Wall of Sound
Wall of Sound ( English for ' wall of sound ') is the term used in music production to describe the pop music produced by music producer Phil Spector from 1962 in the Gold Star Studios in Hollywood with his artists until 1966, which is characterized by a high sound density and the intensive use of audio effects and was often associated with over-orchestration.
General
Until 1961, the recording studios were sterile rooms for most music producers , with the task of equipping each individual musical instrument with a microphone separately from the other instruments and of bringing it to the final mix. In contrast to this, Spector's idea was to embed the listener in a sound wall and give him a compact listening impression. It was even desirable that a microphone also picked up spherical noises from other instruments. Although this was not new in pop music, it was unknown in this concentrated form. Spector only used this wall of sound for his own record label Philles Records , but not for his numerous third-party productions for other record labels. In the music industry, the term Wall of Sound is closely associated with Gold Star Studios, specifically with Studio A and the Ampex 350. Spector was one of the first music producers to see a recording studio as an independent musical instrument.
Components of the Wall of Sound
In order to fathom the peculiarities of this production technology, organizational, technical and personnel components must be differentiated. In summary, they mostly had a uniform and identifiable sound image, which went down in music history as the Wall of Sound .
Organizational components
Phil Spector only practiced his production technology in the Gold Star Studios, which had a particularly effective echo chamber . The only 7 m × 10.60 m measuring and 2.10 m high Studio A was overcrowded with studio musicians, which enhanced the compact sound and led to a high level of room saturation. This contributed to a strong compression . The sound patterns recorded in this way were transferred into the concrete echo chamber, the echo recorded and mixed with the studio recording by overdubbing . The listening impression of those recordings gave music consumers a studio size that was not really available. A four-lane Ampex 350, which could be coupled with a second Ampex 350, was used for the recordings.
Personnel basics
In the studio, Spector trusted a number of people. Arranger Jack “Specs” Nitzsche and sound engineer Larry Levine were particularly important ; he used the session musicians from The Wrecking Crew in different ways (mostly two to four guitarists, two basses, two drummers, etc.). The first take usually took place after hours of practice. These were not necessary because of the lack of professionalism of the studio musicians, but to implement the precise sound ideas of the producer Spector. In addition, the studio musicians were slowly getting tired, which largely made them lose their individuality. They were highly productive musicians who could mostly read notes and then get by with one take. If there were several takes, like with Be My Baby (42 takes), this was not due to the faulty studio musicians, but rather to the sound ideas of the producer. Roy Halee, co-producer of Simon & Garfunkel , praised the quality of the musicians when he spoke of bassist Joe Osborn : "You don't have to stop the tape because of a mistake, because there isn't one."
Technical requirements
Takes that had already been recorded were doubled or even tripled by overdubbing ("double tracking"), whereby a phase shift was achieved through the reverb of the echo chamber . The intonation of the music was often characterized by over-orchestration or symphonic production. Spector called it "little symphonies for young people" in a Wagnerian approach to rock 'n' roll . Audio effects such as delay , flanging , chorus or reverb were used in studio technology , and strong distortion of the signal from instruments was also typical. Overdubbing the same score several times increased the compact sound. The end result was highly condensed music productions intended for transistor radios .
The course of production was largely standardized. Jack Nitzsche first made the essential scores ("lead sheets"), then Spector began working with the guitars (usually three or even four). Then came the pianos, three or four keyboards, at least two basses, then drums, and finally the wind and string sections. Spector was a fan of mono recording, so three tracks of the two Ampex devices were used exclusively to amplify the mono sound, only the fourth track was used for vocal recording. From this it can be seen that Spector was mainly interested in the instrumentation and its sound.
Examples
As Spector's first recording at Gold Star as part of the Wall of Sound can He's a Rebel from Crystals are considered on 13 July 1,962th From July 5, 1963, the Wall of Sound 's most characteristic product , Be My Baby, was recorded by the Ronettes . With Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer there were two drummers present, Carol Kaye and Ray Pohlman played bass, four guitars ( Billy Strange , Tommy Tedesco , Barney Kessel and Bill Pitman) and four keyboards ( Leon Russell , Larry Knechtel , Al De Lory and Don Randi ) led to a previously unknown sound density. Completed with castanets and maracas , the song is the first in which Spector also used a full violin section. It took 42 takes in a four hour session to keep Spector happy. After its release in August 1963, the hit sold more than two million records in 1963 alone.
The ballads You've Lost That Lovin 'Feelin' (recorded between August and November 1964) and Unchained Melody (March 2, 1965) by the Righteous Brothers were also suitable for the Wall of Sound ; both recordings are among his most important productions. They were successful number one hits and million sellers . The most important performers on the Wall of Sound also included Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans and The Crystals . The last recording of the Wall of Sound under Spector was on March 7, 1966 with Ike & Tina Turner and the title River Deep - Mountain High . In a 4 1 ⁄ 2 hour session, in addition to Tina Turner's vocal intensity, the further perfected surround sound and sound density of the song are convincing. In addition to the core of the wrecking crew Barney Kessel / Glen Campbell (guitars), Leon Russell (keyboards), Jim Horn (saxophone), Carol Kaye (bass) and Hal Blaine / Earl Palmer (drums) there were 19 other members.
Later recordings
The production technology practiced by Spector is used today in rock , progressive and metal . In Psychedelic Rock , phasing from the catalog of audio effects was used in particular . Spector produced the Ramones LP End of the Century from May 1, 1979 with Larry Levine as a sound engineer at Gold Star Studios , whereby most of the musicians fled because they thought Spector was crazy. To end the project, he steadfastly used studio musicians . For stereo purposes, the Wall of Sound now offers a wide, filled stereo image with pronounced spatial depth. Thanks to multi-channel technology, “doubling” (multiple playing of the same score) creates pleasant phase cancellations in the signal for human ears and a wide and deep sound panorama through clever placement of the signal in the stereo image. Examples are Pink Floyd , Genesis or Enya . The spoken vocals are also doubled in hip-hop productions in order to give the voice power and volume, just like in choir singing.
Individual evidence
- ^ Dave Thompson, Phil Spector, Wall of Pain , 2004, p. 65
- ^ Arnold Shaw, Dictionary of American Pop / Rock , 1982, p. 406
- ↑ SoundonSound from April 2007, Classic Tracks: The Ronettes Be My Baby
- ↑ Spiegel Online from July 29, 2010, Legendary Music Studios: Unrestricted Insanity ( Memento from August 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Carol Kaye on the Wrecking Crew
- ↑ The New York Times, February 19, 2012, Rockers With Low Profiles and Perfect Timing
- ↑ Richard Williams : Phil Spector: Out of His Head , 2003, Chapter 5: Little Symphonies for the Kids , pp. 53 ff.
- ^ Richard Williams: Phil Spector: Out of His Head , 2003, Chapter 5: Little Symphonies for the Kids , p. 64.
- ↑ Jack Doyle, ThePopHistoryDig, Be My Baby , January 2010
- ^ Spouse Ike Turner was not present