Every so often, a record producer comes along whose mastery of the studio takes on a legendary status. The early years of pop showed off the technical talents of George Martin and Phil Spector; the world of disco gave a platform to Quincy Jones and Geogio Moroder (Quincy’s hand in making Michael Jackson’s ‘Off The Wall’ a global success cannot be understated – it’s a stunning sounding record) and the rock scene gave Martin Birch plenty to apply a distinctive style.
Category Archives: Miscellaneous
The Nine Lives of Metallica
With Metallica having announced ‘S&M Volume II’ in July 2020, we revisited the first recording from 1999 and it was just about as terrible as we remembered. A second volume of Metallica tunes bolstered by a symphony orchestra isn’t necessarily going to appeal to an audience beyond the die hard fans, but then, it’s those die hards who’ve helped keep the band afloat through good and bad over several decades.
On the eve of a new album that’s bound to split opinion, Real Gone takes a look back at the times Metallica missed the mark.
The Great 80s Project: 1989
…And so, Real Gone reaches the inevitable end of The Great 80s Project, but what an amazing year for music! The charts didn’t always reflect the interesting things going on, but in terms of albums, it’s a year full of wonder.
REAL GONE SESSIONS: Mick Terry – Big Sur
It took Mick Terry a very long time to record and release his second album ‘Days Go By’. The record started to take early form just a year after his 2010 debut ‘The Grown Ups’ and a couple of songs – ‘Pop’s A Dirty Word’ and ‘Riverbend’ – appeared online in early versions around that time.
The final record, though, seemed to have a tricky birth. Real life got in the way. Having a Transatlantic producer and differing time zones didn’t help. Eventually making its way into the world about five years later than planned, ‘Days Go By’ was worth waiting for. Each one of its tracks resembled a classically retro pop nugget; a musical love letter to AM radio artists like Andrew Gold and 10cc.
The Great 80s Project: 1986
With debut albums from Crowded House and The Housemartins standing alongside massive hits from Madonna, a-ha and Red Box, 1986 would already have a strong enough grounding to challenge 1984 as one of the decade’s finest years for music. With Huey Lewis’s ‘Fore!’ challenging 1983’s as his masterpiece, a strong AOR debut from Robert Tepper and Jackson Browne’s ‘Lives In The Balance’ channelling a very commercial sound, it was also very much a year for great Transatlantic AOR and sounds that now seem so entrenched within that decade, you can’t help but love them.