I Wanna Be a POLLducer: The Voting thread for Producers, Recording Engineers, and Studio Wizards (DEADLINE: Midnight, Friday October 14th)

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The only non-genre, non-artist-specific poll yet! This one is for those behind-the-scenes masters of the recording studio - the people who have shaped the sound of popular music through their studio wizardry, engineering, and recording techniques. I am allowing any and all people/groups of people who have received Producer or Recording Engineer credits on recordings. This includes old-fashioned recording engineers, record producers, self-producing artists, remixers, duos/teams of producers (which will be counted as a single entry), across all genres, throughout the history of recorded music. I am going to be fairly open-minded about who qualifies, figuring it will all shake out in the voting anyway.

I'll accept ranked ballots of up to 20 entries, scoring will go as follows:

01:40, 02:36, 03:33, 04:30, 05:27, 06:25, 07:24, 08:23, 09:22, 10:21
11:20, 12:19, 13:18, 14:17, 15:16, 16:15, 17:14, 18:13, 19:12, 20:11

Send your ballots to conditionofmuzak at yahoo dot com. Deadline is midnight EDT, October 7th. I reserve the right to hold balloting open longer than that if necessary. This thread is for lobbying for votes for various people and a general discussion about the historical role of production and the various people involved in shaping it.

I will try not to fuck this up too much :)

would hope this would attract some popists/rap goons/dance music heads but I dunno...

The first time I became aware of what a producer could contribute to music was when I noticed the name 'Bomb Squad' in the liner notes of Fear of a Black Planet. I was 13 years old...

Stoked!

Some big names to toss out early --

Teo Macero (Miles Davis, obviously, but a zillion other jazz recordings)
George Martin (Beatles +)
Geoff Emerick (Beatles, Elvis Costello)
Tom Dowd
Rudy Van Gelder
Manfred Eicher

Who were the main producers at Motown in the 60s? They might not have been amazing sonic wizards but they helped shape such a distinct sound. Sylvia Moy's name popped up while I was listening to Stevie Wonder records -- who else?

Holland/Dozier/Holland and Norman Whitfield were the two most influential producers/teams at Motown/in the world.

Holland/Dozier/Holland

I thought these guys were just songwriters...?

Some interesting discussions to be had about the people who helped develop the material (like Martin) vs the people who helped develop the recordings of the material (Emerick).

some other huge names to throw out there:

Phil Spector
Tony Visconti
George Martin
Brian Wilson
Giorgio Moroder
Timbaland
DJ Premier
Pete Rock
RZA
Brian Eno
Joe Boyd
Joe Meek
Jimmy Miller
Dave Fridmann
Steve Albini

Bomb Squad
Jam/Lewis
The Dream lol

xp They were also producers, from "Heat Wave" all the way through to "Bernadette."

the neptunes
the guy that does portishead
tricky stewart

kanye?

eno is alltime for me, only guy I can think of who made me a better (amateur) engineer just by listening to his records

A name I want to throw into the ring here, but I can get really tiresome on the subject so I try not to mention him too much -- Frank Zappa. Except for 1970-71 when he was stretching himself a little thin with A&R and impresario type duties, his records all sound amazing -- really well recorded, from intricate razor-blade edit pieces to full live shows. Even later Synclavier stuff sounds good, though I don't like the material. Plus he produced Trout Mask Replica, Jean-Luc Ponty, Grand Funk, L. Shankar, etc etc

danja
bloodshy & avant
max martin
dr luke
babyface
mannie fresh
xenomania
wiley
michael mayer

A few names to toss in to the mix, xpost probably already here:

Lieber and Stoller
Joe Meek
Gamble and Huff
Tony Visconti
The Chic Organisation
Martin Rushent
Martin Hannett
Trevor Horn
Bomb Squad
Chris Thomas
Rick Rubin

Andrew Loog Oldham: threat or menace?

Chris Desjardins (aka Chris D.) who produced many of the earliest releases on the Slash label (Dream Syndicate, Gun Club, Flesh Eaters).

Tom Wilson (Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, VU, early Mothers, Nico, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor)

Will try to mention the artists produced when I throw a name out. A lot of the hip hop producers, I have no idea what acts they're associated with.

if we say the-dream does rhat include tricky stewart and los da mystro, or just the-dream himself?

*that

Certified Number One: Mutt Fucking Lange.

Conny Plank

Just to be a bit of a grenade rolled into the conference room -- what makes Mutt Lange worth considering?

King Tubby
Tchad Blake

XP: I was just kidding. I like his name, and I just read somewhere today that he 'assembled Hysteria note for note', which I think is quite an accomplishment.

Lee Perry

Leslie Kong -- love, love, love his records -- Dekker's Israelites, Marley's Caution, "Mother and Child Reunion"

Just to be a bit of a grenade rolled into the conference room -- what makes Mutt Lange worth considering?

The evolution of the possibilities for hugeness that started with Highway To Hell, reached its apogee with Back In Black, and nearly devolved into winking self-parody with Hysteria.

Don't kid. I will most assuredly be voting for Mutt Lange.

Oh, I will be too. The crack about Hysteria was meant more along the lines of Mutt thinking, "How absurdly can I expand/extend the most defining characteristics of my sound?" And it worked.

Since there's no way I'll be able to listen to all the music by these producers, so I've decided to listen to the top albums of just one producer this week.

Mutt Lange it will be.

I love Hysteria for its complete and utter sound overdrive. It's like taking a bath in soft electricity.

Love or hate the Nashville sound of the 50s and 60s, Owen Bradley has to be considered here.

if we say the-dream does rhat include tricky stewart and los da mystro, or just the-dream himself?

does the Dream produce stuff by himself or only with those other two dudes...?

Also Billy Sherrill and Chet Atkins. xp to self

Shelly Yakus
Phil Ramone
Mike Chapman

Those were the first three people whose names I remember showing up on different records that I liked, and trying to learn what they did.

most of The-Dream's solo stuff and hits written for other artists was primarily produced by Los Da Mystro and/or Tricky Stewart with him co-producing, until he started doing more solo productions last year (i.e. after he had made most of his most popular work)

alan lomax?

Oh shit, yeah -- Lomax

Sam Phillips!

some more hip hop dudes:

Dust Brothers
DJ Pooh
Dr. Dre (lol that it took this long for his name to come up)
I don't like him but assume someone will vote for J Dilla
Rick Rock

most of The-Dream's solo stuff and hits written for other artists was primarily produced by Los Da Mystro and/or Tricky Stewart with him co-producing, until he started doing more solo productions last year (i.e. after he had made most of his most popular work)

this is kind of an odd situation. Presumably the only reason this would matter would be the risk of vote splitting (ie one person votes for The-Dream, everyone else votes for the collaborative stuff)...? Perhaps for the sake of simplicity we can say just vote for The-Dream and that will include everything with his name on it, including his stuff co-produced with his collaborators.

Marley Marl
Prince Paul

bob thiele
david briggs

wanna say don galluci for fun house but i have no idea whatever else he did

Conny Plank seconded

Bob Thiele, though...I mean, did he have much (or any) say about what went on at any of the sessions?

Don Galluci played keyboard on "Louie Louie," but impressive as that is, doesn't add to his production credits.

Spot (lol)

Les Paul
Sly Stone
Giorgio Gomelsky
Norman Smith
Roy Halee
Lou Adler

also big hiphop names to throw out there-

Easy Mo Be (most famous for Ready To Die and Me Against The World)
DJ Quik

imo deserves to be a top ten contender-

Babyface

Bones Howe!

plan is to start rolling out results on Monday - unless I get a whole bunch more ballots will probably just do a top 50, altho there are currently a bunch of ties in the lower ranks

votey vote votar vote

more than 28 posters on this thread iirc

Yeah vote, and do it now. Time runneth on.

People who claimed to be excited about this poll on the "coordinating" thread:

me
some dude
rogermexico
Ismael
gospodin simmel
rustic italian flatbread

Hope we all voted!

ooh namin and shamin

gospodin and ismael have voted fwiw

I'll fill out rogermexico's and flatbread's ballots, no prob

xxxp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HksJCN5YPSc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaTbErVDQ40

1 more ballot received (thx milton)

i'll be sending one within the next 10 minutes so hold on.

done

11 minutes! you liar

ha i dunno but i should maybe clarify that "maw" = masters at work.

I will vote sometime tomorrow, if voting is still open then?

11 minutes! you liar

you're one to talk...

Neil voting's open til tomorrow at midnight

I have the day off tomorrow, so expect a vote & thanks!

you're one to talk...

― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, October 13, 2011 7:11 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

?

i voted btw -- sorry if posting on the thread before voting makes me a 'liar' but i don't believe in promising "i'm working on it! it's coming soon!" before sitting down and just doing it when i have the time

finally sent my ballot! took me ridiculously long to compile and in the end I kinda rushed it, so sorry for the delay.

included were two Polish names that probably will sound unfamiliar to most, so a little introduction for them:
Noon - trip-hop influenced hip-hop producer (some ppl like to call him "the Polish DJ Shadow" which is kind of a stupid tag imho) who at first cooperated with handful of high-profile names from the scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZEoFwJogMM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqh_w9Isyvw

then went instrumental (this period reminds me a bit of Boards of Canada):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPjXYodZIkE&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQR-jnL6tEA

Maciej Cieślak - influential person on the Polish independent scene, leader of Ścianka and, of course, a popular producer. takes pride using solely analogue equipment, so all his recordings sound "warm, yet crispy" (and other audiophile bullshit) but first and foremost - sound very nice.
few choice cuts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y18u7isD5I&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWix8p0NkoI&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgPZkE6a3uQ (screw shitty youtube quality)
also you may check latest Ścianka single: http://soundcloud.com/creativemusicagency/cianka-satellites

sorry for a wall of youtubes, folks :/

Sending my ballot posthaste Shakey Mo!

(Couldn't decide whether to nominate Ted Templeman (producer of some of my favourite SOUNDING records of all time - Van Halen, Montrose, Captain Beefheart, Van Morrison, Doobie Brothers, Little Feat - or his usual engineer (Donn Landee); so as a result, neither of 'em got a mention & will have to settle for this honourable mention.)

oh man i wish i voted for Templeman now

33 votes (in your face, Pet Shop Boys!)

get yr ballots in if you haven't voted yet, today is the last day

I voted for Templeman, but forgot Moroder. oof.

don't think I have ballots from rustic or rogermexico yet

voted!

pls to confirm receipt

Ballot sent - fairly easy to pick 20 favourites but actually ranking them was very tricky.

keep 'em comin

I'll try to do one this afternoon. Has anybody lobbied for Mike Chapman? Jammed Parallel Lines last week and was reminded of how nice the production is.

33 votes (in your face, Pet Shop Boys!)

http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/pix/2009/03/pet-shop-boys-415x263.jpg

They do not look very happy.

I wonder if anyone will vote for the Boys, they may have the last laugh.

Has anybody lobbied for Mike Chapman?

I don't think I did, but I considered him for Rapture. That 'bell' sound is one of my favourite production tricks (see also Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Tears Dry On Their Own). What is it? A really loud xylophone?

there was some considerable praise upthread for Chinn-Chapman from yrs truly

vote vote vote

voting... almost ... closed

last chance to affect the results kids

messed up and sent an earlier draft of my poll, only really one hideous miss, guess it's too late to sub them in?

Sent a bashed out ballot just now.

or something e-mail me about what the change is

done, shakey, nice one.

hope Allen Touissant places high - I just found out dude is coming to chat with ethnomusicology students at the University of Alberta, where I just completed my MA. I'm home in the States now but planning to participate via Skype, and I'm fucking psyched.

time is a runnin out kids

I can submit a second ballot if you'd like.

LET'S DO THIS

woo hoo !

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/arts/music/phil-ramone-record-producer-and-winner-of-14-grammys-dies-at-79.html

Sure, he ushered in/pioneered the era of the 70s studio sound, which was about as resonant and dynamic as wet shag carpeting. But he was also the engineer on Olé Coltrane.

R.I.P.