Phil Spector ...

[uwe]

He died in the jail hospital of Covid complications.

I know why he was there, but let's not write him out of pop history. I was never a fan of his wall of sound, but he invented it.







"For the Righteous Brothers' 1964 hit, You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', he used four guitars, three pianos, three basses and an assortment of trumpets, trombones and saxophones before adding the vocals.

It was seen as a remarkable achievement given the basic three-track tape recorders which were available at the time."

[Granny Gremlin]

[uwe]

When Joey - kudos for him admitting that he liked the Rollers in the heydays of Punk - let his influences be distinctly heard ...



Actually, the BCR overblown "everything but the kitchen sink" orchestral sound owed quite a bit to Spector, so the Bruddahs came kind of full circle. I've read that the sessions with Spector were less than happy though.

[uwe]

That was another unexpected combination, people haven't made up their mind yet whether it was rubbish or a work of two geniuses.

[Highlander]

Mixed feelings... rip, regardless...

[Pilgrim]

Even with mixed feelings, it's possible for someone with terrible personal failings to be a genius as an artist.  To me the "wall of sound" was an incredible  benefit to music. Some of his music is among the most memorable in popular music history. R.I.P.

[Rob]

Even with mixed feelings, it's possible for someone with terrible personal failings to be a genius as an artist.  To me the "wall of sound" was an incredible  benefit to music. Some of his music is among the most memorable in popular music history. R.I.P.

Well said.

[uwe]

I can't imagine ole Phil resting at all, much less in peace, he was a driven and haunted man all his life. But whether heaven or hell, hopefully there will be plenty of arrangement and production work for him to keep him busy.

[Dave W]

I never liked the Wall of Sound. IMHO It was a detriment to music.

As for his character, I'll let Thumper speak for me.

[Highlander]

Well said, Sir...

[Alanko]

Good riddance. One-trick-pony producer who thought it was acceptable to wave a gun at musicians to get the best out of them. Then murdered somebody.

The same people mourning his loss are those that complain about how modern pop music is derivative; churned out by artists with no talent as a disposable consumer product. Phil Spector contributed heavily to this situation, but he's the 'tortured genius' in the room apparently.

[uwe]

I'm not sure that there would have been a Roy Wood's Wizzard, an ELO, a Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, an Alice Cooper's Welcome to my Nightmare, a Springsteen's Born to Run, a Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell or a Kiss' Destroyer without him. Perhaps not even a Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (Brian Wilson was a fan). Much less a Joe Meek in the UK (and how would we have found Blackmore then?!).

Now I'm not exactly a fan of these grand productions (though I do like both Bob Ezrin and Tony Visconti who are not exactly sparse producers), but the pop and rock world would be poorer without Spector's groundbreaking work.

Indeed, obituaries would be easier if he had restrained himself to producing vinyl records rather than adding criminal ones.

[Rob]

Indeed, obituaries would be easier if he had restrained himself to producing vinyl records rather than adding criminal ones.

[Alanko]

Indeed, obituaries would be easier if he had restrained himself to producing vinyl records rather than adding criminal ones.

 

[uwe]

Ah, yes, the subversive power of laughter ... streng verboten, nicht gut...