 |
Phil Spector: Genius Breeds Instability |
 |
Most people have probably heard of Phil Spector. He’s currently on trial for allegedly murdering girlfriend and B-movie actress Lana Clarkson in 2003. What you may not know is that Spector has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is arguably the most influential music producer of his generation, up there with the likes of George Martin and The Beatles and Brain Wilson of Beach Boys fame.
Spector was famous for his “Wall of Sound” recording technique. In his own words, the Wall of Sound was, “a Wagnerian approach to rock & roll: little symphonies for the kids.” The effect was dense and layered, and it typically involved dozens of instruments, often in odd combinations, playing orchestral parts in unison at the same time in a large studio. The layered sound is then fed into an echo chamber to further muddle and beef it up before being transfered to tape. You can clearly hear the effect in “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes, released in 1963:
The effect is best appreciated in headphones. Laying down the rhythm is a strange mix of drums, castanets, shakers, and tambourines. Backing it up are multiple basses and guitars playing a single line in unison, fifths, or octaves. Topping off the instrumental lines is the orchestra, a bunch of strings playing in unison. Take a particular listen to the orchestral solo. That’s definitely more than one violin playing. Most likely, there are half a dozen players who put down that line at the same time. It’s a delightfully complex bit of recording, sweet and simple when you first hear it but increasingly layered, strange, and perverted the more you really listen. You can almost hear the madness showing through the cracks.
The Wall of Sound style transmitted well through the low quality jukebox and headphone speakers of the day, and Phil Spector had hit after hit in the early 60’s, including “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”, “Unchained Melody”, and “River Deep - Mountain High”. Phil Spector was arguably the first record producer to really gain popular recognition outside the music industry and helped found the producer impresario archtype we see today in the likes of Kanye West or Timbaland. He was one of the first to turn the recording studio itself into a musical instrument, and his affect on pop music is almost immeasurable. Without Spector’s influence, there would be no Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, or Pet Sounds, or even Dark Side of the Moon. All of these albums came out of the Spector tradition or the Spector image.
With Spector’s genius in the recording studio came some marked instability, which at the time gave Spector a kind of mad scientist vibe. He was known to be controlling in the studio, making artists work long hours in cramped quarters, sometimes playing the same chord over and over until fingers bled. Spector chewed through talent at a remarkable pace, recording, releasing, and dropping over a dozen artists in less than 10 years. He maintained a stranglehold on his suppliers and distributors, taking as much of the recording, producing, manufacturing, and selling in house as he could. He kept his wife as a virtual prisoner in their house. He watched Citizen Kane obsessively. He pulled guns on the talent.
Probably the most famous Spector story comes from The Beatles. In a way, Spector and The Beatles saved each other. In 1969 Spector’s star was falling and The Beatles were struggling to stay together. Spector was given the high profile assignment of salvaging the Let It Be sessions. Spector applied his Wall of Sound techniques and turned out such masterpieces as “The Long and Winding Road” and “Across the Universe”. While John and George loved the Spector versions, Paul McCartney hated them. Thirty years later, he released Let It Be…Naked, a version “how it was supposed to sound” without Spector’s meddling. Not surprisingly, the original Let It Be mix is still the true classic.
It is often said that with genius comes madness. Did Phil Spector murder his mistress? I have no idea, though I wouldn’t put it past him. But that doesn’t diminish his accomplishments. Spector, possibly more than anyone else, was responsible for the sounds of the countercultural revolution.
