I read this book not knowing what to expect but I did know of Glyn Johns… so many of my albums had his name on it…A name that is known throughout the music industry as a great recording engineer, producer, and mixer. Glyn has worked with huge rock groups such as The Rolling Stones, Beatles, Who, Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, The Band and more.
Glyn is a no-nonsense guy and unlike most of the autobiographies of musicians in that era, he never did drugs and always did his job well. Glyn wanted to be a singer and did make a few records, he covered Rolling Stones Lady Jane, but he stuck with engineering and gradually became a producer.
Back when Glyn started in the early sixties engineers did not graduate to producing. It was very much a British class system in the music industry. He became the first freelance engineer in the industry because of the clients he attracted. He was one of the first to record the Stones and he began a relationship with them that lasted for years. He knew the Stones because he was really good friends with Ian Stewart and even shared a flat with him.
The Beatles called him to engineer Let It Be and he also helped engineer some of Abbey Road. He worked on Led Zeppelin’s first album. He produced Steve Miller’s first albums and also the first couple of Eagles albums.
This book will be very interesting to classic rock fans. Many anecdotes about the Stones, Beatles, Who and others. Glyn minces no words and has a reputation for saying what is on his mind. He isn’t too technical about recording in the book, he keeps it at a fast enjoyable pace.
He worked on some of the most classic albums ever. The Stones 60’s albums and the classic stretch of albums the Stones released until Black and Blue. He worked on Who’s Next, Quadrophenia, Led Zeppelin, A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… to a Blind Horse, Who Are You, Slowhand, just to name a few.
One interesting thing that happened in 1969. Glyn met Bob Dylan and Dylan told Johns that he would like to make an album with the Beatles and Stones. Glyn went back to England very excited and told Keith Richards and George Harrison and they were all for it. Ringo, Charlie, and Bill said they would do it. John didn’t say no but Mick and Paul said absolutely not…leaves you to wonder what it would have sounded like…
At the bottom of the page, I copied his discography from Wikipedia…it is incredible.
Excerpt from Sound Man about the Stones.
While Keith, Charlie, and Bill drove the band rhythmically, Mick’s energy and intellect drove everything else. I was constantly amazed by his skill as a songwriter and by the extraordinary energy he managed to summon for his vocal performances in the studio.
Both Mick and Keith would take an active part in the mixing process and drove me nuts making me mix a track for hours when I felt I had got it in the first couple of passes. We certainly did not always agree. I guess it would have been even more boring if we had. There were a couple of occasions when finally putting the album together I would play back earlier mixes that I had done on my own, to compare with the one they had chosen after hours of farting around, and in the cold light of day they would agree that mine were better. Equally, there were many occasions when they insisted on me changing a mix quite drastically from the way I heard it, with great effect.
Working with the Stones for all those years certainly had some amazing moments and I am proud to have been associated with them during a period of time when their music was so influential. However, Charlie summed it up perfectly when asked in a recent interview his experience of being in the band for fifty years. He replied, “Ten years of working and forty years of hanging around.”
Excerpt about The Beatles Let It Be
I had been retained originally as an engineer and was quite happy with that, even when I realized that George Martin was not producing. He did come to Twickenham a couple of times to check us out. He had arranged for the gear to be loaned for the recording at Savile Row and turned up on the day we did the filming on the roof, but had nothing to do with the production of the music. At the outset I was quite embarrassed when I realized he was not going to be involved. A couple of days into the project I asked Paul where George Martin was, only to be told that they had decided not to use him. By the time we moved to Savile Row, George, realizing I was in an awkward position, was kind enough to take me to lunch in order to put my mind at rest, saying I was doing a great job, everything was fine, and I was not stepping on his toes in any way. What a gentleman he is.
Having delivered the mixed master of my version of Let It Be, I approached each member of the band separately, asking if I could have a production credit on the album when it was released. I made it quite clear that I was only asking for that and not a royalty. Paul, George, and Ringo had no objection to my request but John was suspicious and could not understand why I was not asking for a royalty. I explained that I felt, because of their stature, the sales of the album would not be affected by my involvement one way or another, so a credit would be a fair settlement for what I had done, as by association it could only be positive for my career in the future. I never got an answer from John.
As it turned out, none of this mattered, as in the end, after the group broke up, John gave the tapes to Phil Spector, who puked all over them, turning the album into the most syrupy load of bullshit I have ever heard. My master tape, perhaps quite rightly, ended up on a shelf in the tape store at EMI. At least my version of the single of “Get Back”/“Don’t Let Me Down” had been released in April 1969.
Below is Glyn’s discography…what a body of work.
Artist | Year | Album | Producer | Engineer | Mixing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Georgie Fame | 1964 | Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo | |||
The Rolling Stones | 1965 | December’s Children | co-eng. | co-mix. | |
The Pretty Things | 1965 | Get the Picture? | co-prod. | ||
The Rolling Stones | 1965 | Out of Our Heads | co-eng. | co-mix. | |
The Rolling Stones | 1966 | Aftermath | co-eng. | co-mix. | |
The Rolling Stones | 1966 | Got Live if You Want It! | |||
Chris Farlowe | 1966 | The Art of Chris Farlowe | |||
The Small Faces | 1966 | Small Faces (Decca) | |||
Chris Farlowe | 1966 | 14 Things to Think About | |||
Twice as Much | 1966 | Own Up | |||
The Small Faces | 1967 | From the Beginning | |||
Rolling Stones | 1967 | Between the Buttons | |||
The Small Faces | 1967 | Small Faces (Immediate) | |||
The Rolling Stones | 1967 | Flowers | co-eng. | co-mix. | |
The Rolling Stones | 1967 | Their Satanic Majesties Request | |||
Johnny Hallyday | 1967 | San Francisco (EP) | |||
The Rolling Stones | 1968 | Beggars Banquet | |||
The Steve Miller Band | 1968 | Children of the Future | |||
Twice as Much | 1968 | That’s All | |||
The Pentangle | 1968 | The Pentangle | |||
The Move | 1968 | Something Else from the Move | |||
Spooky Tooth | 1968 | It’s All About | |||
The Small Faces | 1968 | Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake | |||
The Steve Miller Band | 1968 | Sailor | |||
Gerry Temple | 1968 | Burn Up! | |||
Procol Harum | 1968 | Shine on Brightly | |||
The Move | 1968 | The Move | |||
Easybeats | 1968 | Vigil | |||
Traffic | 1968 | Traffic | |||
Billy Nichols | 1968 | Would You Believe | |||
The Steve Miller Band | 1969 | Brave New World | |||
Family | 1969 | Family Entertainment | |||
The End | 1969 | Introspection | |||
The Beatles | 1969 | Abbey Road | |||
Joe Cocker | 1969 | Joe Cocker! | |||
Johnny Hallyday | 1969 | Johnny Hallyday | |||
Led Zeppelin | 1969 | Led Zeppelin | |||
The Rolling Stones | 1969 | Let it Bleed | |||
The Steve Miller Band | 1969 | Your Saving Grace | |||
Lambert and Nuttycombe | 1970 | At Home | |||
Bob Dylan | 1970 | Self Portrait | co-eng. | ||
The Rolling Stones | 1970 | Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! | |||
Humble Pie | 1970 | Humble Pie | |||
Philamore Lincoln | 1970 | The North Wind Blew South | |||
Billy Preston | 1970 | That’s the Way God Planned It | |||
Leon Russell | 1970 | Leon Russell | |||
The Beatles | 1970 | Let it Be | |||
Joe Cocker | 1970 | Mad Dogs & Englishmen | |||
Delaney & Bonnie & Friends | 1970 | On Tour with Eric Clapton | |||
The Move | 1970 | Shazam | |||
The Band | 1970 | Stage Fright | co-eng. | ||
Spooky Tooth | 1970 | The Last Puff | |||
McGuinness Flint | 1970 | McGuinness Flint | |||
The Faces | 1971 | A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… to a Blind Horse | |||
Boz Scaggs | 1971 | Boz Scaggs & Band | |||
Ben Sidran | 1971 | Feel Your Groove | |||
McGuinness Flint | 1971 | Happy Birthday, Ruthie Baby | |||
Jesse Ed Davis | 1971 | ¡Jesse Davis! | |||
Leon Russell | 1971 | Leon Russell and the Shelter People | |||
Boz Scaggs | 1971 | Moments | |||
Rita Coolidge | 1971 | Nice Feelin’ | |||
Howlin’ Wolf | 1971 | The London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions | |||
Humble Pie | 1971 | Rock On | |||
Graham Nash | 1971 | Songs for Beginners | |||
The Rolling Stones | 1971 | Sticky Fingers | co-eng. | co-mix. | |
Spooky Tooth | 1971 | Tobacco Road | |||
The Who | 1971 | Who’s Next | co-prod. | ||
Eagles | 1972 | Eagles | |||
The Rolling Stones | 1972 | Exile on Main St. | co-eng. | co-mix. | |
Rita Coolidge | 1972 | The Lady’s Not for Sale | |||
Neil Young | 1972 | Harvest | co-eng. | ||
Nicky Hopkins, Ry Cooder, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts | 1972 | Jamming with Edward | |||
Chris Jagger | 1973 | Chris Jagger | |||
Eagles | 1973 | Desperado | |||
Eric Clapton | 1973 | Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert | |||
The Faces | 1973 | Ooh La La | |||
The Who | 1973 | Quadrophenia | co-prod. | co-eng. | |
Ric Grech | 1973 | The Last Five Years | |||
Paul McCartney and Wings | 1973 | Red Rose Speedway | co-eng. | ||
Gallagher & Lyle | 1973 | Seeds | |||
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils | 1973 | The Ozark Mountain Daredevils | co-prod. | ||
Gallagher & Lyle | 1973 | Willie and the Lapdog | |||
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils | 1974 | It’ll Shine When It Shines | co-prod. | ||
The Rolling Stones | 1974 | It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll | |||
Eagles | 1974 | On the Border | co-prod. | co-eng. | |
Gallagher & Lyle | 1974 | The Last Cowboy | |||
Georgie Fame | 1974 | Georgie Fame | |||
Fairport Convention | 1975 | Rising for the Moon | |||
The Who | 1975 | The Who by Numbers | |||
Andy Fairweather Low | 1976 | Be Bop ‘n’ Holla | |||
Fools Gold | 1976 | Fools Gold | |||
Joan Armatrading | 1976 | Joan Armatrading | |||
Ron Wood & Ronnie Lane | 1976 | Mahoney’s Last Stand | |||
The Rolling Stones | 1976 | Black and Blue | co-eng. | ||
Buckacre | 1976 | Moring Comes | |||
The Bernie Leadon—Michael Georgiades Band | 1977 | Natural Progressions | |||
Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane | 1977 | Rough Mix | |||
Joan Armatrading | 1977 | Show Some Emotion | |||
Eric Clapton | 1977 | Slowhand | |||
Eric Clapton | 1977 | Backless | |||
Craig Nuttycombe | 1977 | It’s Just a Lifetime | |||
Joan Armatrading | 1978 | To the Limit | |||
Paul Kennerly and various Artists | 1978 | White Mansions | |||
The Who | 1978 | Who Are You | co-prod | co-eng. | |
Mark Benno | 1979 | Lost in Austin | |||
Joan Armatrading | 1979 | Steppin’ Out | |||
Live Wire (band) | 1979 | Pick it UP | |||
Lazy Racer | 1980 | Formula II | |||
Tim Renwick | 1980 | Tim Renwick | |||
Paul Kennerly | 1980 | Legend of Jessie James | |||
Danny Joe Brown | 1981 | Danny Joe Brown and the Danny Joe Brown Band | |||
Jools Holland | 1981 | Jools Holland and His Millionaires | |||
Midnight Oil | 1981 | Place Without a Postcard | |||
Nine Below Zero | 1981 | Don’t Point Your Finger | |||
Chris de Burgh | 1981 | Best Moves | |||
The Clash | 1982 | Combat Rock | |||
The Who | 1982 | It’s Hard | |||
Local Boys | 1983 | Moments of Madness | |||
Various artists | 1984 | ARMS Concert | |||
Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Albert Lee, | 1984 | No Introduction Necessary | |||
Téléphone | 1984 | Un Autre Monde | |||
Bob Dylan | 1984 | Real Live | |||
Immaculate Fools | 1985 | Hearts of Fortune | |||
Téléphone | 1986 | Le Live | |||
Roaring Boys | 1986 | Roaring Boys | |||
The Big Dish | 1986 | Swimmer | |||
New Model Army | 1986 | The Ghost of Cain | |||
Joolz | 1987 | Hex | |||
Spooky Tooth | 1987 | Spooky Tooth | |||
Helen Watson | 1987 | Blue Slipper | |||
Labi Siffre | 1987 | (Something Inside) So Strong | |||
John Hiatt | 1988 | Slow Turning | |||
Nancy Griffith | 1989 | Storms | |||
Green on Red | 1989 | This Time Around (Green on Red album) | |||
John Hiatt | 1990 | Stolen Moments | |||
Summerhill | 1990 | West of Here | |||
Del Shannon | 1991 | The Liberty Years | |||
Energy Orchard | 1992 | Stop the Machine | |||
Ethan Johns | 1992 | Independent Years | |||
David Crosby | 1993 | Thousand Roads | |||
Crosby, Stills, & Nash | 1994 | After the Storm | |||
The Subdudes | 1994 | Annunciation | |||
Jackopierce | 1995 | Bringing on the Weather | |||
Bruce Cockburn | 1994 | Dart to the Heart | |||
Joe Satriani | 1995 | Joe Satriani | |||
The Beatles | 1996 | Anthology 3 | co-eng. | ||
Eric Clapton | 1996 | Crossroads 2: Live in the Seventies | |||
The Rolling Stones and various artists | 1996 | The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus | |||
Warm Jets | 1997 | Future Signs | |||
Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings | 1998 | Struttin’ Our Stuff | |||
Linda Ronstadt | 1998 | We Ran | |||
Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings | 1999 | Anyway the Wind Blows | |||
Emmylou Harris & Linda Ronstadt | 1999 | Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions | |||
Various artists | 1999 | Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons | |||
John Hiatt and various artists | 20o2 | Disney’s The Country Bears | musical dir. | ||
Bruce Cockburn | 2005 | Speechless | |||
Andy Fairweather Low | 2006 | Sweet Soulful Music | |||
The Clash | 2008 | Live at Shea Stadium | |||
Ian McLagan & the Bump Band | 2008 | Never Say Never | + mastering | ||
Ryan Adams | 2011 | Ashes & Fire | |||
Ben Waters | 2011 | Boogie 4 Stu: A Tribute to Ian Stewart | |||
The Rolling Stones | 2012 | Charlie is My Darling: Ireland 1965 | |||
The Staves | 2012 | Dead & Born & Grown Up & Live | co-prod. | ||
The Rolling Stones | 2012 | GRRR! | |||
Band of Horses | 2012 | Mirage Rock | |||
Ethan Johns | 2012 | If Not Now Then When? | |||
Aaron Neville | 2013 | My True Story | |||
Patty Griffin | 2013 | Silver Bell | |||
Stephen Stills | 2013 | Carry On | co-prod. | co-eng. | co-mix |
Bob Dylan | 2013 | Another Self Portrait (1969-1971: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 10) | co-eng. | ||
Benmont Tench | 2014 | You Should Be So Lucky | |||
Ian McLagan & the Bump Band | 2014 | United States | |||
Joe Satriani | 2014 | The Complete Studio Recordings | |||
Bruce Cockburn | 2014 | Rumours of Glory (True North) | |||
David Bowie | 2014 | Nothing Has Changed | co-eng. | ||
The Small Faces | 2014 | Here Come the Nice: The Immediate Years 1967-1969 | |||
The Small Faces | 20.. | Greatest Hits: The Immediate Years 1967-1969 | |||
The Faces | 2015 | You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything: 1970-1975 | |||
Various artists | 2015 | Truckers, Kickers, Cowboys Angels: The Blissed-Out Birth of Country-Rock , Vol. 7: 1974 | |||
Various artists | 2015 | Songs: The Very Best of Acoustic – The Collection | co-prod. | ||
The Rolling Stones | 2015 | From the Vault: The Marquee Club Live in 1971 | |||
Paul McCartney | 2016 | Pure McCartney | |||
Eric Clapton | 2016 | I Still Do | |||
Eagles | 2017 | Their Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 | |||
Jesse Ed Davis | 2017 | Red Dirt Boogie: The Atco Recordings 1970-1972 |
I’ve seen this one but haven’t read it. Talk about working with a whose who of artists he worked with everyone! The Dylan wanting to make an album with The Beatles and The Stones is an interesting story. What would that have been like? A lot of egos involved there.
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That shocked me…with one or the other I could see… Glyn said he had an idea…to pull songs from John and Paul, Mick and Keith, George, and Bob…and match the best rhythm section for the song.
Bob got closer to his wish with the Traveling Wiburys… My question is why Mick and Paul would not even consider it.
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I would have at least looked into it if I were them.
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I believe it came down to egos like you said… Keith and George should have just done it… btw I love the Charlie Watts quote…I think I heard it before but the one about after 50 years together it was 10 years of working and 40 years of hanging around…
I think you would like the book.
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George and Keith over the years seemed more willing to join along with other big names more readily than the others-especially Paul and Mick.
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You are right…they are similar in some ways…especially both being PR minded.
I would have loved to have heard a Lennon/Richards song.
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Off topic- did you see Dodgers leading in Machado sweepstakes…..completed episodes 3 and 4 of Life On Mars- season 2– funny when he introduced himself as Tony Blair.. and his reaction to Santana at the party!
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Yes, I saw that about the Dodgers. They will have to get Baltimore eat salary but they have the prospects to give…that is for sure. It is exciting…He would make that lineup just great…
I remember that… I learned so much of British culture in the seventies from that show. The next episode is wonderful. I looked it up to make sure so I wouldn’t give it away. It will have you googling probably.
I just wish they would have made another season. John Simm said it wore him out because he was in every shot.
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This book has been on my reading list for a couple of years now. Hopefully, if there is a mega-anniversary release of Let it Be, his original mix will be included.
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I think you would enjoy reading it. The volume of artists he worked with is incredible. He doesn’t have an acid tongue but he doesn’t mind telling the truth to anyone…no matter who it is.
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I really hope there is a Let It Be release. Hours and hours of film never seen. Glyn talks about that in his book.
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I’ve seen his name here and there, but never in a way that caught my attention. Wow, that’s a long list of successful projects. From your description, he has a great personality for working in rock and roll.
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Yes, he does. It was a book that I didn’t know I would like but I really did. He is a very common sense direct type of guy in a music world where that doesn’t always apply.
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