Best Year Ever by a Record Producer?

Has ilm ever done this before? I couldn't find anything.

Criteria might include number and significance of artists produced, number and quality of records, variety of styles, producer's impact or contribution. I have no idea what a producer does most of the time, but I'm curious when I notice a name keeps showing up.

A few examples:

Jimmy Miller 1968: Traffic, Stones, Family, Spooky Tooth

Eno 1978: Himself (Music for Airports, Music for Films, After the Heat), Talking Heads, Devo, Harold Budd, No New York (but no Bowie that year)

Chris Thomas 1973: 2 Roxy Music LPs, John Cale, Badfinger, Procol Harum (plus mixing for Dark Side of the Moon)

All above culled from AMG's credits listings, which tend to favor albums over singles. You wouldn't know that Burt Bacharach had a pretty great 1964 and 1965, not to mention his commercial success. Then how do you rate the producer's work when they are also the songwriter? Likewise for Holland-Dozier-Holland, any year 1964-67 had a ridiculous list of classics. I expect someone else can detail the case for 21st Century hotshots Timbaland, Neptunes, Max Martin, etc.

As Tony Visconti will remind you, Eno wasn't credited as producer on the Bowie "Berlin" records.

..but those are very good years you have listed.

...except maybe the Chris Thomas/Badfinger record.

Alfred Lion (the producer of every Blue Note Records session of the 1950s and 1960s; Rudy Van Gelder was "just" the engineer) is gonna walk this unless we're limiting it to pop music.

Yes, it's a different standard when you can produce an album in an afternoon, sometimes without even mixing it afterwards.

As Tony Visconti will remind you, Eno wasn't credited as producer on the Bowie "Berlin" records.

― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, September 24, 2024 11:17 AM (thirty-seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Good prompt to watch the Adam Buxton video about this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FODvjYoVEi8

george martin

1965 or 1967

I would have said Tom Wilson but he I'm not sure he actually produced Bob Dylan, Mothers of Invention and the Velvet Underground in the same year - the latter two definitely though.

I'd have to look up his whole resume, but Billy Sherrill probably ruled at least one year in the 1970s.

In 1995, RZA did Liquid Swords, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, and Return to 36 Chambers: the Dirty Version.

that's a good one

1994- DJ Premier did:

Gangstarr- Daily Operation
Jeru the Damaja- The Sun Rises in the East
Nas- Illmatic (3 sons): "NY State of Mind" "Memory Lane" "Represent"
MOP- "Downtown Swinga"
Notorious BIG- "Unbelievable"

of course you could pull nearly any year from the 90s and find a similar Primo run

I was also gonna post Preemo’s 94 but it was too much typing on phone lol

The Neptunes in 2004
Impossible to pick a single year of Missy

John Fogerty for the three CCR albums he produced in 1969 (while also composing most of the songs, singing, arranging and playing many of the instruments).

Giorgio Moroder in 1979:

Giorgio Moroder, E=MC2
Donna Summer, Bad Girls
Sparks, Number 1 in Heaven
Japan, "Life in Tokyo"
Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer, "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)"

Shel Talmy 1966: The Kinks, The Who, The Creation, The Easybeats, Manfred Mann

Those records were good in spite of Shel Talmy though.

Todd Rundgren 1973

Todd Rundgren- A Wizard, A True Star
New York Dolls- New York Dolls
Grand Funk Railroad- We're An American Band

Phil Spector 1963 is absolutely GOATed

The Ronettes - "Be My Baby"
The Ronettes - "Baby I Love You"
The Crystals - "Da Doo Ron Ron"
The Crystals - "Then He Kissed Me"
The Crystals - "He's Sure the Boy I Love"
Bob B. Soxx - "Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts?"
Darlene Love - "Today I Met the Boy I'm Gonna Marry"
And the 'A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector' album

Unequivocally the correct answer

the unequivocally correct answer is King Tubby (or maybe Lee Perry or Joe Gibbs) and any year between 1972 and 1980 or so.

Phil Ramone, 1975 (a mix of engineering and producing credits):

Alice Cooper - Welcome to My Nightmare
The Wiz - Original Cast Recording
Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years
Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
Maggie & Terri Roche - Seductive Reasoning
Sonny Sharrock - Paradise
Original Cast Recording - Chicago
Chicago - Chicago VIII
Art Garfunkel - Breakaway

just based on sheer volume, the slate of quality reggae producers in the 70s absolutely slay their other western pop contemporaries in terms of number of sessions/releases. It isn't even close.

The oft-derided Spot’s 1984 includes Zen Arcade, Meat Puppets’ II, Saint Vitus s/t, and no less than 3 Black Flag albums (My War, Family Man, and Slip It In).

Trevor Horn, 1982:
ABC - The Lexicon Of Love
Dollar - Give Me Back My Heart / Videotheque
Spandau Ballet - Instinction
Malcolm McLaren - Buffalo Gals

i'd think Timbaland has to have a pretty amazing year in his production catalog.

With Timbaland I'd probably go with 2001.

or 2002

in 1971 glyn johns did who's next, the faces' a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse, plus records by leon russell, boz scaggs, jesse ed davis, and humble pie

We have a winner:

Don Was 1999

1999: Suicaine Gratifaction – Paul Westerberg (producer)
1999: Spirit of Music – Ziggy Marley (producer)
1999: Avenue B – Iggy Pop (producer)
1999: Garth Brooks in...the Life of Chris Gaines – Garth Brooks (producer)

he sure was 1999

Arif Mardin in 1973:
Sweet Revenge - John Prine
Shotgun Willie - Willie Nelson
Abandoned Luncheonette - Hall & Oates
Extension of a Man - Donny Hathaway

Tomas Skogsberg 1991:

Dark Throne - Soulside Journey
Dismember - Like An Everflowing Stream
Necrophobic - Unholy Prophecies
Entombed - Clandestine

Scott Burns, 1990:

Obituary, Cause of Death
Deicide, s/t
Napalm Death, Harmony Corruption
Death, Spiritual Healing
Master, s/t
Exhorder, Slaughter in the Vatican
Atrocity, Hallucinations
Demolition Hammer, Tortured Existence
Cannibal Corpse, Eaten Back to Life

Beats by the Pound 1998

Young Bleed - My Balls and My Word
Silkk the Shocker - Charge It 2 da Game
C-Murder - Life or Death
Various artists - I Got the Hook-Up
Sons of Funk - The Game of Funk
Fiend - There's One in Every Family
Soulja Slim - Give It 2 'Em Raw
Master P - MP da Last Don
Kane & Abel - Am I My Brother's Keeper
Mac - Shell Shocked
Snoop Dogg - Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told
Big Ed the Assassin - The Assassin
Skull Duggery - These Wicked Streets
Magic - Sky's the Limit
Various artists - Mean Green
Prime Suspects - Guilty 'til Proven Innocent
Gambino Family - Ghetto Organized
Mia X - Mama Drama
Ghetto Commission - Wise Guys
Steady Mobb'n - Black Mafia
Full Blooded - Memorial Day
Various artists - We Can't Be Stopped
Mystikal - Ghetto Fabulous

Xpost
Re: Scott Burns, insane list even with you leaving off “To The Gory End” by Cancer

In 1981 Mutt Lange produced albums for Foreigner, Def Leppard, and AC/DC each of which went multi-platinum

I’d have to dig in deeper to firm this up, but 2007-2009 were pretty good years for The Dream/Tricky Stewart as producers and songwriters

Some dude to thread obviously

Real answer is probably some Nashville guy in the 50s

Arthur Baker, 1982:

Planet Rock - Soul Sonic Force
Walking On Sunshine/The Harder They Come - Rockers Revenge
Play At Your Own Risk - Planet Patrol
Candy Girl - New Edition
IOU - Freeez
Soul Makossa - Nairobi/Awesome Foursome
Jazzy Sensation - Afrika Bambaataa/Kryptic Krew
Jazzy Rhythm - Michelle Wallace
Ease Your Mind (US Remix)/Ritmo Suave - Arthur Baker

I mean, COME ON!

(Ease Your Mind/Ritmo Suave was by Touchdown, duh)

Chic Organization, 1980 (wrote and produced):

Chic - Real People
Sister Sledge - Love Somebody Today
Sheila and B. Devotion - King of the World
Diana Ross - Diana

I'd take 1979 Chic Org in a heartbeat.

relevant: Producers, Recording Engineers and Studio Wizards: POLL RESULTS
Top 10 were:
10. Chic Organisation (275 points, 9 votes, 2 #1 votes)
9. Giorgio Moroder (278 points, 13 votes)
8. The Bomb Squad (287 points, 13 votes, 1 #1 vote)
7. Conny Plank (306 points, 13 votes, 1 #1 vote)
6. RZA (348 points, 14 votes, 1 #1 vote)
5. Lee "Scratch" Perry aka the Super Ape aka Pipecock Jackson aka the Upsetter (355 points, 15 votes, 1 #1 votes)
4. George Martin (455 votes, 16 points, 2 #1 votes)
3. Timbaland (493 points, 19 votes, 3 #1 votes)
2. Brian Eno (562 points, 20 votes, 3 #1 votes)
1. Phil Spector (664 points, 26 votes, 1 #1 vote)