Phil Spector

[dirtylenny]

I love Phil Spector, i think he's amazing. I think he's very probably the most unappreciated un-recognised (in terms of the extent of his genius) living contributor to American music. Storys of his eccentricity (and they are plenty) aside, the fucking work speaks for itself. Its so brilliant and so consistent and so perfect. The mans ear is impeccable.

I love the stuff he did with The Beatles obviously and Lennon and Harrison as solo artists and The Ramones etc but more than any of that i LOVE his older stuff, the stuff he made his bones on, the list is just endless and each song is better than the one before, its brilliant.

The sound of his productions, from the beggining is always so deep and rich. That song, To Know Him Is To Love Him by The Teddy Bears is beautiful. Spanish Harlem by Ben E King is a total gem too, relatively understated sounding production, kinda spacey and haunted sounding. Reminds me of the sort of sonic space that dub reggae artists allowed themselves to allow the instrumentations to really ring out and sound really crisp. And King's voice is just fucking superb.

And Curtis Lee, all the shit he did with Curtis Lee, Pretty Little Angel Eyes and Under The Moon, delicious stuff. He even did some work with the guy who did 48 Hours From Tulsa, whoose name escapes me at the moment.

And OH!!! The shit he did with girl groups, like The Crystals, He's A Rebel, Heartbreaker, And Then He Kissed Me and Da Doo Ron Ron, i defy anybody, man or woman to not shake that ass when that song comes on, perfect perfect perfect in every way.

That shit, the shit Phil did with girl groups, to this day, is the watermark, the standard bearer for all girl groups to this day and i dont think its ever been equalled, much less surpassed.

And Darlene Love too, Darlene Love is the absolute queen of the entire fucking universe!!! Wait Til My Bobby Comes Home, Chapel of Love, Today I Met the Boy I'm Gonna Marry, that fuckin song man, to me thats like one of the most perfectly sung songs in the fucking world, that recording of it, the one done with Phil, its just fucking...ugh! I can't even call it!!

The Ronettes too, who have got to be the queen of girl groups in the fucking world, Be My Baby is a fucking anthem, totally untouchable, everytime its on i feel like grabbin' a fuckin hairbrush and goin' all Olivia Newton John And Baby I Love You, The Best Part of Breakin' Up, the list is fucking endless.

And Dion, fucking Dion, Dion DiMucci man!!!! Why is that man not a fucking legend, why is that name not on everybodys lips from here to the fucking rock n roll hall of fame, i demand a fucking answer please!!

And then The Righteous Brothers, Unchained Melody, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling, brilliant.

And the Ike and Tina with River Deep, Mountain High, Save the Last Dance.

See the list honestly really is fucking endless and i haven't really hit the tip of the iceberg yet, there's Lennon's stuff in there, Imagine, Instant Karma, Happy Christmas (War Is Over), that whole Rock n Roll album. I think its fair to say that, so some degree, Spector is the unsung architect of some of Lennons success. I mean you only need to glance at any Lennons greatest hits compilations and see how much of it was produced by Phil. (whats the matter with ya Phillip, its the last fookin' verse!! )

Oh and Let It Be, he produced Let It Be (very well i think, many disagree, including Paul McCartney) All Things Must Pass, Concert For Bangladesh with George Harrison too.

Shit Leonard Cohen, he produced Leonard Cohen too, Death of a Ladies Man!!!

And The Ramones, what a fucking pairing there, Spector and the fucking Ramones, its just so perfect, they were so meant for each other and despite what anyone might say about End of the Century, their work together, historys gonna prove me right on this one too, just watch, that is one of the great albums of the past 30 years, Spector and The Ramones were made for each other.

All this seems to be lost though, lost on everyone and i dont understand why, it honestly fucking escapes me. Its to do with the eccentricity maybe, the sticking a gun to Dee Dee Ramones head and making him play bass to his specifications, the making Johnny Ramone do one chord for 8 hours straight, the violence and torture that his wife Ronnie Spector accused him of (stuff that make Erin and Steph's accusations against Axl Rose pale in fucking comparison, honestly, you gotta look some of this shit up if you dont know it already), threatening Leonard Cohen with a gun, discharging a gun during the sessions for Lennon for the Rock n Roll Album and yeah, the thing he's going through now, with accusations of killing that lady Lana Clarkson, its just fucking crazy, theres TONS TONS more and anyone into all that scandalous rock n roll shit wants to read up on this guy, they really do but...i dunno, all that shit aside, what stands proud is his creative output.

I mean just look at that fucking list, look at the creative output there, look at the quality, the consistent high standard of the resultant product, its just staggering. Now whatever he may or may not be as a human being is not really my issue here, i think, its safe to say that if you're an american, you've heard Phil Spector, even if you dont know it, even if you think you have no idea whatsoever as to who Phil Spector is, trust me, you know, you've heard it.

More than that Phil, to me just...i can't explain it but...his music to me sounds like...coming home after the longest journey ever. It reminds me of home. Maybe because there is something SOOOO New York about Phil and about at least his very early music, its almost (in fact not almost, it IS) a part of the identity of this great fucking place, its like the heart and soul of New York, to me its like a part of my heritage and my identity, a time and place that i feel so familiar with somehow but i dont kid myself that i was ever really a part of it. But...its there y'know? Its in the air, its under the ground we walk on and in our bones here in New York, these sounds tell the story of an entire fucking...wide cross-section of people, black, white, italian, irish, jewish, it crossed over borders and boundaries and groups and became part of the soundtrack of a time, the soundtrack of hundreds of thousands of lives, people lived, loved, dance, sung, drank, cried and laughed and more besides to this shit. Its our history here and in a way, its as real and as full and as rich as that of places whoose history goes back hundreds and thousands of years.

I think, when they write the book on rock n roll when its all said and done, if Phils name ain't in the top five it'll be the gravest miscarriage of justice (not to mention fact) perpetrated against popular culture. Shit, i've really gone on too long here (and i could fucking go further too) but its just that...his full scope is so far reaching and theres so much stuff to touch upon and if you don't at least get a bit of it all in there, you don't paint the proper picture and Phil's had enough half snaps of him taken to last him a lifetime as it is.

Phew, yeah, i'm done. So...any fans?

EDIT: crap, i never even mentioned The Wall of Sound, his fucking trademark, the whole..thing that he created, fuck!! Knew i'd missed something. Fuck it, look it up

Edited April 10, 2009 by dirtylenny

[kevdo242]

Hes absolutely insane. That said, his sound greatly influenced Glasvegas who are well gid.

[Guest deleted_19765]

You have to be listening to the Christmas album this time of year. What a sound!

[inthisriver]

dude, do you do a couple of lines before you come on and post? Cause all of your posts are always just saw AHHHHH!!!

anyway, I don't know much about Phil outside of his work with John and George and stuff... but I'll definitely look into more of his work.

[Guest deleted_19765]

dude, do you do a couple of lines before you come on and post? Cause all of your posts are always just saw AHHHHH!!!

anyway, I don't know much about Phil outside of his work with John and George and stuff... but I'll definitely look into more of his work.

The Christmas album is worth the enthusiasm, check it out.

[inthisriver]

dude, do you do a couple of lines before you come on and post? Cause all of your posts are always just saw AHHHHH!!!

anyway, I don't know much about Phil outside of his work with John and George and stuff... but I'll definitely look into more of his work.

The Christmas album is worth the enthusiasm, check it out.

Thanks, I will.

[Bucketslash]

I'm not a huge spector fan. I can give 5 solid reasons why:

5.The wall of sound simply doesn't transfer well into the cd age, nevermind the digital age. In a world where we get such intricacies where everything begs earphones and headphones to get the full flavor of the music, the blasting wall of sound just doesn't work anymore. It was cool in it's time, but the effect is lost now and to a degree for the better(and if you don't belive me, listen to all things must pass. There are two versions of the album. The 1980 something reissue keeps the wall of sound which severely weakens the jams and the 2001 remaster where george took out the wall and everything just outright sounds better. I think it really oughta be done with all the post beatles lennon stuff)

4.Let it be is just plain inferior to let it be naked. The orchestrations are too out there, the extra crap(i me mine's organ? across the universe?) just don't cut it, and the more "stinging" solo on let it be makes me cringe. My biggest issue is including maggie may and dig it over don't let me down.That just doesn't cut it phil

3.End Of The Century was the beginning of the end of the ramones. The album had some really weak material, was a complete letdown from my favorite, rocket to russia, and lacked alot of the crackling fire of the early stuff/live stuff. To this day i listen to about two songs off that entire album, and Baby I Love You isn't one of them

2.Death of a ladies man? REALLY? Your telling me that of all of Leonard Cohen's phenominal folk work, that death is even on the map? If thats a joke, I'm not smiling. Minimalist Cohen is a minimalist for a reason. It's the same reason Brian wilson has 50 layers of 500 instruments. Phil just can't get that, and is always obsessed with turning everyone into a phil spector group.

1.Phil Spector's damn wall of sound is a piece of studio trickery. Groups do not and are not supposed to sound like that. Which is fine for girl groups and the beach boys. But it sucks the life out of any kind of live way of playing it like a vacuum cleaner. Pretty? Yes. but it doesn't let you hear all the soul.

Don't get me wrong. In that small early 60's era, spector was untouchable. More power to him he influenced pop music and was an evil genius of pop music. But it ended, and while I enjoy what he did, I'm glad it's over.

[GivenToFly]

probably the most unappreciated un-recognised

He's the most famous non-performing composer of the modern music era.

[Guest deleted_19765]

Especially with Bucketslash's post in mind, Spector is now remembered most of all for his collaborations with Rock musicians who were legitimate before and after working with him. I think this is the wrong place to look. He created his own universe with the Ronettes and Crystals, and what a magnificent universe it was.

[kevdo242]

I liked the story about Spector when he was producing the Ramones. Its well known that he'd usually point a gun at a performer if they didn't agree with him. He tried it with the Ramones, and Johnny pointed one back at him.

[Graeme]

I'm not a huge spector fan. I can give 5 solid reasons why:

5.The wall of sound simply doesn't transfer well into the cd age, nevermind the digital age. In a world where we get such intricacies where everything begs earphones and headphones to get the full flavor of the music, the blasting wall of sound just doesn't work anymore. It was cool in it's time, but the effect is lost now and to a degree for the better(and if you don't belive me, listen to all things must pass. There are two versions of the album. The 1980 something reissue keeps the wall of sound which severely weakens the jams and the 2001 remaster where george took out the wall and everything just outright sounds better. I think it really oughta be done with all the post beatles lennon stuff)

4.Let it be is just plain inferior to let it be naked. The orchestrations are too out there, the extra crap(i me mine's organ? across the universe?) just don't cut it, and the more "stinging" solo on let it be makes me cringe. My biggest issue is including maggie may and dig it over don't let me down.That just doesn't cut it phil

3.End Of The Century was the beginning of the end of the ramones. The album had some really weak material, was a complete letdown from my favorite, rocket to russia, and lacked alot of the crackling fire of the early stuff/live stuff. To this day i listen to about two songs off that entire album, and Baby I Love You isn't one of them

2.Death of a ladies man? REALLY? Your telling me that of all of Leonard Cohen's phenominal folk work, that death is even on the map? If thats a joke, I'm not smiling. Minimalist Cohen is a minimalist for a reason. It's the same reason Brian wilson has 50 layers of 500 instruments. Phil just can't get that, and is always obsessed with turning everyone into a phil spector group.

1.Phil Spector's damn wall of sound is a piece of studio trickery. Groups do not and are not supposed to sound like that. Which is fine for girl groups and the beach boys. But it sucks the life out of any kind of live way of playing it like a vacuum cleaner. Pretty? Yes. but it doesn't let you hear all the soul.

Don't get me wrong. In that small early 60's era, spector was untouchable. More power to him he influenced pop music and was an evil genius of pop music. But it ended, and while I enjoy what he did, I'm glad it's over.

i actually think the Wall of Sound was perfected by a little-known Scottish sound engineer called Billy Warton in the 1980s... The sonic landscapes that man created were spectacular, they sounded fucking huge.

[Guest deleted_19765]

I liked the story about Spector when he was producing the Ramones. Its well known that he'd usually point a gun at a performer if they didn't agree with him. He tried it with the Ramones, and Johnny pointed one back at him.

Its enough to make me proud to be an American. I think I should listen to End of the Century now. I'm the first to admit I mostly don't like Punk, but there has always been something appealing about the Ramones, and I have come back to them now and then. Now is such a time.

Its impossible to listen to Spector without considering how fucking crazy and maybe even evil he is, which is another interesting factor in the experience. I can deal with it fairly well.

[spunko12345]

I love Phil Spector, i think he's amazing. I think he's very probably the most unappreciated un-recognised (in terms of the extent of his genius) living contributor to American music. Storys of his eccentricity (and they are plenty) aside, the fucking work speaks for itself. Its so brilliant and so consistent and so perfect. The mans ear is impeccable.

I love the stuff he did with The Beatles obviously and Lennon and Harrison as solo artists and The Ramones etc but more than any of that i LOVE his older stuff, the stuff he made his bones on, the list is just endless and each song is better than the one before, its brilliant.

The sound of his productions, from the beggining is always so deep and rich. That song, To Know Him Is To Love Him by The Teddy Bears is beautiful. Spanish Harlem by Ben E King is a total gem too, relatively understated sounding production, kinda spacey and haunted sounding. Reminds me of the sort of sonic space that dub reggae artists allowed themselves to allow the instrumentations to really ring out and sound really crisp. And King's voice is just fucking superb.

And Curtis Lee, all the shit he did with Curtis Lee, Pretty Little Angel Eyes and Under The Moon, delicious stuff. He even did some work with the guy who did 48 Hours From Tulsa, whoose name escapes me at the moment.

And OH!!! The shit he did with girl groups, like The Crystals, He's A Rebel, Heartbreaker, And Then He Kissed Me and Da Doo Ron Ron, i defy anybody, man or woman to not shake that ass when that song comes on, perfect perfect perfect in every way.

That shit, the shit Phil did with girl groups, to this day, is the watermark, the standard bearer for all girl groups to this day and i dont think its ever been equalled, much less surpassed.

And Darlene Love too, Darlene Love is the absolute queen of the entire fucking universe!!! Wait Til My Bobby Comes Home, Chapel of Love, Today I Met the Boy I'm Gonna Marry, that fuckin song man, to me thats like one of the most perfectly sung songs in the fucking world, that recording of it, the one done with Phil, its just fucking...ugh! I can't even call it!!

The Ronettes too, who have got to be the queen of girl groups in the fucking world, Be My Baby is a fucking anthem, totally untouchable, everytime its on i feel like grabbin' a fuckin hairbrush and goin' all Olivia Newton John And Baby I Love You, The Best Part of Breakin' Up, the list is fucking endless.

And Dion, fucking Dion, Dion DiMucci man!!!! Why is that man not a fucking legend, why is that name not on everybodys lips from here to the fucking rock n roll hall of fame, i demand a fucking answer please!!

And then The Righteous Brothers, Unchained Melody, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling, brilliant.

And the Ike and Tina with River Deep, Mountain High, Save the Last Dance.

See the list honestly really is fucking endless and i haven't really hit the tip of the iceberg yet, there's Lennon's stuff in there, Imagine, Instant Karma, Happy Christmas (War Is Over), that whole Rock n Roll album. I think its fair to say that, so some degree, Spector is the unsung architect of some of Lennons success. I mean you only need to glance at any Lennons greatest hits compilations and see how much of it was produced by Phil. (whats the matter with ya Phillip, its the last fookin' verse!! )

Oh and Let It Be, he produced Let It Be (very well i think, many disagree, including Paul McCartney) All Things Must Pass, Concert For Bangladesh with George Harrison too.

Shit Leonard Cohen, he produced Leonard Cohen too, Death of a Ladies Man!!!

And The Ramones, what a fucking pairing there, Spector and the fucking Ramones, its just so perfect, they were so meant for each other and despite what anyone might say about End of the Century, their work together, historys gonna prove me right on this one too, just watch, that is one of the great albums of the past 30 years, Spector and The Ramones were made for each other.

All this seems to be lost though, lost on everyone and i dont understand why, it honestly fucking escapes me. Its to do with the eccentricity maybe, the sticking a gun to Dee Dee Ramones head and making him play bass to his specifications, the making Johnny Ramone do one chord for 8 hours straight, the violence and torture that his wife Ronnie Spector accused him of (stuff that make Erin and Steph's accusations against Axl Rose pale in fucking comparison, honestly, you gotta look some of this shit up if you dont know it already), threatening Leonard Cohen with a gun, discharging a gun during the sessions for Lennon for the Rock n Roll Album and yeah, the thing he's going through now, with accusations of killing that lady Lana Clarkson, its just fucking crazy, theres TONS TONS more and anyone into all that scandalous rock n roll shit wants to read up on this guy, they really do but...i dunno, all that shit aside, what stands proud is his creative output.

I mean just look at that fucking list, look at the creative output there, look at the quality, the consistent high standard of the resultant product, its just staggering. Now whatever he may or may not be as a human being is not really my issue here, i think, its safe to say that if you're an american, you've heard Phil Spector, even if you dont know it, even if you think you have no idea whatsoever as to who Phil Spector is, trust me, you know, you've heard it.

More than that Phil, to me just...i can't explain it but...his music to me sounds like...coming home after the longest journey ever. It reminds me of home. Maybe because there is something SOOOO New York about Phil and about at least his very early music, its almost (in fact not almost, it IS) a part of the identity of this great fucking place, its like the heart and soul of New York, to me its like a part of my heritage and my identity, a time and place that i feel so familiar with somehow but i dont kid myself that i was ever really a part of it. But...its there y'know? Its in the air, its under the ground we walk on and in our bones here in New York, these sounds tell the story of an entire fucking...wide cross-section of people, black, white, italian, irish, jewish, it crossed over borders and boundaries and groups and became part of the soundtrack of a time, the soundtrack of hundreds of thousands of lives, people lived, loved, dance, sung, drank, cried and laughed and more besides to this shit. Its our history here and in a way, its as real and as full and as rich as that of places whoose history goes back hundreds and thousands of years.

I think, when they write the book on rock n roll when its all said and done, if Phils name ain't in the top five it'll be the gravest miscarriage of justice (not to mention fact) perpetrated against popular culture. Shit, i've really gone on too long here (and i could fucking go further too) but its just that...his full scope is so far reaching and theres so much stuff to touch upon and if you don't at least get a bit of it all in there, you don't paint the proper picture and Phil's had enough half snaps of him taken to last him a lifetime as it is.

Phew, yeah, i'm done. So...any fans?

EDIT: crap, i never even mentioned The Wall of Sound, his fucking trademark, the whole..thing that he created, fuck!! Knew i'd missed something. Fuck it, look it up

Jesus Christ man you dont half rabbit on.