How much influence on a bands sound does a producer actually have?

When I first started listening to music I would wonder how much influence the producer had over the bands sound. I never quite ‘got’ what a producer did, or why some were praised over others. Funnily enough it was hearing an example of bad album production that finally clarified it for me and then I began to see a producers influence on many other albums I owned.

I guess I should start with the bad album that broke through my brain-lock on this issue. I have listened to and loved the music of Eric Clapton almost as long as I have been choosing my own music. One of my first albums was ‘Journeyman’ and one of my favourite live albums is still ‘24 Nights’. I have been a huge EC fan from an early age. Then he brought out ‘Pilgrim’ and although I enjoy the songs and music on offer, something is sadly lacking. It feels flat and lifeless and has none of the raw, honest musical feeling I love from Clapton’s previous work. I soon realised that the element at fault was the production. Clapton had chosen his friend, Simon Climie, to produce his album and whilst he may be a good friend and musician in his own right, his production skills were somewhat lacking. The album sounds over produced, everything is over compressed and the heart and breath of the music had been stripped out of it. It is harder than that to articulate quite what I mean. I still listen to this album, in fact that is what prompted this article, but I do wince at the sound now and again.

The influence of a producer on an artists sound cannot be underestimated. One producer who has a very unique sound is Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange. He produced a lot of the rock bands I liked growing up and his recording of backing vocals is very distinctive indeed. So much so that I have heard a song by Bryan Adams and thought it was Def Leppard, both of whom he produced during that period. This is most obvious if you compare the Bryan Adam’s track ‘Thought I’d Died and Gone to Heaven’ and Def Leppard’s ‘Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad‘, both of which are power ballads. Luckily I love both artists and this didn’t grate on my nerves, but it does go to show the impact the producer has on a bands sound.

Another highly influential producer is Rick Rubin whose production credits reads like a who’s who or the music industry. He is famed for his stripped back production style and hands off approach to the bands he produces and over the years has helped revive numerous musicians careers. Most notably, Johnny Cash, Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers. But as you will see he has produced such a range of musical artists, across a range of genres it is almost staggering. Names include (but aren’t limited to) Beastie Boys, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Neil Young, Slipknot, Audioslave, Jay-Z, Gogol Bordello and most recently Adele. I’m sure you’d agree that this is an eclectic list and the fact that all of these artists have sold multi platinum albums and have had huge success (whether before or after Rubin’s involvement) is testament to the calibre of his production skills and desirability.

I think Rubin’s success comes from actually allowing the artists sound to breathe on its own, without his own stamp being put on the music. Each artist mentioned here has their own individual sound and this isn’t altered in any way by Rubin, instead he pares back the elements that may be muddying the waters and allows the musicians to create an album that best reflects their music and talents. Maybe this is the best kind of producer anyone could wish for.

Just from these three examples alone you can see that the producer can easily make or break an album. Bad production can turn off new or existing fans, if producers use the same tricks with the bands they produce, they run the risk of sounding generic and if they get the balance just right they can allow a band to create the music they were destined to make and help it on it‘s path to the wider world.

I will always check the producer when I buy albums these days, more often out of interest than anything else, but some producers names make me ponder what I’m about to hear, whereas others, like Rick Rubin, are a mark of quality. Why not go over some of the favourite albums in your collection and see if any of them are linked by the producer who worked on them, you may be pleasantly surprised.