Wall Of Sound
LaserWolf
Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
Being a record collector I was a big fan of Spector's wall of sound, and all those rare Spector records. Today, not so much. As a song writer Spector was as good as anyone in the rock biz. He has an ear for talent. As for the wall of sound. Most of those records would have sounded as good or better with a more stripped down production. Do real heads know the deal?
Comments
that thick, layered sound was supposed to sound better broadcasted over the limited AM bandwidth.
i am not a real wall of sound head but thats what i always thought.
probably just asking to get
your right though, a more sparse arrangement could have translated better today...
I see what you're saying, but I wouldn't take it THAT far.
I couldn't imagine "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "River Deep, Mt. High" or "Black Pearl" without the Wall of Sound. The overproduction adds a little drama.
I like Phil Spector okay. I'm not an out-and-out fanatic, but when copies of the Back To Mono box were being sold for as little as $17.99 a few years back, I bought a copy. Some good stuff on there.
But I think his Xmas album is EXTREMELY overrated.
DON'T KNOCK IT!
Besides... that schitt was built on a river of acid.
But, back to Spector. Bad man; great producer.
THANK YOU
That being said, I'm still not a very big fan of Wall Of Sound.
YLTLF probably can not be improved.
Those vocals and lyrics are a perfect match for the wall of sound.
RDMH can imagine without the wall.
Tina's vocals might shine brighter with out it.
Deep Purple did it with out the wall.
What's Black Pearl?
I think Phil produced Stand By Me.
A big sound for sure, but much more understated than what he created at Gold Star.
I think the Ronnettes and that xmas lp are good examples of singers and songs that were not improved by the wall.
We constantly hear how ground breaking and great the wall is.
The songs are great and the performers are great, so we assume that the production, which was new and innovative, must also be great. That's what we have been told.
But take a minute next time you hear a Spector production and ask yourself if that is really the way you want to hear that song.
BTW, Ronnie's book, Be My Baby, How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts and Madness is a great read and insightful into Spector's home life and dementia.
I recall that's the book where she revealed that he kept a coffin in a room of his mansion and would remind her that would be where she would be staying if she ever left him.
brrrrrrrrr.....what a creepy F*ck.
I don't specifically remember the coffin, but lots of stuff like that.
Gun play.
He surprised her by bringing home kids he had adopted so she could be a mom.
Some stuff about working in the studio, and the way he taught her songs.
A book that detailed his musical career, songwriting, producing with out the dirt would be very interesting.
Not quite. That song was by the Teddy Bears, a vocal trio that Spector was a member of as a teenager. This was not quite The Wall as we now know it. Too early.
It should be noted that not everything Spector produced had that massive sound. "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" by Curtis Lee could be any East Coast doo-wop record. "Not Too Young To Get Married" by Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans has him chasing the feel of Gary "U.S." Bonds' hits, right down to the crowd noises.
These songs are like the EPITOME of The Wall:
"Be My Baby," Ronettes
"Da Doo Ron Ron," Crystals
"River Deep, Mountain High," Ike & Tina Turner
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "For Once In My Life," Righteous Brothers
These songs are blatant imitations of The Wall:
"I Got You Babe," Sonny & Cher
"You're My Soul & Inspiration," Righteous Brothers
(no accident these records were made by people who were former Spector associates)
I understand he got that sound by padding the payroll with several musicians doubling, tripling, quadrupling, etc. on the same instrument. Three/four/five guitars, two drummers, and on and on it went.
I've never heard Deep Purple's version (and I'm not a fan anyway), but now that I think about it, the Supremes and the Four Tops (both groups combined) did a killer "RDMH" that didn't try to chase Spector at all.
That said, the thunderous production did add a lot to the Ike & Tina original. I haven't played the album in a while, but I seem to remember it was the only track where Phil let Tina be Tina, hollering and screaming her way to the Rock & Soul Hall of Fame. On the other tracks that Phil produced, Tina sang in this toned-down girly-girl voice similar to Ronnie Spector. (I should mention here that about 50% of the album was produced by Ike, and is more like what you'd expect.)
In some cases, we've become too used to those productions to question them (thanx to oldies radio).
And as long as we're giving it up for early sixties pop producers, we gotta spill some wine on the ground for Frank Guida...those shithouse records he did on Jimmy Soul ("If You Wanna Be Happy") and Gary "U.S." Bonds were like a lo-fi slap in the face to what Spector, Bob Crewe and all the rest were doing. Long Live the Norfolk Sound!
gotcha. yeah, i love these ones just the way they are.