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.
https://youtu.be/jrVbawRPO7I
https://youtu.be/e9Lehkou2Do
https://youtu.be/RBTdgqCgGRE
"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."
https://youtu.be/uOnYY9Mw2Fg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi9a7IdRiBI
When Joey - kudos for him admitting that he liked the Rollers in the heydays of Punk - let his influences be distinctly heard ...
https://youtu.be/57g5Z_3kXOE
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.
That was another unexpected combination, people haven't made up their mind yet whether it was rubbish or a work of two geniuses.
https://youtu.be/VHzVehsh9r0
Mixed feelings... rip, regardless... :sad:
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.
Quote from: Pilgrim on January 17, 2021, 04:26:15 PM
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.
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.
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.
https://youtu.be/9fYngTUZeUQ
Well said, Sir... :mrgreen:
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.
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.
Quote from: uwe on January 18, 2021, 05:30:53 AM
Indeed, obituaries would be easier if he had restrained himself to producing vinyl records rather than adding criminal ones.
:rimshot:
Quote from: uwe on January 18, 2021, 05:30:53 AMIndeed, obituaries would be easier if he had restrained himself to producing vinyl records rather than adding criminal ones.
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
(https://www.sadanduseless.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/german-flag.png)
Ah, yes, the subversive power of laughter ... streng verboten, nicht gut...
https://youtu.be/jUUB96c6EpY
Ouch, the Guardian paints a rather somber picture of his enduring legacy - or endured by others ...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/18/phil-spector-toxic-svengali-music-industry
Quote from: uwe on January 18, 2021, 11:30:12 AM
Ouch, the Guardian paints a rather somber picture of his enduring legacy - or endured by others ...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/18/phil-spector-toxic-svengali-music-industry
Well that author finds nothing redeeming in Spector, does not separate his musical talent from his personal transgressions, and pretty much blames him for all the bad behavior of the musical producers and figures who followed.
Sounds like the author would make a great prosecuting attorney, sitting in her chair and muttering "guillotine, guillotine..."
Quote from: uwe on January 18, 2021, 05:30:53 AM
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?!).
...
By coincidence, I don't own any of those albums.
Quote from: Alanko on January 18, 2021, 04:02:45 AM
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.
I knew if I refrained, someone would post what I was thinking. :)
Quote from: Alanko on January 18, 2021, 08:08:58 AM
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
(https://www.sadanduseless.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/german-flag.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/6AwBqDg.jpg)
Quote from: Dave W on January 18, 2021, 04:23:47 PM
By coincidence, I don't own any of those albums.
Ignorance is bliss, Dave!
Quote from: uwe on January 18, 2021, 10:28:24 PM
Ignorance is bliss, Dave!
I didn't say I hadn't heard any of them. I've heard all except the first.
I tried really hard to think of a single album which Spector produced that left me in awe. None.
OTOH, I could think of several which I would've highly preferred that he stayed away from...
Not a great loss to music, let alone humanity in general. IMO, that is.
Quote from: Dave W on January 17, 2021, 10:42:19 PM
I never liked the Wall of Sound. IMHO It was a detriment to music.
My sentiments. Some of those albums mentioned that came later I love, but anything I listen to that was produced by him leaves me feeling it would have been great if the production didn't blow. The wall of sound has never been something I love, and I think has only continued to be a detriment as it's integrated further into popular music, and I'd argue a fairly large contributor to the volume wars and solid bricks of songs we hear now. So let's see, I hate his production style AND he's a violent, unhinged goon? Yeah, not that anyone deserves to catch and die from COVID, but I hardly mourn the loss.
I am anxiously awaiting the De-Spectorized All Things Must Pass. His production techniques were rancid. He was an undiagnosed mentally ill guy, and for that I feel sorry. He was too big to hear the word no.
Yet when Harrison still lived, he refused to have a dryer remix done as he himself wrote on some reissue. He saw it as a period piece.
Let It Be - Naked didn't really sound better, just less.
I have mixed feelings on Let It Be Naked, as I had Get Back bootlegs for ages of the same stuff, and never liked the crummy overall sound of the Let It Be tracks to begin with. Especially the intonation from hell Hofner crap sound. I liked the Spector stuff as it was as it all sounded bad. But as a comparative, the sound of Instant Karma - which is arguable how much Spector actually did with that - is a much more listenable and actually good sounding reverb loaded track when compared with something like Awaiting On You All, which is sonically evil. George did do that remix that strangled off a hair of the reverb levels. I think they were just so infatuated with working with the legend that they forgot their work always sounded better than anything he ever did. Hell, Sonny Bono was a better Phil Spector than Phil Spector.