The Producers

I think some of the best producers may be the ones that you don't really know the names of off the top of your head because they're so non-intrusive. There are a lot of producers out there that can take something interesting and original and turn it into one of their own works--for example, you can tell a Rupert Hine production from a zillion miles away, and it ultimately takes away from the quality of the work he produced. Butch Vig is less obvious, but he has this production sheen on everything which is very distinctive.

I'm more inclined to opt for the Steve Albini school of non- production some days, where he seems to bring out the band's real sound through feedback rather than from studio trickery. (Not to say that all of Albini's recordings are great, because he's turned out his fair share of stinkers as well.) Of course, this can be taken too far as well, as in the case of Spot, who ruined countless great albums recorded for SST with truly awful sound quality.

Rick Rubin half-invented the minimalist "hardcore" rap sound of the 80's (and beyond), and was even able to extend his talents to other genres. I'm not sure what I think about these new Johnny Cash albums (good most of the time, but overproduction has crept in), but how can anyone argue with Slayer?

Giorgio Moroder, until the 80's, was the mustachioed disco king, and a listen to his mid-70s work will make you question whether Kraftwerk really deserve all the acclaim they get as "electronic" innovators. "From Here to Eternity" is wonderful. Even without any of that, "I Feel Love" is one of the best songs ever.

Good people with more of a "sound" or aesthetic might be: Steve Albini, Gil Norton, Scott Litt, Rick Rubin, Brian Eno, Dr. Dre.

I'm sure there are more in both categories but I'm bad at lists.

large professor dj premier the beatnuts prince paul rza marley marl pete rock madlib the neptunes dan the automator mike ladd the bomb squad lord finesse timbaland erick sermon diamond d mantronix dr.dre

of course, the greatest producer of all time will always be james brown. so now you know.

brian eno was disqualified for having anything to do with that new u2 album.

Destroy: Everything else.

Sorry, but you have to give it up to Kevin Sheilds for Loveless. Such a boring choice, but so true. I might call it the best production of all time, but sometimes the buried drums can leave me a little flat.

Mouse on Mars are probably my favorite producers today. In addition to what they do w/ their own work, I also enjoy the album they produced w/ Wolfgang Flur as Yamo (they claim to hate it) and the production they did with Stereolab. If they were ever so inclined, I'm sure they could be great producers outside their own music.

Steve Albini doesn't do it for me at all. I'm not into letting the songs speak for themselves. I want more sounds.

It occurs to me that most of my favorite producers are people who only produce their own records (like EyE from the Boredoms.) I don't really follow people who primarly produce others.

Hardly an exhaustive list. Most of the women I've seen with a production credit have actually been producing their own album, or in tandem with someone else from their own band.I actually got to thinking about this the other day when talking with my partner about women in music in general. Most of the music I listen to tends to be heavily male-dominated, and I was trying to think of all the women who have made a mark in the pop/rock world, either in a big way or in an influential way, and the list that came to mind was embarassingly short, which means I probably still have a ways to go. But that's probably subject matter for another thread.

Albini is not a producer, he's an engineer.

As far as the distinction between engineer/producer in the case of Albini, I think it's just semantic futzing around. Albini repeatedly claims that he's not a producer, but he's had as sure an impact on the bands that he's "recorded" as any producer has. The only real difference that I can see is that he doesn't always charge the kind of fee a producer would. If he just was the engineer, or tape op, as he'd have you believe sometimes, how come very few of his recordings (if any) actually have any producer credits?

Hip-hop producers are an entirely different matter. They actually make beats, and are thus placed in the "artist" category. I love DJ Premier and Pete Rock in particular, but I don't think Producer is an accurate term for what they do.

No, it could just be that your music doesn't lend itself well to straight live-to-tape recording (though Albini does a lot more than that, in terms of getting certain sounds). Whether or not a record is good doesn't necessarily have anything to do with whether the band can reproduce it synchronously (which is often what recording with Albini seems to reduce to).

I see what you're saying, but who really comes to mind in this case?

Plus, he's got the whole jam-splicing thing going on, which reminds me of Teo Macero's work with Miles in the '60s and '70s--another obvious choice, but truly amazing-sounding (especially considering the technological limitations of the time). I guess I'm generally interested in how technological limitations force producers to be really resourceful, and sometimes result in pretty stunning work.

As for the best...lots of great ones have already been mentioned, but how about Jam & Lewis? Their production on the new Janet Jackson is great, and they have managed to be pretty consistently great over the years.

"Feel So Sad," 13-minute-version, Spiritualized.

And the better songs on the Boo Radleys' _Everything's Alright Forever_.

rza is great, of course. i'm surprised the bomb squad hasn't been mentioned.

ryoji ikeda and pan sonic definitely deserve mention for the attention to fine details of electronic sound.

re albini: he fully realizes the aesthetic he's going for. that aesthetic, however, is not at all exciting for me. he's good at being boring. i don't think he actively damages records (as butch vig did with _nevermind_) but i'm not sure he does anything all that interesting with them eiher. someone else produced _songs about fucking_, right?

K-reg's point is quite valid, it's tough to say where the line between producing and participating is these days. For the kind of production I'm talking about, though, I personally put Albini at the top of the heap. I like when people use effects and whatnot in their work, but I think in those cases it works best when the artists add these things themselves. Kevin Shields is a great example of this, or Pink Floyd w/DSOTM.

After slinging this album on my turntable last night for the first time in a couple of years I have to say , er - NOTHING. I remembered it as a muddy mess with muted drums and tinny guitar. Definitely not! It sounds pretty powerful (the guitars and drums on the intro to "Dreams Never End") to me with some really imaginitive touches (check that drum machine on "Truth", the swirling, pattering drums and electronics on "Senses"). I can't think why I haven't heard this before - it's funny how sometimes you can approach a record with completely fresh ears. Changing my stylus might have helped a bit too!

2. Michael Jones

3. Um - is Stephin Merritt a Producer?

As far as his high point, I'd have to go with Low's _Secret Name_. (Though I do have a soft spot for Veruca Salt's _Blow It Out Your Ass_.) His work on Low's newest album, as well as Cinerama's _Disco Volante_ is equally superb (if not better), but both bands did some post-production work @ another studio (adding overdubs & such), so it's hard to draw the line where his work ends. (The last 2 Ex albums are really good as well.) Extra special kudos for being one of two people (the other being Tricky) that made Bush sound GOOD.

Outside of him, though, I can't think of anyone else in the "rock" field that's notable for their studio work. Brian Paulson's production of Slint's _Spiderland_ is astonishing, but his other work leaves me a bit pheff. And all these modern-day producers - pheff. Maybe Bob Rock's worth noting, for making all he touches (Metallica, Def Leppard, the Salt) sound cheesy in the best possible way.

_Mojo_ had a list of the 100 most important producers in music history, or something like that, a couple of months back - I have no idea how Glyn Johns & John Leckie & John Porter got on that list (unless they're the epitome of the right-place-right-time theorem). The list did seem comprehensive, though, from what I recall.

Who does the production on Louis Philippe's records? They sound interesting (from the little I've heard). So Louis Philippe's producer for the non-straight-ahead category. (I have a feeling Louis Philippe himself will be involved.)

Yeah, the intro of 'Dreams Never End' is super!

summed up Lee Perry pretty well.

In addition to those mentioned above, I gotta mention David Axelrod. Although he is probaly overrated by now (funny how quick one can get there from obscurity) I love the way is records sound and haven't found anything that has the same feel.

Yuka Honda produced some albums but I can't think of anything in specific - perhaps Butter 08? Ahh Cibo Matto get out of my head!