“On first listening, Joni Mitchell's 'Court And Spark,' the first truly great pop album of 1974, sounds surprisingly light; by the third or fourth listening, it reveals its underlying tensions.” FirstsLightSoundListeningThirdsCourtAlbumsPopsTensionSparksFourth Author:Jon Landau
“The modern recording studio, with its well-trained engineers, 24-track machines and shiny new recording consoles, encourages the artist to get involved with sound. And there have always been artists who could make the equipment serve their needs in a highly personal way - I would single out the Beatles, Phil Spector, the Beach Boys and Thom Bell.” WayNeedsWellsArtistSoundBoysModernInvolvedMachinesTrackStudiosBeachBellsEngineersEquipmentGet InvolvedConsoleRecording StudioBeach Boys Author:Jon Landau
“The Beatles production is often so 'perfect' that it sounds computerized. 'Sgt. Pepper' really does sound like it took four months to make.” DoeSoundPerfectFourMonthsProductionsPeppersSgt Pepper Author:Jon Landau
“Aretha Franklin's 'Let Me in Your Life' is one of the few recent R&B albums that places the emphasis entirely and deservedly on a voice. Many R&B producers have been making records on which the singer is outshined by the song, the arrangement and the sound.” Has BeensLife IsSongSoundVoiceRecordsLet MeAlbumsSingersProducersArrangementsEmphasisFranklin Author:Jon Landau
“Elton John can be a master of the sleight of hand. The arrangements make it seem like there are substantial melodies underneath the tracks - but almost nothing demands repeated listenings. Similarly, he always sounds like he's singing up a storm, but his voice glosses over the material, reducing most things to an uninteresting sameness.” HandsSeemsSoundVoiceMaterialsMastersListeningDemandSingingTrackStormMelodyArrangementsReducingSamenessGlossSleight Of Hand Author:Jon Landau
