The Greatest Producer

[Screwtape2]

Who do you think the greatest producer is and why?


To me it is Todd Rundgren.

Straight Up by Badfinger
New York Dolls by New York Dolls
We're An American Band by Grand Funk Railroad
Ass by Badfinger
Shinin' On by Grand Funk Railroad
Bat Out Of Hell by Meat Loaf
Remote Control by Tubes
Wave by Patti Smith Group
Guitars and Women by Rick Derringer
T.R.A.S.H. by The Tubes
Forever Now by Psychedelic Furs
Next Position Please by Cheap Trick
Love Bomb by The Tubes
Skylarking by XTC
Ra by Utopia
Todd By Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren's Utopia by Todd Rundgren
Love Junk by The Pursuit of Happiness
Initaition by Todd Rundgren
Liars by Todd Rundgren
and many more.

Every album he has produced is a great headphone album which is one way to judge great production. He always gets the best out of each artist he works with. No one is better at creating mood and atmosphere with an album.

Now who is yours?

 

[LemonMelon]

George Martin

Resume: THE BEATLES.

Or, another genius producer (from more recent times) would be Danger Mouse. I love his work with Gorillaz, Gnarls Barkley, etc...

 

[LMP]

My favorites are Brian Eno, Rick Rubin, George Martin, and Nigel Godrich.

The greatest however, I have no clue.

 

[Lancemc]

Can't say for sure about the Greatest.

But my personal favorite is Daniel Lanois.

Emmylou Harris' Wrecking Ball. Just listen to it.

 

[jimmmm]

Tony Visconti

 

[jacobus]

@jimmm: yep Tony Visconti is amongst the greatest producers: t. rex, david bowie, philip boa & the voodoo club etc great work

Brian Eno, Flood, Rick Rubin, Tony Visconti, George Martin, Jacob Hellner, Gordon Raphael

 

[If you shout...]

You people are fucking insane. Have you never heard of Phil Spector?

 

[Laura M]

Have you never heard of Phil Spector?

I was sure I was going to see Phil Spector before I got to the last post...

 

[Hewson]

You people are fucking insane. Have you never heard of Phil Spector?

Number one with a bullet!

 

[U2girl]

Either Phil Spector or George Martin.

 

[Lancemc]

Actually, the greatest ever would probably be Tom Dowd. He was always years ahead of the other guys.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

 

[dudeman]

great list of people so far.
a couple of my faves -
nigel godrich - if for nothing else than 'ok computer', but i rather like the spacious production on beck's 'sea change' also (among other things)...
butch vig - 2 words: 'siamese dream'. he also did 'gish' and is responsible for 'nevermind'. those sounds defined the early nineties. he perfected that guitar army thing, and i LOVE it.
john leckie - he really got 'the stone roses' perfect - i love how those melodic acoustic guitars slash through the songs, and the electric parts are just dirty enough. always kept the rhythms buoyant and jumping. not to mention 'a storm in heaven' by the verve, probably my favorite produced album ever. the whole thing sounds like it's in some otherworldly cave. just beautiful....oh yeah, i almost forgot - he also did 'the bends' (except for 'black star' - godrich).
alan moulder - he's the one responsible for 'nowhere' by ride and the insane balancing act that is 'mezcal head' by swervedriver. guitar noises squall and scream at you from every direction, never distracting, always adding to the whole.

are they the best ever? i don't know, probably not. that debatable title would probably have to go to mr. spector, but they are a few of my absolute faves, and have immeasurably influenced how i make music, probably as much as the artists they produced...

 

[INDY500]

Eddie Kramer. He produced a few bands you may be familiar with.
Led Zeppelin
Jimi Hendrix

Plus live albums from:
The Rolling Stones
Peter Frampton
Kiss
Woodstock Festival

Mutt Lange:
AC/DC
Def Leppard
Foreigner
The Cars
The Corrs
And he has a hot wife as well.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

What about Brendan O'Brien? I know about him via Bruce, but this is what it says on Wikipedia. I'm sure he's not the greatest but he must be pretty good.



Brendan O'Brien is a record producer, engineer and mixer who has worked with many artists, including Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Our Lady Peace, Aerosmith, The Wallflowers, Matthew Sweet, Limp Bizkit, Lifehouse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, KoЯn, Follow For Now, Trey Anastasio, Rage Against the Machine, The Black Crowes, Aimee Mann, Bruce Springsteen, Audioslave, Papa Roach, Train, The Offspring, Phish, Incubus, King's X, Johnny Law, Uncle Green (later known as 3 lb. thrill), and Soundgarden. He is generally thought of as one of the more important music producers of the 1990s.

 

[bollox]

it's hard to argue against eno

here are some other guys who've done stuff i like

nigel godrich
flood
butch vig
steve albini

and where's the love for hip-hop? the following guys have made some amazing stuff

dr. dre
timbaland
the bomb squad
the neptunes

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

Phil Spector, no question.

Martin Hannett.

And Brian Wilson ought to be mentioned for 'Good Vibrations' alone.

 

[LMP]

You people are fucking insane. Have you never heard of Phil Spector?

Wall-of-Sound

But it ruined Let It Be

 

[No spoken words]

Quincy Jones, perhaps, belongs on the list.

I refuse to call anyone the greatest anything of all time when it comes to art forms, but, there are a lot of amazing producers appearing in this thread.

 

[MrBrau1]

and where's the love for hip-hop? the following guys have made some amazing stuff

dr. dre
timbaland
the bomb squad
the neptunes

don't they actually do most of the work: Everything except write lyrics and pose for pictures?

Hip Hop producers aren't producers. They're artists.

The "artist" they produce is usually just a PR toy.

 

[LyricalDrug]

Mr. The Edge, of course