Producers, Recording Engineers and Studio Wizards: POLL RESULTS

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

Total of 38 ballots received.... *drumroll*

Not that I was 'hanging' on here for this....

gonna roll this first batch out kinda slow as people trickle back

50. Mutt Lange (82 points, 3 votes)
http://www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com/pictures/20080520/shania%20twain%20photoshoot/t/shania%20mutt%20wedding1.jpg
AC/DC, Shania Twain, Nickelback, Def Leppard, Outlaws, Foreigner, The Cars, Bryan Adams, Billy Ocean, Savoy Brown, The Corrs, Maroon 5

OH ILM I HAVE MISSED YOU SO MUCH.

Also, TOO LOW!

#50, That don't impress me much.

Goddammit! I want to listen to Hysteria right now, but it's not on Spotify. :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ5bS3_BCDs

I think my wife appreciates Lange's ouevre way more than I do

Mutt's stuff, especially starting with Pyromania and Heartbeat City and moving into Shania's albums, is almost inhumanly crisp and artificial but it works in such a way (at least to me) that I'll suspend my disbelief and revel in all that sound.

49. DJ Quik (83 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://s11.allstarpics.net/images/orig/m/e/meawazawugbttbw.jpg
Credits: Solo, AMG, 2nd II None, 2Pac, Nate Dogg, Hi-C, Snoop Dogg, others

48. Carl Craig (85 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/18220805.jpg
Credits: Solo, DJ mixes

Nothing to comment on from me yet. I don't think I own any Lange productions, or have heard any other than a few big tracks on the tradio.

hooray! some great producers in there already! Was tempted to vote CC but a few other techno producers pipped him.

He also co-produced this Herbie Hancock album:

http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/4024/cover_23541914122009.jpg

Sadly though, the result isn't as good as it sounds on paper. Craig's own Innerzone Orchestra did "future jazz" better than Herbie on that album.

(xx-post)

So yeah, voted for Craig, obviously, as he's done loads of great stuff. The Secret Tapes of Dr. Eich is one of my top 10 electronic albums of all time.

Mutt's stuff, especially starting with Pyromania and Heartbeat City and moving into Shania's albums, is almost inhumanly crisp and artificial but it works in such a way (at least to me) that I'll suspend my disbelief and revel in all that sound.

It seems like his goal in refining his craft over the years was to eliminate any possible trace of spontaneity. Not that he ever achieved that completely, but next to his Shania records, Back In Black sounds like a field recording.

Quik is great, very underrated in general but well loved around here

xxp

i need to give that herbie hancock album some love this week .. in the mood for it i think.

It seems like his goal in refining his craft over the years was to eliminate any possible trace of spontaneity. Not that he ever achieved that completely, but next to his Shania records, Back In Black sounds like a field recording.

IIRC, Ric Ocasek once told a story about how one day during the sessions for Heartbeat City, Mutt requested only the services of either Eliot Easton or Ben Orr. They did like 12-15 hours in the studio, upon the completeion of which the musician told Ric that, "(Mutt said) We're starting to get a good sound."

47. Prince Paul (86 points, 4 votes)
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRZUdf6cN1uLjrvPazEG3QPweXJh8lT8HKCLLnkWWp21jqIyBaLpwuM-XBC2g
Credits: Big Daddy Kane, Stetsasonic, De La Soul, Gravediggaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Queen Latifah, 3rd Bass, solo

IIRC, Ric Ocasek once told a story about how one day during the sessions for Heartbeat City, Mutt requested only the services of either Eliot Easton or Ben Orr. They did like 12-15 hours in the studio, upon the completeion of which the musician told Ric that, "(Mutt said) We're starting to get a good sound."

tbf if I had Mutt Lange's budget this is about how I would spend my studio time too

Nice, my Quik #1 vote got him on the list.

yeah definitely put him over the top. you were not alone tho - I was glad that we got enough ballots to ensure that no one got on the list just because of a single voter.

Yeah 38 ballots aint bad, I was worried for a while there.

46. Glyn Johns (87 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://www.analogtapesupply.com/img/upload/stones1967_13.jpg
Credits: Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Clash, The Steve Miller Band, Small Faces/Faces/Rod Stewart, Blue Öyster Cult, Midnight Oil, New Model Army, Fairport Convention, Humble Pie

^^^that's Glyn on the right, impossible dude to find good pictures of tbh

I voted Glyn #1. Glad to see he made it onto the poll.

such a babyface!

Glyn far right, white hat, with dead "Eagles" (back cover of Desperado best pic of it I could find)

http://scenicnewengland.net/guitar/band/captured.jpg

45. The Dust Brothers (88 points, 5 votes)
http://s11.allstarpics.net/images/orig/n/d/ndv3obxax8s3ax83.jpg
Credits: Tone Loc, Young MC, Beastie Boys, Beck, uh Hanson, others

Johns was one of my last cuts to get down to 20, based mostly on Who's Next.

imho Johns' specialty was capturing that magic peculiar to drunken englishmen

44. Swizz Beats (89 points, 5 votes)
http://1hiphopucit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/swizz_beats_young_starz.jpg
Credits: the LOX, DMX, Jay-Z, N.O.R.E., Busta Rhymes, Flipmode Squad, Jadakiss, Memphis Bleek, solo, others

no love for Swizzy eh

43. David Briggs (91 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://1in8motorsports.org/wp-content/gallery/friends/David%20Briggs%20-%20Composer%20-%20Singer%20-%20Producer.jpg
Credits: Neil Young, Royal Trux

Also: Spirit.

lol i have 3 votes come up already :DDDDDD The guy who did Ruff Ryders Anthem! The guy who did Heartz of Men! The guy who did Buddy*!

Ironically didn't produce most of Stetsasonic's best work though - who woulda thunk it?

xp Nick Cave too, according to Wikipedia.

oooh right forgot that one. The only Nick Cave album I own and enjoy listening to - sounds amazing

Ironically didn't produce most of Stetsasonic's best work though - who woulda thunk it?

Stetsasonic is really an odd beast - so many dudes! Certainly the biggest, most diverse crew up until Wu-Tang, and unlike Wu-Tang they had a bunch of members producing beats. Paul seems kind of underused/underrepresented in their catalog but he was really young/just coming up.

xp The Royal Trux album, "Thank You" which he produced sounds fuckin' A, great production work on that record.

I have kind of a love-hate relationship with it - there's some great tune on Thank You but often I find the "lead bass"-style of playing used throughout to be kind of distracting

42. TIE
Xenomania (94 points, 4 votes)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Sa9SPINujks/SOSDlmt7QkI/AAAAAAAAASc/R7SfnSZscmk/s400/higgins.jpg
Credits: Girls Aloud, Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, Sugababes, others

AND
Gary Katz (94 points, 4 votes)
http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/50510_48230230484_7309048_n.jpg
Credits: STEELY DAN, Diana Ross, 10cc, Joe Cocker, Thomas Jefferson Kaye

I had never heard of Xenomania before this poll fwiw

love how varied this list is already! voted for Quik and Katz

41. TIE
Jimmy Miller (95 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://www.studiowner.com/images/jimmymiller569w_465.jpg
Credits: the Rolling Stones, Primal Scream, the Plasmatics, Motorhead

AND
Norman Whitfield (95 points, 5 votes)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Normanwhitfield.jpg
Credits: Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Rose Royce, Gladys Knight & The Pips

glad my #1 c2 vote got him on the list at least.

^^two I missed. Jimmy Miller also did Traffic.

Xpost

yeah but nobody likes Traffic

... do they?

Alex in nyc loves Low Spark, but Miller didn't do that one.

was glad to see Whitfield get a nod, I love that psych-Motown stuff

imho Johns' specialty was capturing that magic peculiar to drunken englishmen

He captured the magic of the drunkest Englishman, Keith Moon. No one but Johns had the slightest clue how to mic/record Moon's kit.

tbf England seemed rife with rich, drunk purveyors of the blooze in the 70s. "Drunk Englishmen" is one of my iTunes playlists.

i like traffic

40. Marley Marl (96 points, 5 votes)
http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/pic200/drp000/p019/p01923wq87l.jpg
Credits: House Producer for the Juice Crew (Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shanté, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, MC Shan, and Masta Ace), Eric B & Rakim, LL Cool J, King Tee, Lords of the Underground, others

awesome!

Marley Marl is legendary. Some strong showings so far. I had Katz at #3, those Dan records are the epitome of perfect production/sound imo.

shit i think i forgot marley

me and Spottie voted for him, I forget who else

39. Joe Boyd (98 points, 4 votes)
http://images.publicradio.org/content/2007/04/13/20070413_joe_boyd_2.jpg
Credits: Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, Incredible String Band

^^^no decent pictures of this guy anywhere afaict

I missed seeing the Boyd/Hitchcock show the other week due a scheduling screwup. Still kicking myself.

his White Bicycles book is very entertaining

38. Todd Rundgren (101 points, 5 votes)
http://www.sweetslyrics.com/images/img_gal/14100_Todd+Rundgren.jpg
Credits: Solo, Sparks, New York Dolls, Badfinger, Grand Funk Railroad, Hall & Oates, Meatloaf, Patti Smith, XTC, the Tubes, Cheap Trick, 12 Rods, Psychedelic Furs, others

think I'll get up to 35 and then call it a day

Rundgren was on my semi-short list.

37. Geoff Emerick (109 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/9736789.jpg
Credits: The Beatles, Paul McCartney & Wings, Elvis Costello, Badfinger, Ultravox, others

no good pictures of this guy either

Rundgren seems like a huge asshole from the few firsthand accounts I've heard

i love that like every single entry on this list is someone it'd be worth listening to a whole box set of stuff they've done

http://www.yoursdaily.com/var/yoursdaily/storage/images/media/images/culture_media/music/beatles/george_martin_geoff_emerick/64716-1-eng-GB/george_martin_geoff_emerick.jpg

Georgie 'n' Jeffy

36. John Leckie (110 points, 6 votes)
http://www.sjpdodgy.co.uk/John%20Leckie%20Abbey%20Road.jpg
Credits: The Fall, XTC & Dukes of Stratosphear, the Stone Roses, the Verve, Radiohead, Syd Barrett, Paul McCartney, The Adverts, Simple Minds, others

One of Mael bros. said they knew whenever Rundgren was enjoying himself in the studio because that's when he went around with drumsticks in his nostrils.

last for the day

35. Prince (115 points, 5 votes)
http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Entertainment/images-7/prince-purple-rain.jpg
Credits: Solo, the Time, the Family, Sheila E, Vanity, Apolonia 6, others

50. Mutt Lange (82 points, 3 votes)
49. DJ Quik (83 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
48. Carl Craig (85 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
47. Prince Paul (86 points, 4 votes)
46. Glyn Johns (87 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
45. The Dust Brothers (88 points, 5 votes)
44. Swizz Beats (89 points, 5 votes)
43. David Briggs (91 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
42. TIE Xenomania (94 points, 4 votes) AND Gary Katz (94 points, 4 votes)
41. TIE Jimmy Miller (95 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote) AND Norman Whitfield (95 points, 5 votes)
40. Marley Marl (96 points, 5 votes)
39. Joe Boyd (98 points, 4 votes)
38. Todd Rundgren (101 points, 5 votes)
37. Geoff Emerick (109 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
36. John Leckie (110 points, 6 votes)
35. Prince (115 points, 5 votes)

prince too low imo

So far, only 5 i voted for (Glyn Johns, David Briggs, Joe Boyd, Todd Rundgren, and Geoff Emerick. I strongly considered Jimmy Miller and Prince, the latter obviously deserved a vote, but I knew they'd get plenty of love from others here.

Joe Boyd also produced REM's Fables of the Reconstruction and Pink Floyd's "Arnold Layne" which was recorded before they got a record contract - Syd Barrett wanted to keep him on to produce their upcoming albums and singles, and likely would have had they been signed to a label other than EMI which insisted on using their own staff producers, just as they had with the Beatles a few years earlier.

And speaking of Nick Drake's producer, I must give a nod to his arranger Robert Kirby, a college student who had no arranging experience whatsoever and had never stepped foot in a recording studio before providing the astonishing string, woodwind, and brass scores for Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter. He went on to arrange for Elton John and other big names, but is still remembered best for his work on the first two ND albums. I didn't vote for him since I don't think that arrangers were eligible - if so, I'd have to include Nelson Riddle, Don Costas, and a bunch of others from the 1950s onward.

Oops, 6 i voted for - the five I listed above plus Norman Whitfield

>> Jimmy Miller also did Traffic.

> yeah but nobody likes Traffic

... do they?

Didn't vote for Jimmy Miller but probably should have, in part because of Traffic's first three albums as well as Blind Faith and Spencer Davis Group. I bought my first keyboard in part because Steve Winwood endorsed it. I was really into his stuff when I was in high school & university

Really wish I'd voted for Prince.

i shoulda voted. leckie way too low

shit shit shit went out of my way to nominate Erik Jacobsen and even posted a sample clip and then forgot to vote for him. Doubt he'd have made the cut even with my vote though. Shame....

I voted for Marley Marl, CC, Swizz Beatz, Prince. Should have voted for Whitfield, but I forgot about him! I've never even heard of these guys:

46. Glyn Johns (87 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
43. David Briggs (91 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
41. TIE Jimmy Miller (95 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
39. Joe Boyd (98 points, 4 votes)
37. Geoff Emerick (109 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
36. John Leckie (110 points, 6 votes)

...I guess because they're all "rock" producers.

Unfortunately, all too many "rock" fans don't know these rock producers either....

Floyd did go back to Boyd for "See Emily Play", so I guess they would have kept with him had Syd (and Jenner etc) continued to be part of Floyd.

"See Emily Play", and the whole of their first LP, were produced by EMI staff producer Norman Smith.

Marley Marl was number 7 on my ballot

34. Chris Thomas (117 points, 7 votes)
http://s.dsimg.com/image/A-150-31213-1105374800.jpg
Credits: Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Badfinger, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pulp, The Pretenders, Sex Pistols, INXS

Slightly to my embarrassment, Razorlight's 'In The Morning' was where I first noticed Chris Thomas's craft. Aw hell, I'd like it anyway, but there's a beautiful clarity to it that really shines among the other indie stuff of my acquaintance.

Thomas was one of a handful of entries I was previously unaware of. He also did Cale's Paris 1919 (which I mistakenly omitted above), big points for that one imho

First of mine to place, his work on NMTB alone is enough to justify his placing.

The first time I noticed his name was on INXS's Kick, but then he surfaced on a lot of older albums as my tastes deepened. He didn't make my 20, but the man does good work.

33. Pete Rock (118 points, 5 votes)
http://i.fanpix.net/images/orig/n/w/nwj9ts41mpj44j1.jpg
Credits: Solo and w/CL Smooth, every rapper and rap group ever

First of my votes to place, a little surprised he's not higher.

just becuz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRJC47y1G-8

Glad to see Thomas make it -- I won't say "too low" or anything like that, #34 seems about right. Great work on the early Pretenders records and Bollocks -- he seemed to understand that Punk Rock and Rock and Roll were different animals that shared some language in common, but maybe not quite as much as conventional wisdom had it.

32. Les Paul (122 points, 4 votes, 2 #1 votes)
http://pulmyears.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/les_paul_01.jpg
Credits: INVENTED MULTITRACK RECORDING

just look at that lovable goofus

Thomas' work on Stranded is his high-water mark for me.

Pete Rock above Marley Marl?

my other two votes (apart from MM) so far are Gary Katz and Norman Whitfield. great list so far

fuck. I shouldn't post drunk.

31. Tom Wilson (124 points, 6 votes)
http://www.streamingoldies.com/content-images/SOP/TomWilson08.jpg
Credits: Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa, Simon & Garfunkel

... produced Sun Ra too!

Musicians he worked with not always too complimentary about ol' Tom tho. Accusation that his attention was apt to wander if a pretty girl walked in the room.

Sun Ra production is just that Batman thing, right...?

No, "Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra" too, I think? 1961? It was Wilson's idea to record him.

He's on the cover of "We're Only In It For the Money" too

xp Yep, Wilson produced Futuristic Sounds and Sun Song, as well as Cecil Taylor's epochal debut Jazz Advance in 1956(!)

hmm yeah the Batman thing is somebody else apparently

Cecil Taylor debut is news to me, that's pretty nuts

30. Thom Bell (131 points, 5 votes)
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/TSOP%20Thom%20Bell1a1.jpg
Credits: The Delfonics, The Stylistics, The Spinners, Billy Paul, others

Was going to vote for Thom Bell, but I had a total brainfart and left him off.

29. Martin Rushent (134 points, 7 votes)
http://media.soundonsound.com/sos/jul10/images/ClassicTracks_02.jpg
Credits: Human League, the Stranglers, the Buzzcocks

thank god Thom Bell made it. but still, TOO LOW!!

Ned posted this story on the RIP, but it's worth repeating here:

So the story goes: (as told by him) . . .New York 78/79 can’t remember. he was over there working, he went out with a mate of his to a club to see this guy called ”Grandmaster Flash”

Apparently he was doing this thing where he mixed records together live. My dad was blown away by it. He said ‘I �got home and and wanted to do something like that’. Ny 1980 he was cutting up tape together and did ”Love and Dancing” just like he saw Flash do with vinyl.

Years later, i’m working at a club in Reading as a sound man. Mr Flash was booked to play. He came down early before doors to check the turntables. I was stood with him pulling leads in and out, making sure everything working.

I turned to him and said, ”My dad’s a massive fan of yours” without lifting his head and looking at me he said ”cool”, he was not that bothered. i said ”Yeah, you inspired him to do this remix record” again. �Head down, pulling leads in and out. ”Cool man,’ he said, ‘he in a band?” ”No no, he’s a record producer”. ”Ahh, cool, what’s his names?”

”Martin Rushent”.

He stopped pulling in the leads, looked up at me and said”your dad’s Martin fucking Rushent???!!”

I told him the story about New York. He was shocked and excited to hear that he had inspired ”Love and Dancing”.

I finished telling the story and he said, very calm, ‘‘get that nigga on the phone now’‘.

They talked for about ten minuets complimenting each other. as he handed the phone back to me, he said ”cool guy, you’r a lucky kid”.

yes. i am. thanks dad. for everything.”

[fix]on the RIP thread[/fix]

NP: Delfonics comp on Spotify

xxp damn!

aw

and now, the first entry that I am genuinely ANGRY about placing so low

28. George Clinton (136 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://sta✧✧✧.g✧✧✧.c✧.uk/Guardian/music/gallery/2008/jun/18/festivals/PD5365✧✧✧@Funk-Musician-George--8✧✧✧.j✧✧
Credits: Parliament, Funkadelic, Fred Wesley & the Horny Horns, Brides of Funkenstein, Parlet, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, many others

http://sta✧✧✧.g✧✧✧.c✧.uk/Guardian/music/gallery/2008/jun/18/festivals/PD5365✧✧✧@Funk-Musician-George--8✧✧✧.j✧✧

goddammit

never thought of Clinton as a producer. a guru, maybe?

can't post a URL with an @ symbol in it (it also happens to be a malformed URL)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3488/5793488536_41d8460276.jpg

he is definitely a sonic architect/editor type of producer! see: Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow, Maggot Brain, Flashlight, Atomic Dog etc

27. Jimmy Page (139 points, 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://recordingdope.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/04/18/jimmypage.jpg
Credits: Led Zeppelin

Wow, never even considered either of these guys since they're so connected to their own music.

If Page had had much of a producer discog outside Zeppelin, he would have made my ballot, but I couldn't quite go there.

I don't know from P-Funk, but RHCP's Freaky Styley is such a fun record, and sounds great.

Wow, never even considered either of these guys since they're so connected to their own music.

personally I think the Page placement is kind of ridiculous for this reason - but Clinton is another story, not really being a musician. apart from the occasional lead vocal Clinton was more of an orchestrator, and a coordinator of a HUGE stable of musicians with a vast catalog of wildly different material. He would take hours and hours of material and edit it and shape it into a coherent form, often into very sharp, clever and groundbreaking concept albums. He was an idea guy.

and then once you get into how much Clinton's sound was copied over the years - jesus he's got one of the most influential catalogs ever

26. Willie Mitchell (140 points, 6 votes)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_U2DIQZo8uVs/S0UcBld0IVI/AAAAAAAABz8/RoMRgdGosjw/s320/up-Willie_Mitchell.jpg
Credits: Hi Records house producer (Al Green, solo, Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles, many others)

Willie Mitchell's sound is about as perfect as sounds get. music from heaven (those 70's Al Green records)

25. Tom Dowd (141 points, 6 votes)
http://www.swampland.com/img/Image/articles/tomdowd/tomdowdb&w70s2.jpg
Credits: Atlantic Records house producer (Ray Charles, The Drifters, The Coasters, Bobby Darin, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Otis Redding, many others)

GC also produced a handful of random sub-Motown singles for Detroit groups that show up on "Northern Soul" comps now and again. He was still getting his shit together then, but it's interesting to hear.

Shakey said pretty much all of this while my attention wandered in the 20 minute gap between writing and posting, but here's my take on Clinton as producer:

In Re gospodin - I'd argue "producer" is the most accurate title to describe what Clinton did with P-Funk. Of course he writes most of the lyrics too. But he doesn't play an instrument and he's not even the seventh best singer in his band - he molds other people's talents to his own creative ends. Producer as mediator/synthesist, dig?

xp that's the most impressive list of artists ever! only Darin isn't godlike.

I was only trying to rationalize Clinton's absence from my ballot.

did you just diss Bobby Darin

cuz if so wtf man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVHAQX5sSaU

OK, Dowd's where I scream "too low"! How many in the top 24 are going to have a whole freaking documentary made about how important they were as a producer?

Tom Dowd got my vote. "Many others" indeed - early Eric Clapton and Derek & the Dominos, early-'70s Rod Stewart, and too many great jazz and R&B acts. (and yes, Bobby Darin made some great records in many styles; underrated.)

Pagey really was a great producer who understood things like miking Bonzo's drum both near and far to capture the ambience of a large room and such.

Thom Bell didn't get my vote but obviously did some great work

George Clinton one of the obvious greats I felt bad not voting for; so wildly influencial as both producer and artist. I'm not really into funk, but I can still appreciate when it's done well. And has anyone else been sampled more?

Tom Wilson got a vote from me. One of many great stories involving him: the first Simon & Garfunkel album stiffed upon initial release, and the duo broke up. Wilson listened to his now-departed act's record and thought "The Sound of Silence" was a great song, but it needed to be a *rock* song, not the acoustic-guitar-only track that was on the album. So he had Bob Dylan's backup band overdub electric guitar, bass, and drums, and rereleased "The Sounds of Silence" (now pluralized to denote the additions) as a single. A few months later, it topped the charts.

And Les Paul, besides singlehandedly turning the world on to the sound of the electric guitar, invented multitracking and overdubs, for which record production as we've known it for the last half century is indebted

Dowd produced mid-'70s Rod Stewart.

Probably shoulda voted for Tom Dowd, whose portfolio is unrivaled by pretty much anyone. Instead I suspended judgement on most of the technician/engineer types. My bad.

Also, James Brown has been sampled more than all of GC's productions combined. And he damn well better place here.

recap:

50. Mutt Lange (82 points, 3 votes)
49. DJ Quik (83 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
48. Carl Craig (85 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
47. Prince Paul (86 points, 4 votes)
46. Glyn Johns (87 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
45. The Dust Brothers (88 points, 5 votes)
44. Swizz Beats (89 points, 5 votes)
43. David Briggs (91 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
42. TIE Xenomania (94 points, 4 votes) AND Gary Katz (94 points, 4 votes)
41. TIE Jimmy Miller (95 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote) AND Norman Whitfield (95 points, 5 votes)
40. Marley Marl (96 points, 5 votes)
39. Joe Boyd (98 points, 4 votes)
38. Todd Rundgren (101 points, 5 votes)
37. Geoff Emerick (109 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
36. John Leckie (110 points, 6 votes)
35. Prince (115 points, 5 votes)
34. Chris Thomas (117 points, 7 votes)
33. Pete Rock (118 points, 5 votes)
32. Les Paul (122 points, 4 votes, 2 #1 votes)
31. Tom Wilson (124 points, 6 votes)
30. Thom Bell (131 points, 5 votes)
29. Martin Rushent (134 points, 7 votes)
28. George Clinton (136 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
27. Jimmy Page (139 points, 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
26. Willie Mitchell (140 points, 6 votes)
25. Tom Dowd (141 points, 6 votes)

JB probably has been sampled more often, but still seems to me that Clinton has a wider breadth of recordings that have been sampled, even if the total number isn't as high. But I have no official stats on this, I'm just basing it on what I've heard, which obviously can't be everything that's out there.

why did you do the ties like that

good range of genres represented, major exception probably reggae/ dub. I would expect both King Tubby and Lee Perry to place, though.

xp yeah, looking at it, there are 28 people in that 26!

not that it matters really...

I don't understand, how would you guys prefer the ties to be listed

Xenomania and Gary Katz should jointly occupy the 41st position.

and Jimmy Miller and Norman Whitfield the 39th, ensuring you stick to 50 people in the top 50.

Like I say, it doesn't actually matter.

normally ties take up two spots; on would be #41 and the other would be #43

also the #41 tie isn't really a tie since there are different numbers of votes and one has a #1 vote; either of those could be used as a tiebreaker (and have in previous polls)

this is not criticism really, more curiosity

JB probably has been sampled more often, but still seems to me that Clinton has a wider breadth of recordings that have been sampled, even if the total number isn't as high. But I have no official stats on this, I'm just basing it on what I've heard, which obviously can't be everything that's out there.

this is maybe a bit of semantics, but JB's statistical superiority here is due, I'm sure, in large part to the preponderance of Funky Drummer drumbreak samples. Clinton's influence goes a bit wider than that tho - it's not just that everyone sampled Atomic Dog, it's that his basic sonic template has been copied over and over again throughout hip hop. I'm talking about synth-bass lines, stacked synthesized handclaps, Bernie Worrell and Junie Morrison's squiggly analog synth lines, the basic 96bpm funk rhythms, etc. this stuff is still being used. and then there's all the imagery/conceptual stuff - pimps from outer space etc.

xxp

Will there be even a single female producer?

I dunno I just allotted slots on the list to number of points. If an entry has the same number of points as another entry, then it seemed natural to list them both together rather than place one ahead of the other.

anyway

24. Holland/Dozier/Holland (165 points, 7 votes)
http://www.songwriteruniverse.com/images/hdh2.jpg
Credits: Mary Wells, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes basically everyone on Motown in the 60s

above is apparently the only photo of all three of them, for some reason

I think we'll be boys-only unless Kate shows up. No female voters either, if I read the list right.

Didn't you vote?

Are you asking me out?

I dunno everybody's genders I can't say if any women voted or not

23. Rick Rubin (168 points, 9 votes)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_DEwpYSD3wN4/SiiwcG_Hg2I/AAAAAAAACi4/D8UConVrTv8/s400/RickRubinLoisAyres1986%C2%A9GEF.jpg
Credits: LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Slayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, others

Awesome photo.

I like a lot of Rubin's stuff and can appreciate his whole "invention" rap-metal as influential even when most of what resulted was utter shit... his latter-day productions do him no favors tho, placing him this high seems like a gross injustice in my opinion. I mean sure those Slayer albums are great but come on now, this guy is a one-trick pony.

"invention" OF rap metal that should say

He's amazingly prolific though, and has produced a lot of great records (as well as a lot of crap): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Rubin_production_discography

He got my vote for being such a ubiquitous shaper of large amounts of interesting pop music over the last 30yrs...

wtf at clinton being so low

Rick Rubin was amongst those I was sure I would vote for until the time came to whittle down my list of contenders down to 20, and he didn't quite make the cut.

Are you asking me out?

That wasn't my intent, but hey, now that you've piqued my interest......

He's amazingly prolific though

shit doesn't improve with the addition of more shit

pretty much everything he's done post-1990 has been egregiously bad, with a couple exceptions

22. The Neptunes (172 points, 7 votes)
http://live.drjays.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Neptunes-producer-of-the-year-drjays-com.jpg
Credits: Clipse

You think the production on Blood Sugar Sex Magik is egregiously bad?

I think the whole album is egregiously bad!

and don't get me started on all those Andrew Dice Clay, God Lives Underwater, and Tom Petty Greatest Hits albums...

Indedependent of whether the music is to one's taste or not, the production blew me away on that album, esp. on "Breaking the Girl" and "Give It Away"

OTOH i can't begin to imagine why Andrew Dice Clay even needs a producer

pretty much everything he's done post-1990 has been egregiously bad, with a couple exceptions

Always loved what he did on Ballbreaker (1995). Really wish AC/DC had stuck with him for another record or two.

shit doesn't improve with the addition of more shit

pretty much everything he's done post-1990 has been egregiously bad, with a couple exceptions

― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, October 20, 2011 6:30 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark

I quite like the way those first two System Of A Down albums sound!

I kinda felt like I had to vote for Rick Rubin. Even if I don't love a lot of what he does, his influence is colossal, for better and for worse.

i umm'd and ahhh'd re rubins inclusion as well, but in the end, dropped his name in my list for the same reasons.
however, now i'm beginning to wish i had remembered george clinton as a producer.

a definite f*ck up on my side.

GC was my #1. Had to be.

rub it in whydontcha.

I listened to two of the greatest debut albums of the '80s this past week, R.E.M.'s Murmur and the Smithereens' Especially For You. And then realized I didn't vote for Don Dixon. And then noticed he wasn't even mentioned in the nomination thread. WTF?

21. Rudy Van Gelder (176 points, 6 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/iviews/rvg.jpg
Credits: Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Grant Green, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, many others

I really shortchanged jazz producers on my ballot, simply because I don't have a good feel for how jazz (or classical) production affects the sound. In rock, r&b, and hip-hop it's much more obvious for me since I've produced recordings in those genres. I can listen to a Miles Davis album and love the music, but for whatever reason can't imagine what the same music would sound like had it been produced by somebody else.

I was hoping for top-5 for RVG.

B-b-b-b-b-b-but 69-73 Miles simply wouldn't exist without Teo?!

That's some bullshit right there, Nick.

xp That's true, but Van Gelder (as an engineer -- dunno if he was ever credited as a producer) established the practices and techniques that all future such recordings were based on, for all intents and purposes.

Van Gelder's the style of production was relatively unobtrusive - the idea was just to capture the live performance as well as possible, so it becomes all about clarity: mic placement, room dynamics, etc. which is obviously a totally different skill from, say, programming a drum machine...

the

rvg! just amazing to think how many ridiculously amazing sessions he recorded.
was watching an interview with him recently and he said he could never really appreciate the music being made, just because he was caught up in the technical aspects of everything. wasn't until decades later that he really could enjoy the records.

re teo : OTM nick .
the sleevenotes for BB reissue alone makes you realise just how insanely involved/progressive Teo was with the whole process...
will be interesting to see where (if!!) he is placed in this rundown.

[xpost ! blimey .. thought it was a forgone conclusion re teo ..]

I think Nick's OTM about Teo, fwiw. you listen to those Miles sessions box sets, they make Teo's contributions readily apparent.

and now for something completely different

20. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (180 points, 7 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/JJamJLewis1.gif
Credits: The Time, Janet Jackson, Klymaxx, Chaka Khan, Alexander O'Neal, others

http://www.amazon.com/Jimmy-Jam-Terry-Lewis-Songs/dp/B000PS98MS

this is one of the greatest things I own

I assume Teo will place in the poll, though...I mean, how could he not?

You know these dudes produced sixteen number one hits? Not bad for two Time sidemen who didn't even play on their band's records.

could do without a lot of the new jack swing stuff but these two definitely have a certain magic

xp

recently saw some Time appearance on American Bandstand from when Jam & Lewis were still in the lineup and it was awesome

the amount of talent in that band was nuts

one of several major jumps in total points coming up

recently saw some Time appearance on American Bandstand from when Jam & Lewis were still in the lineup and it was awesome

Misread this as "saw Jam & Lewis on the cover of Time." That would've been cool.

i think the rvg #1 vote was mine. expected him to be top 10

19. Teo Macero (207 points, 9 votes)
http://secretsociety.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/02/25/teo_macero.jpg
Credits: Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Johnny Mathis, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Tony Bennett, Charlie Byrd, Stan Getz

Huzzah!

Great interview with Teo here.

I think Nick's OTM about Teo, fwiw. you listen to those Miles sessions box sets, they make Teo's contributions readily apparent

I'd really love to devote a bit of time to exactly this but how many box sets would I have to buy? Miles and those other giants have epic discographies.

The thing about Teo is he didn't just record the sound beautifully (though obv that's a big part of it); on BB & IASW he started doing the editing thing in a totally new way. Mind blowing for jazz at the time.

19 ?!?!

but how many box sets would I have to buy?

the On the Corner, IASW and BB sessions tell you all you need to know really

(and I haven't listened to all of them myself btw cuz they are loooong)

18. Trevor Horn (226 points, 9 votes)
http://media.soundonsound.com/sos/mar05/images/horn4trevorrack.l.jpg
Credits: The Buggles, Yes, ABC, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, others

If he'd only done those first two Frankie singles he'd still be near the top of my list.

Meh

wasn't sure what to attribute Horn's placing too tbh

Britishes? prog fans?

Fans of synthesized horn blasts?

Teo Macero deserves to be way above this dude.

Er, Belle and Sebastian fans?

I'm just not clear on why he's so lauded or what about his production style is particularly revolutionary or influential - I mean ABC and Frankie are fine as synthpop acts go but I don't really hear anything in the production that's really all that different from say, Duran Duran or Talk Talk or whoever

It's his surname.

I've never been big on New Pop, we need one of the people who know all about that to explain Horn, I think.

17. King Tubby (239 points, 9 votes,3 #1 votes)
http://aquariumdrunkard.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/king-tubby-dub.jpg
Credits: Augustus Pablo, Aggrovators, Prince Jammy, Bunny Lee, Yabby You, Niney the Observer, Roots Radics, Sly & Robbie, many others

Steve Shasta-certified greatest dub song ever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn3vKX5_cB0

My number one. Surprisingly few votes for him though. Great picture!

this is a fairly compelling reason why trevor horn is so lauded:

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

that sounds ... sort of awful

16. TIE
DJ Premier (242 points, 9 votes, 2 #1 votes)
http://inyourbass.com/images/blog/djpremier.jpg
Credits: Gang Starr, Nas, KRS-One, Jay-Z, M.O.P., Rakim, Notorious B.I.G., many others

AND
Tony Visconti (242 points, 10 votes)
http://bowiezone.com/communities/9/004/008/626/509/images/4541482145.jpg
Credits: David Bowie, T. Rex, Sparks, Badfinger, Gentle Giant, Iggy Pop, Thin Lizzy, The Stranglers, Les Rita Mitsuoko, Adam Ant, Manic Street Preachers, Morrissey

re trvor horn :
i included trevor horn mainly for the duck rock album.
it changed everything for me, and opened my ears to the role of production in music.
that and abc, the dr mabuse 12" by propaganda, art of noise debut, side 1 of welcome to the pleasure dome, etc.
a lot of his music formed the basis of my musical awakening.
ok, he may not be up with the greats for many, but for a few years i bought anything with his name on it ..

15. Joe Meek (245 points, 10 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://www.desoreilly.com/-Videos/Joe_Meek_A8.jpg
Credits: Solo, the Tornados, Lonnie Donegan, the Honeycombs, many others

The first of two murderers likely to make the list

lol

I've always considered him kind of a minor figure, was surprised at such a strong showing

14. Martin Hannett (246 points, 10 votes)
http://www.enkiri.com/joy/pics/m_hannett1.jpg
Credits: Joy Division, Happy Mondays, Durutti Column, New Order, Magazine

This being ILM, I thought Martin Hannett was a top 10 lock.

tbh the Top 10 solidified pretty quickly, Hannett hovered around in the low teens for the most part

Meek was my #1, & I placed him there without much hesitation. I love lots of his singles – Sky Men, Telstar, Johnny Remember Me – & I Hear a New World is awesome homebrew/brit-engineering experiment. But really I find it hard to pick the records apart from the myth side of him - weird shabby old britain (before 'the end of the Chatterley ban...' etc), miserable auteur in Archway making his own little world of strange plastic popstars, valves-and-dials futurism. And I guess I find the records' sounds wholly adequate to the imaginative lure of that world, which is why he was my #1.

I can see why he might not be so resonant outside britain obvs

also he shouldn't have killed that woman

glad we cleared that up then lol

13. Steve Albini (247 points, 12 votes)
http://www.buzzgrinder.com/media/shellachigdon.jpg
Credits: Big Black, the Pixies, Nirvana, Shellac, PJ Harvey, Jesus Lizard, Manic Street Preachers, Cheap Trick, Bush, others

Electrelane!

loving that picture.
beginning to think that neither of my top 2 are going to feature in this rundown ..

12. Brian Wilson (248 points, 11 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Brian-Wilson-robe.jpg
Credits: The Beach Boys, the Honeys, American Spring, solo work

blimey. thought he would be top 5..

Tony Visconti! Some indie no-marks revived him in the 90s and the result was kinda underwhelming - but those Bowie records, and the stories.

Visconti is mad underrated. you can tell how much it burns him up that people think Eno did those Bowie records

Ha yeah, I was even thinking 'hold on, wasn't that Eno?' while I was typing that

obligatory 'too low' for hannett from me

maybe it's lucky for everyone else i didn't vote as he would have been my #1 and therefore probably in the top 10

BW was my #1.

i actually thought he would be several folks #1 choice.

very few ballots shared #1 spots, actually

xp Should have been!

His productions circa 1965-66, made during the period when he decided to stop playing live so he could hole up in the studio, I've probably listened to hundreds, maybe thousands of times my entire life. It still makes my hair stand on end.

11. Dr. Dre (254 points, 11 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://msofficer.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/dr-dre-wcwc.jpg
Credits: NWA, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, anybody else who can afford him

50. Mutt Lange (82 points, 3 votes)
49. DJ Quik (83 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
48. Carl Craig (85 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
47. Prince Paul (86 points, 4 votes)
46. Glyn Johns (87 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
45. The Dust Brothers (88 points, 5 votes)
44. Swizz Beats (89 points, 5 votes)
43. David Briggs (91 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
42. TIE Xenomania (94 points, 4 votes) AND Gary Katz (94 points, 4 votes)
41. TIE Jimmy Miller (95 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote) AND Norman Whitfield (95 points, 5 votes)
40. Marley Marl (96 points, 5 votes)
39. Joe Boyd (98 points, 4 votes)
38. Todd Rundgren (101 points, 5 votes)
37. Geoff Emerick (109 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
36. John Leckie (110 points, 6 votes)
35. Prince (115 points, 5 votes)
34. Chris Thomas (117 points, 7 votes)
33. Pete Rock (118 points, 5 votes)
32. Les Paul (122 points, 4 votes, 2 #1 votes)
31. Tom Wilson (124 points, 6 votes)
30. Thom Bell (131 points, 5 votes)
29. Martin Rushent (134 points, 7 votes)
28. George Clinton (136 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
27. Jimmy Page (139 points, 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
26. Willie Mitchell (140 points, 6 votes)
25. Tom Dowd (141 points, 6 votes)
24. Holland/Dozier/Holland (165 points, 7 votes)
23. Rick Rubin (168 points, 9 votes)
22. The Neptunes (172 points, 7 votes) >>> disappointed in lack of indignant response to listing Clipse as their only credit :(
21. Rudy Van Gelder (176 points, 6 votes, 1 #1 vote)
20. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (180 points, 7 votes, 1 #1 vote)
19. Teo Macero (207 points, 9 votes)
18. Trevor Horn (226 points, 9 votes)
17. King Tubby (239 points, 9 votes,3 #1 votes)
16. TIE DJ Premier (242 points, 9 votes, 2 #1 votes) AND Tony Visconti (242 points, 10 votes)
15. Joe Meek (245 points, 10 votes, 1 #1 vote)
14. Martin Hannett (246 points, 10 votes)
13. Steve Albini (247 points, 12 votes)
12. Brian Wilson (248 points, 11 votes, 1 #1 vote)
11. Dr. Dre (254 points, 11 votes, 1 #1 vote)

Pharmacist: "Hey, that's Brian Wilson! Shopping in my drug store! In his bathrobe! Quick, grab the camera!"

I thought Dre would make the top 10

ARE YOU READY FOR THE TOP TEN PRODUCERS OF ALL TIIIIIIIME

surprised at the lack of predictions on this thread tbh

Eno #1?

As much as I am absolutely no fan of hip-hop, I like seeing Dr. Dre up there and I think his place is deserved. Although I don't like his recent style as much as I did his G-Funk style, he does a great production job whenever he is involved. Pity he doesn't do more non-hip-hop. ;)

ok, prediction : #1 = george martin

and not cos i voted for him. i didn't

[xpost !]

annoyed I can't find the interview quote where Visconti talks about Eno getting credit for his work (something along the lines of "it's my name on those records!")

godrich is going to be top ten isn't he

vomit

wait Geir doesn't like hip hop?!???!???

10. Chic Organisation (275 points, 9 votes, 2 #1 votes)
http://www.chictribute.com/gallery/bilder/sister79.jpg
Credits: Chic, Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Duran Duran, many others

Been looking forward to this Top 10, because there's a fair few that have already been mentioned which I thought would have been WAY up there. The Chic Organisation, I definitely didn't expect as a #10 position.

I was thinking Nile Rodgers alone, not the Chic Organisation

there were a bunch of votes for Rodgers & Edwards, Chic, and the Chic Organization so I just combined them all. they were ahead as front runners very early on.

9. Giorgio Moroder (278 points, 13 votes)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ZPuJzasxhPU/R0-JVzMTzjI/AAAAAAAAACk/t2Cxf-ntwbE/s1600-R/morodersmall.jpg
Credits: Solo, Donna Summer, Blondie, Sparks, Phil Oakey, Falco, many others

Glad he made the top 10. A true innovator.

probably my favorite photo of the lot

^totally

a lot of his 80s stuff is depressing, unfortunately. dude did not need guitar solos.

I used to like Giorgio Moroder's production work until 1986 or so

But "Take My Breath Away" is horrible.

8. The Bomb Squad (287 points, 13 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://mimg.ugo.com/200810/26239/cuts/6.the-bomb-squad_288x288.jpg
Credits: Public Enemy, Son of Bazerk, Ice Cube

^ my #2. Glad they're in the top 10.

7. Conny Plank (306 points, 13 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://www.billycurrie.com/images/gallery/web_sized/conny_plank4.jpg
Credits: Cluster, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Ash Ra Tempel, Guru Guru, La Dusseldorf, Brian Eno, Moebius, Roedelius, Ultravox, Eurythmics

lookit the jorts on this guy

I'll guess perry-martin-eno top 3

Richard Perry?

anyway Plank, what can you say about this guy - a master of slapback echo and tape delay

Really really pleased to see Conny Plank in the Top 10. His work on the three albums he did with Ultravox alone still sounds fresh, and that was pretty late career for him wasn't it?

satin track shorts ≠ jorts

oh wow you're right

still... lookit the satin track shorts on this guy!

6. RZA (348 points, 14 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://www.xxlmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/rza-piano.jpg
Credits: Wu-Tang

wu-tang + kudos for the Ghost Dog & Kill Bill scoring etc. (both brilliant imo)

nice dn btw

5. Lee "Scratch" Perry aka the Super Ape aka Pipecock Jackson aka the Upsetter (255 points, 15 votes, 1 #1 votes)
http://www.ukfestivalguides.com/App_themes/Main/News_Images/leeperry.jpg
Credits: Solo, the Upsetters, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Junior Murvin, the Congos, Jah Lion, Susan Cadogan, Prince Jazzbo, Max Romeo, Junior Byles, many more

Let's all get stoked! Grab a beer, it the Final Four!

Well final three anyway - I think we all know who's going to be #1 by now.....

1. Ark Music Factory (536 points, 18 votes, 4 #1 votes)

Credits: Rebecca Black, anybody else whose mother can afford them

4. George Martin (455 points, 16 votes, 2 #1 votes)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/images/episode/b00mkgzx_640_360.jpg
Credits: The Beatles, America, Jeff Beck, Gerry & the Pacemakers

so young and dashing

Only #4, eh? I predict that Nigel Godrich is one of the top three, then.

Perry had 355 points, not 255 btw

still, a 100 point jump between him and George Martin

3. Timbaland (493 points, 19 votes, 3 #1 votes)
http://www.fuse.tv/media/music/polls/timbaland-517x386.jpg
Credits: Solo and w/Magoo, Jodeci, Sista, Aaliyah, Ginuwine, Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, Nas, Da Brat, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Bubba Sparxxx, Mack 10, Ruff Ryders, Ms. Jade, Justin Timberlake, Brandy, Cee-Lo Green, LL Cool J, many more

this poll rules

conny plank is smokin in that pic btw

nice dn btw

:D

conny plank is smokin in that pic btw

he appears to be taking a hit from an invisible bong

okay so everyone knows what the last two are rite

2. Brian Eno (562 points, 20 votes, 3 #1 votes)
http://kobason.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/brian-eno.jpg
Credits: Solo, John Cale, Talking Heads, Devo, Ultravox, U2, Jane Siberry, James, Coldplay

have to say I was a bit disappointed in this - don't get me wrong, he's great and a massive figure in the biz obviously but my favorite things he was involved with tend to be things he did not actually produce (Roxy Music, Bowie Berlin trilogy) and his best production work imho is actually Remain in Light. Most everything post mid-80s has been garbage tho. and I hate U2. so there.

honestly at a loss as to who #1 is. If it is Godrich, that is way too high imo

the #1 entry was number one as soon as the second ballot came in, and never moved from the top spot

It's Phil.

LOL at Eno being higher than Conny Plank... and Visconti!

xpost: Yeah, I like Godrich's productions, but I don't think he deserves to be #1 at all.

drumrolllllllllllll

> Most everything post mid-80s has been garbage

Ah c'mon, the Windows 95 booting-up music is awesome

1. Phil Spector (664 points, 26 votes, 1 #1 vote)
http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lf1goiHZyt1qah2gqo1_r1_500.jpg
Credits: The Ronettes, the Crystals, Darlene Love, The Treasures, The Righteous Brothers, Bob B. Sox & the Blue Jeans, The Modern Folk Quartet, Ike & Tina Turner, The Beatles, John Lennon/Yoko Ono, George Harrison, Dion, Leonard Cohen, the Ramones, Starsailor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-0upHlWfQ4

It's Phil.

oh yeah, duh

Ah, but of course!!

pretty much every ballot that was not all hip-hop (or from Tuomas) included Spector somewhere in the rankings, which put him way over the top.

best man won imho. I said this on some other thread, but unlike a lot (all?) of the other douchebags on here, Phil never made a bad-sounding record. the worst thing with his name on it is Lennon/Ono's Sometime in NY City, and even there his sound and his style are the best things about it and the only thing that make it worth listening to.

recap:
50. Mutt Lange (82 points, 3 votes)
49. DJ Quik (83 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
48. Carl Craig (85 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
47. Prince Paul (86 points, 4 votes)
46. Glyn Johns (87 points, 3 votes, 1 #1 vote)
45. The Dust Brothers (88 points, 5 votes)
44. Swizz Beats (89 points, 5 votes)
43. David Briggs (91 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
42. TIE Xenomania (94 points, 4 votes) AND Gary Katz (94 points, 4 votes)
41. TIE Jimmy Miller (95 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote) AND Norman Whitfield (95 points, 5 votes)
40. Marley Marl (96 points, 5 votes)
39. Joe Boyd (98 points, 4 votes)
38. Todd Rundgren (101 points, 5 votes)
37. Geoff Emerick (109 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
36. John Leckie (110 points, 6 votes)
35. Prince (115 points, 5 votes)
34. Chris Thomas (117 points, 7 votes)
33. Pete Rock (118 points, 5 votes)
32. Les Paul (122 points, 4 votes, 2 #1 votes)
31. Tom Wilson (124 points, 6 votes)
30. Thom Bell (131 points, 5 votes)
29. Martin Rushent (134 points, 7 votes)
28. George Clinton (136 points, 4 votes, 1 #1 vote)
27. Jimmy Page (139 points, 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
26. Willie Mitchell (140 points, 6 votes)
25. Tom Dowd (141 points, 6 votes)
24. Holland/Dozier/Holland (165 points, 7 votes)
23. Rick Rubin (168 points, 9 votes)
22. The Neptunes (172 points, 7 votes)
21. Rudy Van Gelder (176 points, 6 votes, 1 #1 vote)
20. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (180 points, 7 votes, 1 #1 vote)
19. Teo Macero (207 points, 9 votes)
18. Trevor Horn (226 points, 9 votes)
17. King Tubby (239 points, 9 votes,3 #1 votes)
16. TIE DJ Premier (242 points, 9 votes, 2 #1 votes) AND Tony Visconti (242 points, 10 votes)
15. Joe Meek (245 points, 10 votes, 1 #1 vote)
14. Martin Hannett (246 points, 10 votes)
13. Steve Albini (247 points, 12 votes)
12. Brian Wilson (248 points, 11 votes, 1 #1 vote)
11. Dr. Dre (254 points, 11 votes, 1 #1 vote)
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)

take comfort Turrican, only two people voted for Nigel Godrich btw, and he was low in their rankings

oh thank god

It would have been dishonest of me to leave Spector off my ballot entirely -- though I thought about it -- but I wish he hadn't won.

I'm really really gutted Terry Brown didn't get more love.

xp Tubby was my #1 too. Kinda wish he'd beaten Perry but they're both amazing.

Thanks Shakey and everyone else. This poll was great. I'm checking out like half the names here.

(Though I wish Villalobos had made it.)

Hey, thanks Shakey for an excellent poll idea and great results! I had Plank as my #1. Love how the guy could handle spare or chromed or bouncy or bliss or blistering with equal aplomb.

Thanks for a fun poll, Shakey. Had a higher number of "no way, TOO LOW" moments than usual. Here's my ballot --

1. Lee Perry
2. Brian Eno
3. Teo Macero
4. Tom Dowd
5. Rudy Van Gelder
6. Les Paul
7. Geoff Emerick
8. Frank Zappa
9. David Axelrod
10. Gary Kellgren
11. Leslie Kong
12. Thom Bell
13. Phil Spector
14. The Bomb Squad
15. George Martin
16. Owen Bradley
17. Steve Albini
18. Brian Wilson
19. Chris Thomas
20. Conny Plank

Great poll, Shakey.

My ballot:

1. Glyn Johns
2. The Bomb Squad
3. Teo Macero
4. Phil Spector
5. Lee "Scratch" Perry
6. Prince Paul
7. Rudy Van Gelder
8. Holland/Dozier/Holland
9. Geoff Emerick
10. Norman Whitfield
11. Tom Wilson
12. Jimmy Page
13. King Tubby
14. Jimmy Miller
15. Chris Thomas
16. Isaac Hayes/David Porter
17. Shel Talmy
18. Steve Albini
19. George Martin
20. Giovanni Bonadrini

The only ones of mine that I'm bummed missed the top 50 are Hayes/Porter.

I can't talk too much b/c I did mot vote in this, but kinda bummed that Alan Moulder didn't make the cut

>

unlike a lot (all?) of the other douchebags on here, Phil never made a bad-sounding record

Paul McC would beg to differ, but I'll defend even his still-controversal alterations to Let It Be. Your comment upthread that "Rudy Van Gelder's style of production was relatively unobtrusive - the idea was just to capture the live performance as well as possible, so it becomes all about clarity: mic placement, room dynamics, etc." made me immediately think of Phil Spector. That was how everyone used to make records. Phil Spector changed that, and destroyed the notion that a studio was only for getting a clean recording of a live performance onto tape. Instead, he ushered in the idea of records as a separate artform from live performance. Suddenly, any sounds you could create, by any means, were encouraged, even if they required added effects that couldn't be replicated live. Added reverberation, double-tracked vocals, slowing or speeding up the tape, or layering all manner of instruments were often considered fakery before Spector arrived on the scene, but he turned them into a part of the producer's art.

George Martin, Brian Wilson, and the wizards at Motown quickly picked up on his ideas and built upon them. Most of us know the story of how the Beatles were turned down by Decca after they were auditioned in 1962, but doesn't it seem quaint in 2011 that a record company would decide who to sign based only on how they sound live? It is unimaginable today that most popular music acts would be able to play something live that sounds just like a modern pop record. But it was equally unimaginable even in 1966 that a live rock band would be able to recreate the sounds on their records, at least if those records were Revolver or Pet Sounds. But just four years earlier, bands weren't allowed that freedom, which is why Decca thought the best way to determine what Beatles records might sound like was to hear them play live, which unfortunately for Decca meant what they heard on that fateful day wouldn't be able to sound anywhere near as good as most of the Beatles records we know and love.

The sea change in attitude occurred during that very short timeframe, because Phil Spector showed with his "wall of sound" records what was possible when the studio became an instrument, and opened the floodgates for bands and the their producers to explore that newfound creativity. Which makes him the most significant record producer ever. Not the best IMO (he was near the middle of my ballot), but still the most significant.

fun poll! will have to catch up on the rollout since i just showed up and saw the results, but here's my ballot:

Jimmy Page
Timbaland
Brian Eno
Prince
Willie Mitchell
DJ Premier
Gary Katz
Jam/Lewis
Trent Reznor
Dr. Luke
R. Kelly
DJ Quik
Don Fleming
Eddie Kramer
Mitchell Froom
Mannie Fresh
Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards
Jon Brion
Steve Albini
Andy Johns

My admittedly rockist ballot:

1 Brian Wilson
2. George Martin
3. Tom Dowd
4. Joe Boyd
5. Andy Wallace
6. Terry Melcher
7. Eddie Kramer
8. Glyn Johns
9. Andy Johns
10. Smokey Robinson
11. Rick Jarrard
12. Phil Spector
13. Tom Wilson
14. Les Paul
15. Smokey Robinson
16. Shel Talmy
17. Todd Rundgren
18. David Briggs
19. Norman Smith
20. Norman Whitfield

My most difficult pick was Terry Melcher, who I placed high largely on the strength of his production on the seminal early Byrds records, whose chimelike sound reverberates through folk-rock, power-pop, and alt-rock to this day. But many of his later productions (including a late-period Byrds album) totally sucked.

Still kicking myself for not placing a vote for Erik Jacobsen or Elliot Mazer, both of whom remain criminally underappreciated.

oops, #15 was Babyface; Smokey only gets one vote like everyone else....

didn't vote because a) i missed it and b) i'm not really qualified to comment

in theory i guess i would have had willie mitchell, holland/dozier/holland and especially RVG higher?

v. interesting poll! thanks shakey

So w respect to Shakey Mo, who did yeoman's work w this, this poll was disappointing to me -- and I think most of it just comes down to there being too few ballots. Admittedly, I had a hard time with this and ended up submitting a ballot with less than twenty votes because as many records as I love by Chris Thomas, I'm not about to hail him as some kind of genius.

But for me it wasn't the "too low" moments -- it was the "wait, this dude? all the way up here?" moments and placings of guys (ie, Clinton, who I love, mind) who aren't really producers. For me, these polls shouldn't be about debating the qualifications of these dudes but their merits. So, a bit of a bummer.

yeah well I dunno what I could've done to get more ballots in - I tried to keep the nominations thread on the front page for a couple weeks. in the end we got 39 (including mine) which is slightly above average for polls

honestly don't know why you wouldn't consider Clinton a producer. he was behind the mixing desk on a lot of records.

yeah 40ish is a great total, i duno if the result would have looked much different if there were 80 voters

xp Among many, many other things, it was Clinton who transformed "Maggot Brain" from a guitar solo into a piece for solo guitar.

Any comments on Thom Bell's placement versus Gamble and Huff's non-placement?

Gamble & Huff got a couple votes, they were just outside the top 50

Well, again -- this isn't a criticism of you, Shakey. More a frustration and maybe a realization that there are fewer producers I really admire than I thought.

I think part of it is that I tend to subscribe to the producer-as-auteur theory -- folks with unique visions (and in that sense, Clinton would have counted obviously). But even there, I felt like great auteurs need to have registered some kind of larger, meaningful impact -- so a guy like Mutt Lange (whose music I largely detest) would at least qualify while someone like Manfred Eicher--who pioneered a gorgeous sound at ECM--wouldn't because I'm not really convinced changing the face of European jazz is all that big of a deal.

There's also a matter of intent. Despite worshipping his stuff w Miles, I didn't even vote for Teo Macero bc even tho he did some wild things with fx and tapes on those late-60s/70s records (panning switchboxes, putting melodies over different backing tracks, etc.), I've never been totally convinced he knew what he was doing with those things and that his far more important impact was providing shape and form to those pieces (forget "In a Silent Way"'s A-B-A edit; check Bob Belden's notes on the assembly of "Pharaoh's Dance" for evidence of how he would seamlessly loop two improvised bars in the middle of a 19 minute piece to add tension -- one or two got left off on the box set by accident). In retrospect, I probably should have voted for him -- but it might have been close. Fun fact: according to Wikipedia, Teo produced "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer!

Also, I've never felt that being associated with a lot of good records in and of itself makes a great producer. That's why, for me, Trevor Horn or Martin Hannett belong very high in this poll where, say, a Rudy Van Gelder or Chris Thomas might not, despite overseeing more great records.

Bottom line: most of these guys were just very capable craftsmen -- and generally you don't buy records because for their capable craftsmanship. You don't say, "Holy shit, this was produced by CHRIS FUCKING THOMAS. Honey, empty out your wallet -- I simply MUST have it." Unless, say, you're an engineer.

In that sense maybe I was always going to be frustrated by this poll.

Anyway, apologies for the screed. Carry on.

Thanks, SMC. My confused ballot:

1. David Briggs (Neil Young) – 40
2. Tom Wilson (Velvets, Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Mothers of Invention, Nico) – 36
3. George Martin (Beatles) – 33
4. Thom Bell (Spinners, Delfonics, Stylistics) – 30
5. Phil Spector (various) – 27
6. Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo) – 25
7. Gary Katz (Steely Dan) – 24
8. Burt Bacharach & Hal David (Dionne Warwick, B.J. Thomas) – 23
9. George Shadow Morton (Shangri-Las, New York Dolls) – 22
10. Todd Rundgren (Todd Rundgren, New York Dolls) – 21
11. Brian Wilson (Beach Boys, Spring) – 20
12. Al Schmitt (Jefferson Airplane, Neil Young, Jackson Browne) – 19
13. Rod Stewart (Rod Stewart, Faces) – 18
14. Joe Boyd (Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention, R.E.M.) – 17
15. Sly Stone (Sly & the Family Stone, Great Society, Beau Brummels) – 16
16. Mike Thorne (Wire) – 15
17. Dr. Dre (Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent) – 14
18. Norman Petty (Buddy Holly) – 13
19. Timbaland (Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, Timbaland & Magoo) – 12
20. Stephen Hague (Pet Shop Boys, New Order) – 11

I guess I'm one of the people who artificially propped up the likes of David Briggs and Gary Katz. I have no idea what either one ever contributed to the art of record production, if anything; I just happen to love Neil Young and Steely Dan. Gamble & Huff slipped my mind--I would have voted for them somewhere in there.

i needed sleep so had to skip out on the final rundown.

best man got the top spot.

my ballot

1. David Axelrod
2. Adrian Sherwood
3. Tony Visconti
4. Trevor Horn
5. Phil Spector
6. Brian Eno
7. Teo Macero
8. Lee Scratch Perry
9. Rudy Van Gelder
10. Giorgio Moroder
11. Willie Mitchell
12. Thomas Dolby
13. Martin Rushent
14. Stuart Price
15. Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley
16. John Leckie
17. Xenomania
18. Rick Rubin
19. Bomb Squad
20. Roy Thomas Baker

1. DJ Premier
2. RZA
3. Pete Rock
4. Just Blaze
5. The Bomb Squad
6. Easy Mo Bee
7. DJ Quik
8. Dr Dre
9. Timbaland
10. Neptunes
11. Diamond D
12. Jay Dilla
13. Madlib
14. Prince Paul
15. DJ Toomp
16. Large Professor
17. Swizz Beatz
18. ?uestlove
19. E-Swift
20. Psycho Les

oh, and thanks to shakey for the time-n-effort !

1. The Chic Organisation/Nile Rogers
2. Brian Eno
3. George Martin
4. Kate Bush
5. Trevor Horn
6. Phil Spector
7. Tony Visconti
8. Lindsey Buckingham
9. Chris Blackwell
10. Daft Punk
11. Dallas Austin
12. Harvey Fuqua
13.Chris Thomas
14. Andy Johns
15. Timbaland
16. The Dust Brothers
17. John Leckie
18. Arthur Baker
19. The Neptunes
20. Jimmy Miller

I hadn't expected you to go all the way to #1, Shakey, or I'd've hung around a bit longer last night. Anyway great idea, I've learned quite a lot, and thanks a bunch for doing it.

xp I don't see how this can be disappointing if you can't get to 20 yourself. I thought it was great. I mean, who are the raft of innovators who are missing out? Also, craftsmen totally belong - there are enough flat and muddy rock records around to see that Chris Thomas brings a lot to his.

Here's my ballot, bolded the ones that made it to the top 50:

1. Patrick Cowley
2. Larry Levan
3. Boris Blank
4. Juan Atkins
5. Shep Pettibone
6. Pole (aka Stefan Betke)
7. Arthur Baker
8. Giorgio Moroder
9. Meshell Ndegeocello
10. Carl Craig
11. Burnt Friedman
12. Roopek (aka Roope Kinnunen)
13. Marley Marl
14. Teo Macero
15. Prince
16. Creed Taylor
17. Swizz Beatz
18. Ben Liebrand
19. Da Beatminerz
20. 4 Hero

I voted solely based on personal taste, not historical importance... So I didn't include people like Spector, as I haven't heard that many of his productions, and on the ones I've heard, the sound hasn't really impressed me that much.

Was surprised that none of the OG disco producers/remixers (Levan, Moulton, Cowley, etc) made it to the top 50. What they did to recorded sound was just as revolutionary as what Spector, Tubby, Macero et al did. Okay, Moroder made it to the top 10, which is great, but his thing (minimizing dance music to a synth groove) was bit different from what Levan & Moulton & co did. They basically (alongside Jamaican dubsters, of course) invented the remix.

Another surprise was that Arthur Baker didn't make it! I thought producing "Planet Rock" alone (not to mention his other electro productions and remixes) would've guaranteed him a spot. As for 80s synth pop, I find it sad Boris Blanks isn't regarded as high as he should be. Stuff he did 25-30 years ago still sounds mad innovative today, and less dated than Trevor Horn's (who I also love) production. I guess the problem is that Blank never did much work outside Yello, and Yello was always too eccentric to make a big breakthrough.

unlike a lot (all?) of the other douchebags on here, Phil never made a bad-sounding record

Even Paul said his "Let it be" did not sound "bad", but he did hate the end product for the production 'result'...

My ballot:

1 Joe Meek
2 Lee Perry
3 Martin Hannett
4 Brian Eno
5 Steve Albini
6 Shadow Morton
7 Willie Mitchell
8 Kevin Shields
9 Chris Thomas
10 John Cale
11 Timbaland
12 Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards
13 Trevor Horn
14 Phil Spector
15 Sam Phillips
16 Dave Fridmann
17 Xenomania
18 Conny Plank
19 Dr Dre
20 Brian Wilson

My ballot:

1. Chic Organization
2. George Martin
3. Trevor Horn
4. Brian Eno
5. Joe Meek
6. Tony Visconti
7. Phil Spector
8. Timbaland
9. Giorgio Moroder
10. Lee 'Scratch' Perry
11. Martin Rushent
12. Martin Hannett
13. Chips Moman
14. Gamble and Huff
15. Chris Thomas
16. Rick Rubin
17. Arif Mardin
18. Bomb Squad
19. Vince Clarke
20. Sly and Robbie

Don't know how I managed to forget the RZA, should have squeezed him in somewhere. Still shaking my head at the dismissal of 'Slave to the Rythm', the pinnacle of Horn's fairlight era imo.

My ballot, slightly thrown together, and there are names I would perhaps include as a result of the rundown:

1. King Tubby
2. Martin Hannett
3. Arthur Baker
4. RZA
5. George Martin
6. Steve Albini
7. Dr Dre
8. Joe Meek
9. Rick Rubin
10. Phil Spector
11. Conny Plank
12. Lee Perry
13. Juan Atkins
14. Richard D. James
15. Brian Eno
16. Tony Visconti
17. Derrick May
18. Pete Rock
19. Bomb Squad
20. Quincy Jones

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?

I asked this just before the outage, was hoping for an explanation because I love those intros. I suspect it might be a 'rounded' Rhodes piano sound?

http://www.gipercussion.co.uk/Premier%20bells.jpg

miserable auteur in Archway

Oi! (Mid) Holloway Road! Fuck yer Archways!

Didn't vote in this, wish I had now. Perry vs. Plank for me... off the top of my head, it'd probably change if I thought more about it.

Actually Holger Czukay might have been my No. 1. Or Pierre Schaeffer.

oh shit how did i forget arthur baker?

Don Was

Producer credits: the B-52's, Iggy Pop, Paul Westerberg, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Ziggy Marley, Brian Wilson, Ringo Starr, David Crosby, the Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, Garth Brooks, Lyle Lovett, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Michelle Shocked, Lucinda Williams, others

Impressive CV for someone who seems not to have received even one vote!

roy thomas baker in only one ballot & no jon landau is kinda surprising

or bob thiele or george avakian

curtis mayfield, isaac hayes, I think those guys have legit claims to top 20 production styles

I didn't vote in this (I never do!), but these popular people would have got my votes if I had:

Steve Albini
George Martin
Brian Eno
Quincy Jones
Holger Czukay
Kate Bush
Timbaland
The Neptunes

I was surprised to see none of these mentioned at all:

Jim O’Rourke
James Murphy
Andrew Weatherall
Chas Chandler
Flood
Curtis Mayfield
Fela Kuti
John McIntyre

And I probably would have voted, or seriously considered voting for, several of these:

Mark Hollis / Tim Friese-Green / Phill Brown
Graham Sutton
Phil and Paul Hartnoll / Dan Snaith / Kieran Hebden / other electronic dudes who’ve never really produced anyone else
Ethan Johns
Jamie Watson (Long Fin Killie)
Brian Deck (Califone)
Guy Stevens

thanks for this Shakey. couldn't bring myself to vote, sorry - I'm sure I could name 20 favourite producers/engineers but ranking them is another story.

nonetheless really enjoyed the rundown. tie between Premier and Visconti the highlight for reasons I can't quite verbalise

complete absence of women from the list is pretty mad, not gonna blame the voters for that one tho

if you squint a bit, Eno at least looks like a woman in that pic

complete absence of women from the list is pretty mad, not gonna blame the voters for that one tho

yeah - this is a "man's world" type of profession, for the most part, and the deeply entrenched sexism of the industry has kept it that way for decades

I mean apart from Kate Bush (who received a couple votes) and Joan Jett I"m at a loss for big names

roy thomas baker in only one ballot & no jon landau is kinda surprising

or bob thiele or george avakian

Roy Thomas Baker was on 2 ballots. those other guys didn't get any votes.

suppose things might have been different if you had voted tho lol

Impressive CV for someone who seems not to have received even one vote!

all those people are great/have done great things, but none of those great things involved Don Was. I guess Cosmic Thing sounds pretty good...

my kinda strange, highly subjective ballot was:

Timbaland
The DFA (was I really the only one?)
The Neptunes
Yasutaka Nakata
Steve Albini
Noon
Jimmy Page
Maciej Cieślak
Daft Punk
Bloodshy & Avant
Autechre
Greg Kurstin
Dave Fridmann
Phil Spector
Phil Ek
Danja
Max Martin
Dr Luke
Todd Edwards
Don Zientara

I purposely tossed the historical importance to hell in favour of choosing at-the-moment personal favs.

Arthur Baker got 3 votes, 70 points

xp

>> Impressive CV for someone who seems not to have received even one vote!

> all those people are great/have done great things, but none of those great things involved Don Was. I guess Cosmic Thing sounds pretty good...

I was aware of that (of course!).... it looks far more impressive than it is, because everyone on that list was long past their prime (save for the B-52's and Bonnie Raitt), which is no doubt why he was ignored here. He's also another of those producers that intentionally stays out of the way and just records what the band plays, kind of like Albini except that he won't throw a fit if you call him a producer. But not having a signature production sound like that of, say, Trevor Horn makes it even easier to forget he's there at all.

suppose things might have been different if you had voted tho lol

I know, I like discussing these stuff but putting a ballot together is the sort of thing that's like I'm not against doing it but it would take me a couple years and if I threw one together just to be in the poll well that'd be exactly what I never liked about polls but that's not on the poll that's just me

so for you, participating in a poll is like voting for a Democrat

yes

except that I end up voting for the Democrat because what the fuck why not whereas putting together a list of who I actually feel are the best producers would be an exercise I'd take seriously

Shakey, got a full list of the voting for posting or linking?

Phil Spector 664
Brian Eno 562
Timbaland 493
George Martin 455
Lee Perry 355
RZA 348
Conny Plank 306
The Bomb Squad 287
Giorgio Moroder 278
Chic Organisation 275
Dr. Dre 254
Brian Wilson 248
Steve Albini 247
Martin Hannett 246
Joe Meek 245
Tony Visconti 242
DJ Premier 242
King Tubby 239
Trevor Horn 226
Teo Macero 207
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis 180
rudy van gelder 176
The Neptunes 172
Rick Rubin 168
Holland/Dozier/Holland 165
Tom Dowd 141
Willie Mitchell 140
Jimmy Page 139
George Clinton 136
Martin Rushent 134
Thom Bell 131
Tom Wilson 124
Les Paul 122
Pete Rock 118
Chris Thomas 117
Prince 115
John Leckie 110
Geoff Emerick 109
Todd Rundgren 101
Joe Boyd 98
Marley Marl 96
Norman Whitfield 95
Jimmy Miller 95
Gary Katz 94
Xenomania 94
David Briggs 91
swizz beatz 89
The Dust Brothers 88
Glyn Johns 87
Prince Paul 86
Carl Craig 85
DJ Quik 83
mutt lange 82
Allen Toussaint 82
The Dream 77
Bloodshy & Avant 76
Kanye West 74
Daft Punk 73
Stephen Hague 71
Arthur Baker 70
Gamble and Huff 69
Shel Talmy 68
Max Martin 68
Mike Thorne 68
George "Shadow" Morton 67
Sam Phillips 67
Juan Atkins 65
Neptunes 64
Frankie Knuckles/Def Mix 63
Geoff Barrow 62
David Axelrod 62
Mannie Fresh 61
Lindsey Buckingham 59
Dr. Luke 58
Kate Bush 57
Danja 57
Nigel Godrich 53
John Cale 53
Eddie Kramer 52
Ricardo Villalobos 52
Basic Channel 51
Dave Fridmann 51
Andy Johns 50
Just Blaze 47
sly stone 46
Smokey Robinson 44
Norman Smith 43
Organized Noize 42
Creed Taylor 42
Jack Endino 41
Arthur Russell 41
Richard D. James 40
Daniel Lanois 40
Patrick Cowley 40
R. Kelly 40
Kevin Shields 39
Frank Zappa 38
The DFA 36
quincy jones 36
Jason Pierce 36
Larry Levan 36
Adrian Sherwood 36
Large Professor 35
Cosimo Matassa 33
derrick may 33
Nick Lowe 33
Masters at Work 33
Louis Barron 33
J Dilla 33
Babyface 33
Boris Blank 33
Phil Elverum 33
Mike Chapman 31
Steven Stapleton 30
Yasutaka Nakata 30
Tommy Wright III 30
Alan Lomax 30
Ted Templeman 30
Madlib 30
Leiber/Stoller 28
Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley 28
Don Zientara 27
Wiley 27
Andy Wallace 27
Shep Pettibone 27
Dj Skrew 27
Bumps Blackwell 25
Noon 25
Wolfgang Voight 25
Roger Moutenot 25
Easy Mo Bee 25
Terry Melcher 25
Pole (aka Stefan Betke) 25
Jean-Pierre Massiera 24
ewan pearson 24
Frank Wilson 24
KLC 24
Michael B. Tretow 24
The Beatnuts 23
Maciej Cieślak 23
Chaz Jankel 23
Psycho Les 23
Carl Davis 23
dave jerden 23
James Brown 23
Roy Thomas Baker 23
Chris Desjardins 23
Burt Bacharach & Hal David 23
Meshell Ndegeocello 22
Trent Reznor 22
Chris Blackwell 22
Andrew Loog Oldham 22
Tricky 21
Huey P. Meaux 21
Nesuhi Ertegun 21
Kurt Graupner 21
Hugh Jones 21
Gary Kellgren 21
Ant Banks 21
Jerry Wexler 20
Autechre 20
Leslie Kong 20
Rick Jarrard 20
tom middleton 20
Burnt Friedman 20
Dallas Austin 20
Diamond D 20
stock-aitken-waterman 20
Patrick Adams 19
Hugh Padgham 19
Thomas Dolby 19
Greg Kurstin 19
Richie Hawtin 19
Roopek (aka Roope Kinnunen) 19
Al Schmitt 19
Butch Vig 19
Teddy Riley 19
Sasu Ripatti 19
Harvey Fuqua 19
Wharton Tiers 18
Rod Stewart 18
Don Fleming 18
kevin saunderson 18
Chips Moman 18
Dennis Bovell 18
Mitch Easter 18
Stuart Price 17
stargate 17
rob playford 17
Mad Professor 17
Paul Savage 16
Phil Ek 16
Mitchell Froom 16
RedOne 16
Steve Lillywhite 16
Jeremy Harding 16
DJ Toomp 16
Steve Gurley 15
Dave Hassinger 15
Tony Visconti 15
Dan Lissvik 15
Isaac Hayes/David Porter 15
Owen Bradley 15
rodney jerkins 14
Frank Davis 14
Arif Mardin 14
maurizio 14
Chinn-Chapman 13
cajmere 13
Norman Petty 13
?uestlove 13
Jon Brion 13
Flood 13
Ben Liebrand 13
Daz Dillinger 13
Ryan Leslie 13
rich harrison 13
Vince Clarke 12
Joe Gibbs 12
Todd Edwards 12
Cowboy Jack Clement 12
Bangladesh 12
Da Beatminerz 12
E-Swift 12
Jim O'Rourke 12
she'kspere 12
Terror Danjah 11
Lil' Jon 11
4 Hero 11
Dangermouse 11
Giovanni Bonadrini 11
Sly and Robbie 11
lyndsey buckingham 11
Klaus Schulze 11

Tony Visconti seems to be there twice! So I guess he didn't tie with DJ Premier after all

hmmm you're right, that's weird

Allen Touissant just missed the cut! Injustice!

Toussaint, I mean

xxxpost
As is Lindsey Buckingham.

Before the results were even posted, I started to think there oughta be a follow-up poll excluding every name that made the top 50. I mean, every record producer ever is kind of too huge to be narrowed down to one canonical list, which only becomes more obvious when you see some of the names that fell short here.

Very cool poll, though. Thanks for doing this, Shakey.

Neptunes *and* The Neptunes?

man I went through this list multiple times (pretty much after every ballot came in) to check for duplicates/vote splitting and I STILL fucked this up arggh

I guess the Neptunes would have placed a bit higher then... Lindsey Buckingham still wouldn't have made the cut tho

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/sites/tampabay.com.blogs.the-buzz-florida-politics/files/images/typepad-legacy-files/88533.recount.jpg

female producers i would have considered voting for: anjali dutt, jessica corcoran

Damn, knew I shoulda checked ILM's status on Wednesday rather than risk missing the live results rollout! Oh well, here's my pedestrian ballot:

1.George Martin
2.Rudy Van Gelder
3.Jimmy Page
4.Norman Whitfield
5.Jimmy Miller
6.Giorgio Moroder
7.George Clinton
8.Todd Rundgren
9.Tom Dowd
10.Nesuhi Ertegun
11.The Bomb Squad
12.Brian Eno
13.Holland/Dozier/Holland
14.Jack Endino
15.Tom Wilson
16.Frank Zappa
17.Steve Albini
18.Rick Rubin
19.Martin Rushent
20.Eddie Kramer

I probably wouldn't have voted at all had Shakey Mo not lamented the mere trickle of ballots as deadline approached. My main criteria for inclusion was simply that I loved these guys' sound; that's the rationale behind maybe 15 of these choices; George Martin, Eno, Ertegun and the two Toms have extramusical reasons for inclusion. And a final thanks to Shakey Mo for his time & effort (more than he could've expected obv)

Has anybody lobbied for Mike Chapman?

I didn't vote but would probably have thrown Chapman a vote for Parallel Lines and Eat to the Beat alone

(and I don't really listen to much glam rock and appreciate that Chinnichap became a byword for canned and formulaic but that is a pretty amazingly SHINY sound right there)

anyway I am glad to see Plank do well and have a few new names to check out as a result of this poll and people's ballots

so yeah, thanks Shakey!

maurizio and Basic Channel the same thing, yes?

still wouldn't make it into the top 50 though

So, hold on, absolutely nobody voted for Holger Czukay?

and I don't really listen to much glam rock and appreciate that Chinnichap became a byword for canned and formulaic but that is a pretty amazingly SHINY sound right there

Mike Leander!!!!!!!

alan moulder-0. my 19 year old me weeps. dave fridmann gets 51 points. not that i voted but that guy is the worst.

Fucking hate Fridmann's sound these days.

yeah fridmann would've gotten a lot of 'anti' votes if that had been part of the poll

I actually considered Mike Leander!

Also....

Neptunes *and* The Neptunes?

― V79, Friday, October 21, 2011 2:32 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

man I went through this list multiple times (pretty much after every ballot came in) to check for duplicates/vote splitting and I STILL fucked this up arggh

I guess the Neptunes would have placed a bit higher then... Lindsey Buckingham still wouldn't have made the cut tho

― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, October 21, 2011 2:48 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark

Wait a min, whuzziss?

Lindsey Buckingham 59
lyndsey buckingham 11

RECOUNT!

(aah he still wouldn't have placed, but now I feel guilty because his presence on my ballot would have catapulted him into the top 50)

jeez, gary usher didn't even get a mention

I strongly considered him. Byrds, Dick Dale, some Beach Boys-related

> yeah fridmann would've gotten a lot of 'anti' votes if that had been part of the poll

― some dude, Sunday, October 23, 2011 6:17 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

My off-the-dome 'anti' top 3:

3. Jeff Lynne
2. Joe Thomas
1. Walter Afanasieff, who repeatedly employs every cliched production frill imagineable in failed attempts to build emotion as a song progresses (thundering snare hits! weepy bowed orchestral strings! raising the key and slowing down just before the last verse!) for the likes of Celion Dion, Michael Bolton, and Mariah Carey.

3. Jeff Lynne

waaaaaht dude those ELO records sound amazing

True, but I hate the ELO sheen he put on other peoples records -- Edmunds, Harrison, Wilburys.

yeah not gonna argue about that

I like how lush Lynne's production can be, but can we lose that synthetic sheen that drapes everything, all the buzzy synths, etc.? It's like the finished product was processed through a volume compressor before being pressed to disc. Agreed that aesthetic worked for ELO (although even there it was needlessly gimmicky - did "I Can't Get It Out Of My Head" really need the vocals processed through a wah-wah pedal?), but it's all wrong for his '80s-and-beyond production for others.

Yeah, Lynne's the only guy whose "overproduction" I've ever complained about

Pretty good Glyn Johns interview on Michael Shelley's show on WFMU this past Saturday: http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/58051

Killer Lynne productions playlist here:

http://open.spotify.com/user/kfxmannen/playlist/7hRT2CIT29A3HcwmMkDkNO

Thanks for the link to the Glyn interview, WilliamC! I've been meaning to pick up his autobio.