Phil Spector, Part 2

Welcome to Rock & Roll Flashback!  This podcast is called Phil Spector, Part 2, and I will be discussing Phil Spector's famous Wall of Sound recording technique.  Be sure to check out our companion podcast, Phil Spector, Part 1, where I will focus on Phil Spector's influential career in music production!  Phil Spector undoubtedly had numerous character flaws.  My concentration in these two podcasts will be on his music, not his character.

 Andrew Oldham coined the phrase "Phil Spector's Wall of Sound" in advertisements for the Righteous Brothers 1964 hit single "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'".  Phil Spector developed and perfected his Wall of Sound production technique at Gold Star Studios in the 1960s.  To achieve his results, he relied heavily upon the assistance of recording engineer Larry Levine and the group of session musicians later known as "the Wrecking Crew".  

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott. The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John. It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then.
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Transcript

Welcome to Rock & Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John McDermott, and we'll be looking back at some of Rock and Roll's greatest artists, songs, and stories.  Today's podcast is called Phil Spector, Part 2, and I will be discussing Phil Spector's famous Wall of Sound recording technique.  Be sure to check out our companion podcast, Phil Spector, Part 1, where I will focus on Phil Spector's influential career in music production!  Phil Spector undoubtedly had numerous character flaws.  My concentration in these two podcasts will be on his music, not his character.

 Andrew Oldham coined the phrase "Phil Spector's Wall of Sound" in advertisements for the Righteous Brothers 1964 hit single "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'".  Phil Spector developed and perfected his Wall of Sound production technique at Gold Star Studios in the 1960s.  To achieve his results, he relied heavily upon the assistance of recording engineer Larry Levine and the group of session musicians later known as "the Wrecking Crew".  

 [Be sure to check out our four-part podcast series on The Wrecking Crew!]

 Spector maximized the possibilities of studio recording by creating a dense orchestral sound that came across well through radios and jukeboxes of the era.  In 1964 Phil Spector said  [and  I quote]: "I was looking for a sound, a sound so strong that if the material was not the greatest, the sound would carry the record.  It was a case of augmenting, augmenting.  It all fit together like a jigsaw." [end quote]  

The Wall of Sound was more nuanced than simply creating a maximum of noise and distortion.  To attain the Wall of Sound, Spector's arrangements called for large ensembles, often including some instruments not generally used for ensemble playing, such as electric and acoustic guitars.  He also would incorporate an array of orchestral instruments (like strings, woodwind, brass and percussion) not previously associated with pop music.  He used a layering method, where he had multiple instruments doubling or tripling many of the parts to create a fuller, richer tone.  This production technique involved the overlapping of dozens of separate tracks with five or six guitars, three or more pianos, drums, bells, strings and more.  As an example, Spector often duplicated a part played by an acoustic piano with an electric piano and a harpsichord.  When they were mixed well enough, the three instruments would then be indistinguishable to the listener.  Additionally he incorporated reverb and echo chambers to create an overwhelming aural wave.  The combination of large ensembles with reverberation effects also increased the average audio power in a way that resembles audio compression.  Spector called it [and I quote] “a Wagnerian approach to rock and roll:  little symphonies for the kids.” [end quote]

 The intense detail of Spector's recording techniques were unprecedented in the field of sound production for popular music.  According to Brian Wilson, who used a similar formula extensively: [and I quote] "In the '40s and '50s, arrangements were considered 'OK here, listen to that French horn' or 'listen to this string section now.' It was all a definite sound. There weren't combinations of sound and, with the advent of Phil Spector, we find sound combinations, which—scientifically speaking—is a brilliant aspect of sound production." [end quote]

The germ of Phil's recording technique no doubt started during the late 1950s.  Spector worked with Brill Building songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller during this period.  Leiber and Stoller were seeking a fuller sound by the use of excessive instrumentation, using up to five electric guitars and four percussionists.  Leiber and Stoller considered Spector's technique to be very distinct from what they were doing, stating [and I quote]: "Phil was the first one to use multiple drum kits, three pianos and so on.  We went for much more clarity in terms of instrumental colors, and he deliberately blended everything into a kind of mulch.  He definitely had a different point of view." [end quote]

In the 1960s, Spector usually worked at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles because of its exceptional echo chambers.  His typical procedure was fairly consistent.  He would start by rehearsing the assembled musicians for several hours before recording.  The backing track was usually performed live and recorded monaurally.  Songwriter Jeff Barry, who worked frequently with Spector, described the Wall of Sound as [and I quote] "by and large ... a formula arrangement" with "four or five guitars ... two basses in fifths, with the same type of line ... strings ... six or seven horns adding the little punches ... [and] percussion instruments—the little bells, the shakers, the tambourines". [end quote]

Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans' 1962 version of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" formed the basis of Spector and Levine's future mixing practices.  They rarely strayed from the formula that it established.  For example, here is a rough timeline of the recording of 1964's "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'":

•They started by recording four acoustic guitars, playing eight bars over and over again.  

•Then they added the three pianos, and when they didn't quite work together, Spector started again with the guitars. 

•Then came three basses, two trumpets, two trombones, and three saxophones, and finally the drums.  

•The vocals were then added with Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield singing into separate microphones and backing vocals were supplied by the Blossoms and other singers.

All early Wall of Sound recordings were made with a three-track Ampex 350 tape recorder.  Microphones in the recording studio captured the musicians' performance, which was then transmitted to an echo chamber.  The chamber was a basement room fitted with speakers and mics.  The signal from the studio was played through the speakers and reverberated throughout the basement room before being picked up by the microphones.  The echo-laden sound was then channeled back to the control room, where it was recorded on tape.  The natural reverberation and echo from the walls of the echo chamber gave Spector's productions their distinctive quality and resulted in a rich, complex sound that proved to be perfect for AM radio.

During the mixing for "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah", Spector turned off the track designated for electric guitar.  However, the sound of the guitar could still be heard bleeding onto other microphones in the room.  Levine disliked Spector's penchant for mic bleeding saying [and I quote]: "I never wanted all the bleed between instruments – I had it, but I never wanted it – and since I had to live with it, that meant manipulating other things to lessen the effect; bringing the guitars up just a hair and the drums down just a hair so that it didn't sound like it was bleeding." [end quote]

Despite the trend toward multi-channel recording, Spector was very opposed to stereo releases.  Phil claimed that stereo took control of the record's sound away from the producer in favor of the listener.  He felt that this, in turn, would result in an infringement of the Wall of Sound's carefully balanced combination of sonic textures as they were meant to be heard.  Brian Wilson apparently agreed, stating:  [and I quote] "I look at sound like a painting, you have a balance and the balance is conceived in your mind. You finish the sound, dub it down, and you’ve stamped out a picture of your balance with the mono dub down. But in stereo, you leave that dub down to the listener—to his speaker placement and speaker balance. It just doesn't seem complete to me." [end quote] 

It has been inaccurately suggested by critics that Spector's Wall of Sound filled every second with a maximum of noise.  The previously mentioned Righteous Brothers' single "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" stands as an example of a Spector production with open spaces, contradicting the criticism of the Wall of Sound being pure noise.  

Certain records are considered to have epitomized Spector's Wall of Sound.  On July 29, 1963, Spector produced the song "Be My Baby" at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles.  The song was arranged by Jack Nitzsche and engineered by Larry Levine.  The recording of “Baby” was believed to have been Spector’s biggest production up to that time.  The session was the first time that Phil recorded with a full orchestra, and the song is regarded as the perfect example of his Wall of Sound recording technique.  Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett was the only Ronette who actually appears on the record.  The recording session lasted over three hours and included The Wrecking Crew session musicians, string musicians, and Ronnie Bennett, Darlene Love, Sonny Bono, and Cher among the backing vocalists.  The instrumentation on "Be My Baby" features piano, guitars, brass, shakers, castanets, bass, handclaps, strings, and drums.  Drummer Hal Blaine provided the emphatic bass drum hits line that kicked off the song.  Despite the heavy orchestration and dense soundscape, what ultimately resonates about the song is lead singer Ronnie Bennett’s vibrant vibrato vocal.  In 2006, the Library of Congress inducted the Ronettes' recording of "Be My Baby" into the United States National Recording Registry.  The song would be the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching #2 in the U.S. and #4 in the UK.  It is often ranked as among the best songs of the 1960s, and it is regarded by some as one of the greatest songs of all time.

"Be My Baby" was a major influence on artists such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys, who went on to innovate with their own studio productions.  Brian Wilson first heard "Be My Baby" while driving and listening to the radio.  He was so amazed by the song that he pulled over to the side of the road in shock at what he had just heard.  Wilson has always maintained that "Be My Baby" was the greatest record ever produced.  

Spector believed that his production of Ike and Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High" was  the summit of his Wall of Sound productions.  George Harrison agreed.  Harrison called "River Deep" a perfect record from start to finish. 

 Soon numerous producers were recording songs in a manner similar to Spector's Wall of Sound.  Just think of the Beach Boys' 1966 songs "Good Vibrations", "God Only Knows", & "Wouldn't It Be Nice", Simon & Garfunkle's 1970 "Bridge Over Troubled Water", 10cc's 1975 "I'm Not in Love", Queen's 1975 "Bohemian Rhapsody", and songs by the Shangri-La's, ABBA, Bruce Springsteen, and many, many more.

 This has been Rock and Roll Flashback… an episode entitled Phil Spector, Part 2, where I reviewed Phil Spector's famous Wall of Sound recording technique.  Be sure to check out our companion podcast, Phil Spector, Part 1, where I focus on the influential music production career of Phil Spector!  I'm Jumpin' John McDermott, and until next time….Rock On!