chime', the track that launched their career, shows how they brought their 'live' approach to electronic music to the studio and into the charts. Producers: Garry Cobain, Brian Dougans • Engineers: Yage In 1991 The Future Sound of London brought their unique brand of experimentalism to the dancefloor with the seminal track, 'Papua New Guinea' — and launched their career in the process. Producers: The Band, John Simon • Engineers: John Simon, Robbie Robertson, Tony May The origins of The Band as Bob Dylan's backing group are well known, but with songs like 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' they forged their own unique American sound. Producers: Tom Dowd • Derek & The Dominos Inspired by a Persian classical poet and a certain Mrs Harrison, 'Layla' went on to become Eric Clapton's most enduring hit. Producer: Mike Chapman • Engineers: David Tickle, Pete Coleman In 1979, at the end of a 13-way bidding war, The Knack went into the studio to record their debut single — a debut single that would go gold in seven days and sell six million copies worldwide. This is the story of how it came to be... Producers: Bryan Adams • Bob Clearmountain The Reckless album was a huge success for Bryan Adams, giving rise to six hit singles - but the first one, 'Run To You', was almost never even recorded. Producers: Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley Producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley helped to make Madness one of the most successful British bands of the '80s. Find out how they worked their magic on this 1982 classic pop track... Producers: Mark Knopfler, Neil Dorfsman The Brothers In Arms album turned Dire Straits into one of the biggest-selling bands of all time, thanks to some technical innovation, tough decision-making, and that guitar sound — which was created by accident. Find out how they did it... Producer: Big Star • Engineer: John Fry Three decades after they disappeared into obscurity, the cult of Big Star continues to grow. John Fry was the engineer and studio owner at Ardent, who oversaw the recording of their now-classic albums #1 Record and Radio City. Producers: Chris Blackwell, The Wailers; Engineers: Phill Brown, Tony Platt Bob Marley & The Wailers were the first Jamaican musicians to achieve world stardom. Tracked in Kingston and finished in London by Island engineers Phill Brown and Tony Platt, their breakthrough album was a truly international recording and a true reggae classic. Find out how it was recorded... Producer/Engineer: Bones Howe The art of the record producer blossomed in the 1960s, with the likes of Phil Spector crafting miniature symphonies in the studio. As that decade drew to a close, Bones Howe masterminded one of its biggest and most innovative hits. Producer: Al Bell; Engineers: Terry Manning, Jerry Masters For the Staple Singers' landmark 1972 Stax album, Terry Manning and producer Al Bell employed the talents of Memphis's finest musicians and two of the South's most famous studios. Producer/Engineer: Gil Norton With their oblique, short and often brutally noisy songs, The Pixies reinvented rock music at the turn of the '90s, and influenced almost everyone who picked up a guitar in the following decade. Producer and engineer Gil Norton helped them to shape their breakthrough single. Eddie Kramer With his searing version of 'All Along The Watchtower', Jimi Hendrix set a standard for Dylan covers that has rarely been equalled. Eddie Kramer was behind the glass as the sessions moved from London to New York. Producer: Ron Richards, The Hollies; Engineer: Alan Parsons The Hollies were the third artist in as many years to cut Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood's pop ballad, yet it was their version that became a worldwide top 10 hit. In 1974, Alan Parsons was behind the mixing desk at Abbey Road for their recording of 'The Air That I Breathe'. Producer: Chris Thomas; Engineer: Steve Churchyard In 1982, the Pretenders responded to desperate circumstances with some of the strongest material they would ever produce. Engineer Steve Churchyard was there to record it. Producers: The Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson Disco was an American phenomenon, but its greatest hits were recorded in France by an English band who were trying to play R&B... Producers: Supertramp, Peter Henderson Producer and engineer Peter Henderson spent nine months recording an album that neither he nor the A&M label could afford to fail. Yet when he handed in the masters, Henderson was convinced that Supertramp‘s Breakfast In America would finish his career...\n Producers: 10cc; Engineeer: Eric Stewart Disagreement can be destructive, but it can also drive a band on to new heights. So it was when 10cc's Kevin Godley turned up his nose at a love song penned by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman, insisting that it would have to be completely reinvented in the studio... Producers: Jon Astley, Glyn Johns The Who's final album with Keith Moon took almost a year to record and pushed the band to the limit. Engineer and producer Jon Astley tells the remarkable story behind Who Are You?'s title track. Producers: Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards. Engineer: Bob Clearmountain They might have been the greatest production team of the disco era, but even Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards could fall victim to the elitism of New York's club scene - and their response was the most memorable of all Chic's hits. Producers: Stephen Hague & New Order; Engineer: David Jacob Producer Stephen Hague took New Order into the studio with an ambitious brief: to write and record a single that would break the band in America. Producer: John Leckie. Engineers: John Leckie, John Cornfield, Paul Schroeder As the '80s drew to a close, The Stone Roses made rock music cool again, melding '60s psychedelia and acid house under the production guidance of John Leckie. Producers: Morrissey, Johnny Marr • Engineer: Stephen Street Stephen Street made his name as an engineer working with one of the most influential indie bands ever. He describes the sessions that created the title track of The Smiths' most celebrated album. Producers: Robert Smith, Mike Hedges Mike Hedges made his 1980 debut as a producer with one of The Cure's most enduring singles. 'A Forest' and the accompanying Seventeen Seconds album used his and the band's creativity in the studio to the full. Producers: Robin Millar, Sade Adu, Mike Pela, Ben Rogan Sade's ice-cool vocals and sophisticated, jazz-tinged instrumentation defined a new kind of soul music for the '80s. Engineer and producer Mike Pela describes the organic recording process that produced one of the singer's most memorable hits from 1985. Artist: David Bowie; Producers: David Bowie, Tony Visconti; Studio: Hansa Ton, Berlin With 'Heroes', David Bowie pulled off the rare feat of having a major hit with a highly experimental piece of art-rock, which featured among other highlights live synth treatments from Brian Eno, pitched feedback from guitarist Robert Fripp, and a lead vocal with level-triggered ambience. Artist: The Sex Pistols; Producer: Chris Thomas; Engineer: Bill Price When punk rock broke in 1976, the Sex Pistols caused panic in establishment Britain — and more than a few raised eyebrows in Wessex Studios, where Chris Thomas and Bill Price recorded the band's milestone EMI debut album. Producers: Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell; Engineer: Bill Bottrell The 18-month gestation period behind Michael Jackson's Dangerous album and its lead single 'Black Or White' saw '80s studio perfectionism taken to extremes — and despite their success, the experience helped to convince co-writer, engineer and co-producer Bill Bottrell that there had to be another way to make records! Producers: Duran Duran, Alex Sadkin, Ian Little; Engineers: Phil Thornalley, Pete Schwier When Duran Duran began work on their third album in 1983, they were already one of the biggest bands in the world — and with eight months of studio time and half a million pounds spent, huge expectations surrounded Seven And The Ragged Tiger... Artist: Kate Bush; Producer: Andrew Powell; Engineer: Jon Kelly Kate Bush's 1978 smash hit debut single was also the first major project Jon Kelly had recorded. It proved to be a dream start for both artist and engineer, and a perfect illustration of the benefits of working with talented session musicians. Artist: Tina Turner; Producer: Terry Britten; Engineer: John Hudson In 1984, a dose of British soul resurrected Tina Turner's flagging career in spectacular style. For engineer John Hudson, the recording of 'What's Love Got To Do With It?' also provided a memorable example of the 'less is more' principle in action... Artist: The Rolling Stones; Engineer: Chris Kimsey In 1981, 'Start Me Up' became one of the Rolling Stones' biggest hit singles. Yet it was actually a reject from a previous session, and only saw the light of day because its infamous co-writers had fallen out... Producers: The Police, Hugh Padgham • Engineer: Hugh Padgham. Label: A&M. Released: 1983. StudiosL AIR Montserrat, Morin Heights (Canada). The Police's final studio album was both a technical and artistic tour de force, and yielded one of their most memorable hit singles. Yet the three members were unable to play in the same room without a fight breaking out, so the recording sessions proved tough going for engineer and co-producer Hugh Padgham... Artists: Natalie Cole & Nat 'King' Cole; Producer: David Foster; Engineer: Al Schmitt Half a century in the business has seen recording engineer Al Schmitt reach the very top of his profession, but even a man of his experience can find himself faced with new challenges. So it was in 1991, when he was called upon to turn a classic Nat 'King' Cole recording into a duet with Cole's daughter Natalie... Artist: THE DOORS; Producer: Paul Rothchild; Engineeer: Bruce Botnick Engineer and producer Bruce Botnick recorded some of the greatest artifacts of West Coast psychedelia, among them the first five albums by The Doors. Here he describes the making of their influential second album and its title track, which saw them develop their live sound through radical experimentation in the studio. Artist: Cliff Richard; Producer: Norrie Paramor; Engineer: Malcolm Addey This month, Sound On Sound begins a major new series, looking back in detail at the engineering and production behind some of the most historically significant recordings ever made, with the story of the first and greatest British rock & roll record.
| Friday 20th November 2009 December 2009
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Other recent issues: Photos too small? Click on photos, screenshots and diagrams in articles to open a Larger View gallery.  Gear Reviews Technique
Classic Tracks
Secrets of the Mix Engineers
Ableton LIVE techniques
Apple LOGIC techniques
Cakewalk SONAR techniques
Digidesign PRO TOOLS techniques
MOTU DIGITAL PERFORMER techniques
Propellerhead REASON techniques
Steinberg CUBASE techniques
Sound Advice
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