All those Grammy-nominated albums — who makes them? The musicians, obviously. But they’re busy singing, playing and writing songs, so somebody has to worry about the bass and treble knobs, make sure the guitars are in tune and — tactfully — tell the star when she starts to sound like Ethel Merman.
That’s the producer, whose role varies widely. Some, such as Britney Spears’ Max Martin, are old-fashioned studio Svengalis who help create the stars they’re hired to work with. Others are hands-off: “When I’m working on a record, substantive decisions about how the music should be made and played are made by the band,” says Chicago punk pioneer Steve Albini, who has produced Nirvana and Bush.
Grammy voters know it takes more than talent and microphones to make a great record. (Perhaps that’s why legendary producer Phil Ramone just earned his 29th award nomination.) Nirvana’s grunge classic “Nevermind” might have been a whisper without Butch Vig’s roaring influence; rapper Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott’s beats might have been half as phat without the imaginative Timbaland; and the late ’60s hippie-mode Beatles needed the tie-wearing George Martin to make the psychedelic classic “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
We talked to six studio citizens to find out just what it is they do and how they do it.
THE PRODUCERS
STEVE ALBINI
From Chicago; former member of Big Black; current member of Shellac; pre-eminent punk-rock producer of the late ’80s and early ’90s; outspoken critic of standard record-label practices.
ARTISTS YOU’VE WORKED WITH
Nirvana, Pixies, Bush, Veruca Salt, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (as an engineer), Bottletones, Dragbody and a host of punk and underground bands.
MOST MEMORABLE ALBUM
“There are some people I’ve worked with again and again — Silkworm, a Northwest band that recently moved to Chicago; a lady from New York, Nina Nastasia. I haven’t worked on records I generally play for entertainment [other] than those two.”
HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR JOB?
“I’ve never been comfortable thinking of myself as a record producer. I basically provide the technical knowledge and experience to get done whatever the band wants to get done. If a band says, ‘All right, this song needs to have a really distant ghostly feel,’ for example, I’ll need ambient microphones in the distance.”
NOTABLE STORIES
“Bearing in mind that I’ve made over 1,000 records, it’s difficult for me to say with any clarity that this one record was the best or the most fun or whatever.”
IF YOU WEREN’T A PRODUCER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
“I might have carried on doing something I did in college — studying journalism … . But before I struck out on my own, I was a photograph retouch artist. I got pretty good at it.”
THE PRODUCERS
Joan Osborne
From Louisville; New York blues-club circuit graduate best known for 1995 hit “One of Us”; her first production project, Holmes Brothers’ Southern-gospel CD “Speaking In Tongues,” was released in 2001.
ARTISTS YOU’VE WORKED WITH
The Holmes Brothers.
HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR JOB?
“I had seen [the Holmes Brothers] so many times at 3 in the morning at a blues club where everyone’s dancing and the condensation’s dripping off the ceiling. I wanted to try to re-create that level of comfort for them so they could relax and be themselves.”
NOTABLE STORIES
“The studio had this amazing chef, Lu, and once she heard the Holmes Brothers, she started cooking up these amazing Southern dishes. The Holmes Brothers reserved judgment until they actually tasted the food. And all of a sudden Wendell [Holmes] stood up and said, ‘Lu, this is right!’ You’d be surprised how important the food is during these sessions.”
IF YOU WEREN’T A PRODUCER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
“Gee, well maybe I’d raise sheep and knit sweaters for a living. I feel like I’ve still got a few good years in me as an artist.”
THE PRODUCERS
Jim Gaines
From Pickwick, Tenn.; part-time ’60s studio employee of the Stax Records; witness of classic sessions by Otis Redding, Booker T. and the MG’s, Isaac Hayes and Stevie Ray Vaughan; he mostly produces blues artists.
ARTISTS YOU’VE WORKED WITH
Steve Miller Band, Huey Lewis and the News, Tower of Power, Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Luther Allison, Coco Montoya.
MOST MEMORABLE ALBUM
Stevie Ray’s ‘In Step,’ because that was the last band album he did. I was the first ‘outsider’ producer they brought in. … I had to kind of fight for my space; [Vaughan] wasn’t used to someone telling him, ‘It’s not good enough. Try again.’ “
HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR JOB?
I call myself a coach — of the team, the engineers, the assistants, the musicians. I’m not a person who says, ‘Play this chord here and that chord there.’ I’ll tell you, ‘This chord here isn’t working and that chord isn’t working.’ “
NOTABLE STORIES
When Vaughan and his band, Double Trouble, recorded the instrumental “In Step,” they didn’t know Gaines had only seven minutes of tape left. “The song keeps going and going and it’s really good; then it’s, ‘Oh, no, the tape’s gonna run out any minute!’ I was trying to get someone’s attention — I gave [drummer] Chris Layton the cut sign. He gave Stevie the cut sign. He hit the last chord and I had about four seconds left.”
IF YOU WEREN’T A PRODUCER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
“Gosh, I’ve done this since I was 21 years old! I started as an engineer in Memphis at the tiniest jingle company as a gofer.”
THE PRODUCERS
Karriem Riggins
A Detroit-based producer who contributed to Chicago-bred rapper Common’s “Like Water for Chocolate” album; he’s also a jazz drummer, mostly for veteran bassist Ray Brown’s trio.
ARTISTS YOU’VE WORKED WITH
Common, Erykah Badu, Black Thought (of the Roots), Jay Dilla (Detroit rapper).
MOST MEMORABLE ALBUM
“A song called ‘Back and Forth,’ by Slum Village, from Detroit — they’re on ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ too. It’s just one of the best songs I’ve ever produced — everything came together perfect.”
HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR JOB?
“Someone who oversees a project — someone who, along with the artist, has a vision for an album, who basically controls the budget, picks the songs, helps formulate the choruses and leads the whole thing.”
NOTABLE STORIES
“Not really anything that stands out.”
IF YOU WEREN’T A PRODUCER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
“I would be into counseling — children between the ages of 5 and 11.”
THE PRODUCERS
Phil Ramone
Originally a New York City child violin prodigy; he opened his first studio in 1961; more recent work includes both Frank Sinatra “Duets” albums and Tony Bennett’s latest, “Playin’ with My Friends.”
ARTISTS YOU’VE WORKED WITH
Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, Elton John, Bob Dylan and the Band, Paul Simon, Natalie Cole, George Michael.
MOST MEMORABLE ALBUM
“Well, [Joel’s] ’52nd Street’ and ‘The Stranger,’ [Simon’s] ‘Still Crazy After All These Years.’ They’re sort of landmarks for the artist — that’s prime for me when the artist comes across as clearly as they do.”
HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR JOB?
“I tend to be a minimalist. At the end of the day, the most important thing is [that] the artist’s name and picture appear on the front of the album. They’ll live and die by that album.”
NOTABLE STORIES
During one Joel session in the ’70s, Ramone encouraged the singer-songwriter to bring unfinished work to the studio. “We’d get to a verse and we’d have to stop because Billy wouldn’t have it finished. Sometimes when that happened, Liberty [DeVitto, Joel’s drummer] would throw his drumsticks across the room and say, ‘If you’re not going to be prepared, we’re not going to play!’ That’s some of the humor that comes through to break the tension.”
IF YOU WEREN’T A PRODUCER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
“Probably be a teacher, I guess. I know nothing else but having an instrument in my hands.”
THE PRODUCERS
Dave Trumfio
A Chicago-born producer and engineer, he moved to Los Angeles and opened a studio about a year and a half ago.
ARTISTS YOU’VE WORKED WITH
Billy Bragg and Wilco (as an engineer), the Aluminum Group, OK Go, Baldwin Brothers.
MOST MEMORABLE ALBUM
“The Mates of State, a husband-and-wife duo from Lawrence, Kan. — just drums and organ. I got a copy [of their upcoming CD] today. It says, ‘Recorded by Dave Trumfio in one week.’ Some of the greatest records are live records, done really fast.”
HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR JOB?
“A lot of times it just depends on how much the band wants you to get involved. Some want you to have a big role in the arrangements. I’m there more as a technical adviser, someone who knows how to take it from songs to getting it onto the CD.”
NOTABLE STORIES
“I did have one guy walk into the control room completely naked after a take. Everybody was just in shock– at least, all the people at the studio, like myself and my assistant. But the band wasn’t shocked at all. They were more or less like, ‘He does this at parties too.’
IF YOU WEREN’T A PRODUCER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
“I’d probably be a chef. It’s a strong hobby. Mostly Italian gourmet.”
