Phil Spector invented surround sound.He knew that a beat surrounding you with singing is very tribal and uplifting.He thought out of the box for that time.He might be a lunatic but he gave us modern music from that day on and that’s huge
@@Versul1 "The first documented use of surround sound was in 1940, for the Disney studio's animated film Fantasia" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surround_sound
Brian Wilson loved it so much that he tried to replicate the sound himself but did it even better. He speaks highly of Phil Spector and his favorite song is Be My Baby.
@@strnglhld I strongly disagree, Brian is great but he was never able to emulate the Spector sound and he continued to produce great records when Brian got obsessed with ‘Smile’ and did very little else of note.
As a DJ back in the 70’s I always marvelled at how Phil Spector could fill so much ‘space’ with this hit format? It literally hit your senses like a ‘wall’ - incredible and unequalled to this day!
The first time you hear a PHIL SPECTOR record you are amazed at the level of production. The 2nd time you listen to that record you are listening to the record as you would any other....do you like the singer and the song. The 3rd time you listen to that same record you start to listen to the music - the wall itself - and begin to try and hear all the instruments. It is at this point you become obsessed with trying to figure out how many instruments are on the recording and you listen forever.
The comment about tiredness leading to blending of sound is intriguing. A piano graduate student told me the reason I could play so well when I was really tired was because I would lose my inhibitions and self-consciousness, allowing me to perform at the level of my abilities.
@@Versul1 The main problem with Let It Be was that a lot of the tracks were written and recorded (before Phil Spectre came into the scene) to be played with a simplistic arrangement rather than something as complex and bombastic as the Wall of Sound.
@@TooCooFoYou The strings were written by one of his arrangers and it was modest at first and then Phil kept calling for more strings, brass, harps choirs. Paul hated it and I don't blame him. I am sorry I've heard his stuff and all I hear is noise, a cacophony of noise and you'll never convince me otherwise.
I loved his string obsession, he put strings on everything and they were wondrous arrangements; I’ve listened to his music and heard absolute genius production.
ronetts, crystals etc forever.... the effect that the wall of sound had on me as a teen when it arrived was like a drug. i needed no drugs or chemicals. this sound made me high and gave me, gives me still an out of body experience. fantastic music.
@@bpfromowc I mean, the dude was well-known in the industry for pulling a gun out and threatening you with it. It was only a matter of time before the trigger was pulled.
He was a musical genius who changed the musical landscape for good, people can try and deny that but it’s a fact. So many of his records are considered to be amongst the greatest ever made. His obvious mental health issues and later the murder won’t change that.
Spector was a nut && a genius! As soon as "his songs" come on;such as the Ronettes "Be My Baby" I don't know about anyone else, but I immediately know who it is. Unmistakable...But, what do I know? The music has stood the test of time. I was born on 75' I love this stuff! 😎
Sounds like the backdrop to heaven. The vocals being the foreground, whose surroundings clearly surpass them in beauty; but whose surroundings could never exist without those angels...
I listen and cry for my wasted years!. I had my Dad&Mom, my whole life ahead..I was 12 or 13 the Ronettes...Neil Sedaka...Carole King...Shirelles....Where did our time go??.
You can fill the road ahead of you with more than you've filled your life up with until now. I too spend my time worrying about time that has past, while wasting the time I'll dwell the same way over down the road. It's just a mindfuck.
I love how you clearly hear the bass part. kit's really inventive for the time. Kids of all backgrounds sitting in the audience enjoying the same song together. in the middle of the Civil Rights era.
The "wall of sound" can still be found in some contemporary music genres, most notably shoegaze, space rock, noise rock, industrial, no wave, black metal and post-rock, where the instrument is incentivized as a textural and dynamic ingredient in the overall timbre and atmosphere of the music. His recording innovations are beautiful, and I find the wall of sound as such to this very day. Lovely, epic and grandiose.
yuWIN the wall of sound is more about recording all the parts at the same time in the same room to capture the raw energy and bleed of the music. Not just whatever u just said. No offense
I will tell you something for nothing ... NO ONE could ever or will be ever able to re-create the Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" it stands in Music History for ALL TIME Thanks for posting.
-_- if you cant appreciate wall of sound then lol whatever but .. for me its so deep because wall of sound even found itself into some awsome old punk music.. albeit no one liked to work with phil spector .. including the ramones.. but i look at it like how i like rush and also red hot chili peppers.. i love the ronettes .. nd i also love the merseybeats
George Styer 2 years ago OK not the guy you would invite to dinner...but and make no mistake...this guy was the inspiration for music for generations to come. Wall of Sound..Positive and absolute top sound producer..but Ohhhhhh. Phil Spector will go down in history for all the wrong things George Styer 3 years ago OK.Phil Spector not the nicest of guys...but..the wall of sound he created gave so many truly wonderful singing groups like the Crystals to name but a few a real chance to show real talent ...What would our memories be without all this talent. Thanks to all you people that upload all this old time music I can relive my youth...
This blew me away when I saw this on tv!....love the way the girls put their hands on their hips and turn to the side....it was all happening back then, wasn't it?...lol....Loved it, Love It!
Never will be a time like it again. For those who were lucky enough to be there, no explanation is necessary. For those not a part of it no explanation is possible.
I just bought the DVD off of Amazon... I can't wait to watch it! Finlacy, if your father is still with us, give him my thanks! It's a shame that more documentaries of the early days of the music industry weren't done. We have lost so much pure musical skill to "technological advancements"...
Warning: VERY long comment. It may be hard, but let's forget for a moment what Phil Spector did in his personal life. The guy was the textbook example of a mad genius. 5 guitars, two basses harmonized (not just doubled), several keyboard instruments (piano, electric piano, harpsichord etc), an orchestral level number of horns, percussions including, in addition to drums, tiny bells and shakers, all blending into to this divine sound that would require every god from every religion (both modern and ancient) to imitate . Songs and albums like Be My Baby, River Deep, Mountain High, You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Let It Be (I may be in the minority, but I don't care for the naked version that much), Unchained Melody, all of George Harrison's "All Thing Must Pass" are considered among the greatest and most iconic in the history of modern music. Spector's Wall Of Sound made them beautiful, made them haunting, made them powerful and it made them immortal. Now would any of these recordings be milestones if it were for the mad producer's Midas touch? It's entirely possible. It's even possible that some of them could have been better (though surviving a trip through a black hole is more plausible). But if even a few of these recordings would had been inferior (and therefore more likely to have been forgotten) the timeline of pop music would have been much different, and, in my personal opinion, a lot less bright. The only other producer I can think of that deserves this enormous amount of praise is Brian Eno, who created his own "wall of sound" through ambient flourishes that often used electronic instrumentation. Both were legendary and did something similar, but both were polar opposites in terms of how they did it. I understand this comment is one hyperbolic statement after another, but considering the sheer number of politicians from all eras, cultures and ideologies that receive as many hyperboles as they receive votes, despite deserving none of either, I have no shame in giving actual visionaries their entirely justified respect.
To the naysayers: Wall of Sound is great because it's interesting for the ear to listen to. Read about f.e. stochastic noise. The brain likes "noise" - which, as a concept isn't limited to white, pink, brown noise. Furthermore, the "melting together" of complex harmonics is loved by both our ears and our hearts. PERIOD. That's all there is to that debate. Do I like clean sound as well? Yes. Of course. Of COURSE I can frickin' indulge in a Steely Dan or Roxy Music production. OF FRICKIN' COURSE. Who can't? But that doesn't take anything away from Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. It's just something else. It's "all good" - so to speak. There's no "this is right" or "this is wrong" when it comes to music and sound. Only rule is: if it touches our emotions: it's good. And that's it.
Ronnie Bennett... Rose of Spanish Harlem and lead vocalist on the greatest pop record ever made!. Phil Spector distilled pop music to its purist form on Be My Baby. A work of high sonic Art.
THis music changed me forever. From 12 years old to hear this magic music who could fail to be moved by it.. The wall of sound, soul music and Otis Redding, stevie wonder etc etc.
i remember as a kid in the 80's listening to the "oldies" and loved them. The only problem i ever had with them was they were too short. I remember La Bamba and hearing the extended music for the movie and just amazed at the instrumental middle portions. Imagine and extended version with the wall of sound letting people enjoy the music for 4+ minutes instead of 2. Still love the music.
Nope. Otherwise you'd be supporting and buying the product of pedophiles and the "art" of serial killers. NO. Morality MUST pertain and come into your life and your spending and purchases.
don't know what to say, the spector sound was amazing for our 60's generation. It was 40 years ago! I adored this music and still do. She was shot through the mouth? Unbelievable
I guess I liked the "wall of sound" because it seemed to capture the energy of being at a concert. It didn't work for everything, but songs like Be My Baby wouldn't be quite the same without it. I held Phil Spector in high esteem because of so many songs I liked that he had been evolved with. When I heard the truth about Ronnie and the Ronettes and Phil's darker side, I was very disappointed. It would be nearly impossible to remain squeaky clean in the music industry. When money and drugs are driving forces, you can expect problems. However, it appears that Phil had problems long before either of these came along. As bad as I feel about Phil, I still get a thrill when I watch Ronnie singing Be My Baby in '65. It just wasn't smart to do what he did to that girl and that group. I guess not as bad as murder though.
Phil is a classic case of progeny born to two first cousins whose parents were first cousins as well (both of his grandfathers were named George Spector). Mental and emotional instability is a hallmark of close inbreeding as are physical attributes at the edges of the normal range or often beyond. Both Phil and his sister, as well as his father and mother were more than a trifle off. As Spector aged, his ability to control himself-- never particularly good at any point, anyway-- declined until the instability took over completely. Always mecurial, Phil alternated between rational genius Phil and berserk genius Phil. His legendary tirades were often filled with astonishingly penetrating insight.
@@Versul1 I'm coming to the same conclusion, Don. I've been listening very carefully to his work since Ronnie died (2 months after you replied to Michavioln's excellent 7 year old comment). It is certainly an identifiable sound, but it's so bombastic and overdone, as you said. Unfortunately, it's all about being way over the top these days, too. Just listen to any of the competitive music programs on tv - if you can. Over-wrought and anonymous... but perfect. Said the old dude who never amounted to a hill of beans.
What's really important to remember here is that back in the day the music was designed to be heard in mono coming thru the single speaker in the middle of a car's dashboard or a transistor radio speaker
+Nicky L Yes! A strong 6 x 9 speaker driven by a tube amp. Still see myself in a 56 Pontiac listening to "Workin' in a Coal Mine" on that beautiful radio. The bass was pure.
In the 80s I used to listen to AM radio with 1 earphone jammed into my right ear. The radio was inside a stuffed animal that looked like a frog. No wonder I misunderstood so many lyrics >.
I think Wall of Sound was an attempt to give texture and dimension to mono recordings, and it worked. It was mono in stereo (or stereo in mono). Sounds mystical, which it is.
It gave a stereo sound in a mono setting. It was worth it for him to go through with it. If I was a band or musician during that time I would of loved working with Spector cause I respect audio quality. I would even change my approach
There's something almost eerie about it, the echoes of echoes and densely-packed musicians playing take after take until they were exhausted and melded together. The vocal track sort of floated in this. My favorite example is River Deep, Mountain High.
My god......the great, rushing, swirling echoes and indefinable links...and energy. In quieter moments the distant, gorgeous textures underlayed with stratospheric strings and glittering percussion. People think he overdubbed to death, but that stuff came right up off the floor. Of course he used every electronic trick in the book; it didn’t just happen. George Harrison’s “What Is Life” is still unbelievable; it just grabs and takes you.
The jump in music engineering in general of the sixties is incredible. Feels like there was “before the sixties” and “after the sixties”, and a lot of that was bc of Phil Spector being a pioneer. So much experimentation then
I'm sort of a turntable snob! It always amazes me how guys will play these rare as hell records on anything short of a audiophile set-up, but, I'm sure Jeff knew what he was doing. Now excuse me, I have to go play a few Ronettes records!!
The first time Brian Wilson heard a Phil Spector record he just killed it he loved it so much and was inspired by that record who wrote that song and all that time be my baby was and still too this day his favorite song I got to have that CD man
During the mixing of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", by Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans , Spector eliminated the electric guitar track, played by Billy Strange. But the guitar sound could still be heard because he slipped through the other microphones in the room , creating an aerial atmosphere that darkened the instrument. It was at this moment that the complex of relationships among all the layers and aspects of the sonic texture came together to bring the desired imagen into focus. As long as Strange’s unmiked guitar plugs away as one of the layered timbral characters that make up the track’s rhythmic groove, it is simply one strand among many in a texture whose timbres sound more like impressionistic allusions to instruments than representations. But the guitar has a latency about it, a potential. Because it has no microphone of its own, it effectively inhabits a different ambient space from the rest of the track. As it chugs along in its accompanying role, it forms a connection with a parallel sound world of which we are, for the moment, unaware. Indeed, we would never know of the secondary ambient layer were it not for the fact that this guitar is the one that takes the solo. As it steps out of the groove texture and asserts its individuality, a doorway opens to an entirely other place in the track. It becomes quite clear that this guitar inhabits a world all its own, which has been before us from the beginning yet has somehow gone unnoticed....The Wall of Sound was a revolutionary technique like Cinerama on movies. So complex, before the 5.1 or 7.1 or Dolby systems...Phil Spector was a genius.
You may hate him but he produced some of the greatest songs ever.Even his christmas album was huge with the wall of sound and ronnie and the girls spectors music is practicaly the soundtrack to Goodfellas
I still can't decide if i like the Wall of Sound or not, i wasn't a fan of The Beatles: Let it Be, but then I listened to Let it Be...Naked, the release of the same album without the postproduction by Spector and instantly loved it, finally I could listen to The Beatles who were hidden under unnecessary noise on the original release. Listen to The Long And Winding Road and then the "Naked" version of the same track, you decide which is better.
It is very effective for making metal music very large and epic sounding, It reminds me on natural compression. Listen to Hyper Drive by Devin Townsend, it makes the soundtrack grow and envelope the room in sound. I have been working with audio for several years and Devin Townsend is my favorite producer and artist for overall sound creativity and uses this technique amazingly.
It also worked well for the time because it made music much better to listen to through an AM radio; it was a more full sound compared to a few instruments being recorded by the likes of Elvis and Cash records of the 50s.
really talented guy who defined culture and made a lot of memories for a lot of people... his career had a bizarre ending. in 2003 he shot and killed the actress from Deathstalker/Barbarian Queen (Lana Clarkson) and spent the rest of his life in prison. sadly the entertainment industry is filled with such tragedies.
Thank you for posting! The cookbook for a musical art form... Remember when these recordings were produced virtuallly everything was single speaker and hits depended on how they sounded played from a transistor radio.
Just by arranging and producing "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers, Spector will pass to immortality as one of the best records producer in history. His 'Wall of Sound' is the "Wagnerian approach to rock n roll. He also produced the John Lennon album Imagine and the Beatles 'Let it be'. Now, I am wondering if the lawyers in the trial mentioned that Spector retired in the 1970's because of the auto accident in which he was involved. "Spector was almost killed, and it was only because the attending police officer detected a faint pulse that Spector was not declared dead at the scene. He was admitted to the UCLA Medical Center on the night of March 31, 1974, suffering serious head injuries that required several hours of surgery, with over 300 stitches to his face and more than 400 to the back of his head.[26] His head injuries, Thompson suggests, were the reason that Spector began his habit of wearing outlandish wigs in later years."
+Ralph Smith Hi buddy. could not agree more Bobbie Hatfield's Unchained Melody goes down as the pinnacle of perfection along with the greatest women's rock song of all time, River Deep Mountain High. Both arranged by who:?
Phil Spector did not produce Unchained Melody. a simple wikipedia search will tell you this. stop spreading nonsense bullshit, this is why people walk around thinking they know what they talk about, cuz they heard/read it from some dumbass somewhere.
Thank you Phil for your "Wall of Sound." Espically for convincing Eric Clapton to keep it with "Tell the Truth." II hope you're done with your demons. RIP
