Salutations™!!
Yesterday, it was announced that murderous, yet borderline genius Phil Spector had passed away at the age of 81. Spector was serving out a 19-to-life in prison for the murder of Lana Clarkson whom he shot in his mansion/castle in Los Angeles. Be that as it may, he was previously best known for his “Wall of Sound” (WOS).
I have read someone compare his WOS ambitions to Wagner and how epic Richard Wagner’s compositions were. The WOS was Wagnerian in scope. He wanted to make it sound as if the listener was encased in the sound.
Some critics didn’t like that. They thought he cheapened or perhaps covered a lot of crap from the artists’ renderings of the tunes. I like production and I have conflicting feelings about the WOS. If you’re wondering about what the WOS is, well, you can listen to The Beatles Let It Be album. It’s all over that. If you don’t believe me, then listen to Let It Be: Naked which is the album without the WOS treatment. I actually prefer his work on this album.
One of the things about the Righteous Brothers’ music, in particular the two biggest hits, “Unchained Melody” and “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” (which Spector co-wrote) that I have never liked is how they sound like they’re in a big underground tank. That is Spector’s doing. I hate that.
So, as I said, hit or miss with him for me. Spector died on January 16, 2021 from natural causes. Some said it was C-19 but it’s been confirmed it was just death and nothing more. RIP, I guess, Phil. You definitely left a mark on music. I know this is a very truncated post about Phil but who has time to write all that? Plus, Given how I’m hit or miss, I’m even more hit or miss to the man himself, so…
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
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“I’m dealing in rock’n’roll. I’m, like, I’m not a bona fide human being.” – Phil Spector