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He may not have been a nice man, but Phil Spector knew how to produce a record. After having pioneered his Wall of Sound production technique, with its immersive use of layered instruments (think Ike & Tina Turner’s ‘River Deep, Mountain High’), he attracted a lot of heavyweight admirers. The Beach Boys and The Beatles were front of line. After being brought in to rearrange Let It Be, George Harrison asked him to co-produce one of my favourite albums, the 1970 triple LP All Things Must Pass. I have featured a number of its songs on this blog, but this classic is still conspicuous by its absence. I love the heavy reverb on ‘Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp’.
Phil Spector died this weekend. His music will live on. Have a great week.