The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector in the 1960s. Wall of Sound may refer to: Music The music production technique first used by Phil Spector which used many instruments to create the effect of a Wall of Sound. The Wall of Sound record label. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Harvey Philip Spector (born December 26, 1939) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. ...

Spector created a dense, layered, and reverberant sound that reproduced well on AM radio and jukeboxes popular in the era. He created this sound by having a number of electric and acoustic guitarists perform the same parts in unison, adding musical arrangements for large groups of and orchestral musicians, and then recording the sound in an echo chamber. Mediumwave radio transmissions (sometimes called Medium frequency or MF) are those between the frequencies of 300 kHz and 3000 kHz. ... A Zodiac jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that can play specially selected songs from self-contained media. ... In popular music an arrangement is a setting of a piece of music, which may have been composed by the arranger or by someone else. ... For other uses, see Orchestra (disambiguation). ... This article is about the technological device. ...

Description

To attain this signature sound, Spector gathered large groups of musicians (playing some instruments not generally used for ensemble playing, such as electric and acoustic guitars) playing orchestrated parts — often doubling and tripling many instruments playing in unison — for a fuller sound. As well, Spector arranged the songs for large groups of musicians playing instruments traditionally associated with orchestras (such as strings, woodwinds, and brass). Spector himself called his technique "a Wagnerian approach to rock & roll: little symphonies for the kids". An electric guitar An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into electrical current, which is then amplified. ... An acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the Classical guitar, but generally strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound. ... For other uses, see Unison (disambiguation). ... In popular music an arrangement is a setting of a piece of music, which may have been composed by the arranger or by someone else. ... For the popular-music magazine, see Musician (magazine). ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883) was an influential German composer, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas. ...

While Spector directed the overall sound of his recordings, he took a relatively hands-off approach to working with the musicians themselves (usually a core group that became known as The Wrecking Crew, including session players such as Hal Blaine, Steve Douglas, Carol Kaye, Glen Campbell, and Leon Russell), delegating arrangement duties to Jack Nitzsche and having Sonny Bono oversee the performances, viewing these two as his "lieutenants." The Wrecking Crew was a nickname given to a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. ... Hal Blaine (b. ... Steve Douglas is an artist who has worked as a comic book illustator and editor. ... Carol Kaye (b. ... For the town in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, see Glen Campbell, Pennsylvania. ... Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges on April 2, 1942 in Lawton, Oklahoma, United States) is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist. ... Bernard Alfred (Jack) Nitzsche (Chicago, April 22, 1937 – Hollywood, August 25, 2000) was an integral presence in the history of popular music in the 20th century. ... Salvatore Phillip Sonny Bono (February 16, 1935) – January 5, 1998) was an American record producer, singer, actor, and politician whose career spanned over three decades. ...

Spector frequently used songs from songwriters employed at the Brill Building, such as the teams of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Spector often worked with the songwriters, receiving co-credit for compositions. The first time Spector put the same amount of effort into an LP as he did into 45s was when he utilized the full Philles roster and the Wrecking Crew to make what he felt would become a hit for the 1963 Christmas season. A Christmas Gift for You arrived in stores the day of the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Artists rendition of the Brill Buildings main entrance on Broadway The Brill Building (built 1930) is an office building located at 1619 Broadway in New York City, just north of Times Square. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg, 1938, Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Ellie Greenwich (born 1940, Brooklyn, N.Y.) comprised one of the most prolific and successful Brill Building song writing and production teams in the early 1960s. ... Barry Mann (born Barry Iberman on February 9, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American songwriter, and part of one of the most prolific songwriting partnerships in the world of rock music. ... Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1937 in New York City) is a prominent American songwriter. ... Gerry Goffin (born February 11, 1939) is an American lyricist. ... Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. ... A 12-inch record (left), a 7-inch record (right), and a CD (above) Two 7 singles (left), two colored 7 singles (middle), and two 7 singles with large spindle holes (right). ... A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector is an album of Christmas songs; a collaboration between many pop/R&B artists that had records produced by Phil Spector. ... John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ... is the 326th day of the year (327th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1963 (disambiguation). ...

Recording techniques

Spector was already known as a temperamental and quirky personality with strong, often unconventional ideas about musical and recording techniques. Despite the trend towards multi-channel recording, Spector was vehemently opposed to stereo releases, claiming that it took control of the record's sound away from the producer in favor of the listener. Spector also greatly preferred singles to albums, describing LPs as, "two hits and ten pieces of junk". Label for 2. ... An LP Long playing (LP), either 10 or 12-inch diameter, 33 rpm (actually 33. ...

In the 1960s, Spector usually worked at the Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles because of its exceptional echo chambers, essential to the Wall of Sound technique. Microphones in the recording studio captured the sound, which was then transmitted to an echo chamber—a basement room outfitted with speakers and microphones. The signal from the studio would be played through the speakers and would reverberate around the room, being picked up by the microphones. The echo-laden sound was then channeled back to the control room, where it was transferred to tape. Gold Star Studios was a major independent recording studio located in Los Angeles, California. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... This article is about the technological device. ... For the Marty Friedman album, see Loudspeaker (album) An inexpensive low fidelity 3. ... Microphones redirects here. ...

The natural reverberation and echo from the hard walls of the room gave his productions their distinctive quality and resulted in a rich and complex sound when played on AM radio, with an impressive depth rarely heard in mono recordings. This article is about audio effect. ... Mediumwave radio transmissions (sometimes called Medium frequency or MF) are those between the frequencies of 300 kHz and 3000 kHz. ... Label for 1. ...

Songwriter Jeff Barry, who worked extensively with Spector, described the Wall of Sound as: Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg, 1938, Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Ellie Greenwich (born 1940, Brooklyn, N.Y.) comprised one of the most prolific and successful Brill Building song writing and production teams in the early 1960s. ...

"basically a formula. You're going to have four or five guitars line up, gut-string guitars, and they're going to follow the chords...two basses in fifths, with the same type of line, and strings...six or seven horns, adding the little punches…formula percussion instruments — the little bells, the shakers, the tambourines. Phil used his own formula for echo, and some overtone arrangements with the strings. But by and large there was a formula arrangement."

The Wall of Sound may be compared with “the standard pop mix of foregrounded solo vocal and balanced, blended backing”. In contrast, “Phil Spector's 'wall of sound' (‘one mike over everything’) invites the listener to immerse himself in the quasi-Wagnerian mass of sound: For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... The perfect fifth or diapente is one of three musical intervals that span five diatonic scale degrees; the others being the diminished fifth, which is one semitone smaller, and the augmented fifth, which is one semitone larger. ... In a symphony orchestra the horn section is the group of musicians who play the horn (sometimes referred to as the French horn). ... “Buben” redirects here. ... This article is about the genre of popular music. ... In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer (solo is an Italian word literally meaning alone). ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as they were later called). ...

"…he buried the lead and he cannot stop himself from doing that…if you listen to his records in sequence, the lead goes further and further in and to me what he is saying is, 'It is not the song...just listen to those strings. I want more musicians, it's me”

(again Jeff Barry, quoted in Williams 1974, p.91).

This can be contrasted with the open spaces and more equal lines of typical funk and reggae textures [for example], which seem to invite the listener to insert himself in those spaces and actively participate.

(Middleton 1990, p.89). For other uses, including related musical genres, see Funk (disambiguation). ... Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. ...

Criticism

The Beatles' album Let It Be was re-produced by Phil Spector and is cited as a famous example of his "Wall of Sound". Paul McCartney claimed that the production had ruined the work, particularly McCartney's composition "The Long and Winding Road", and a "de-Spectorized" version of the album was released as Let It Be... Naked in 2003. George Harrison and John Lennon ostensibly favored the production style, continuing to use Spector on various solo projects. The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Let It Be redirects here. ... Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, entrepreneur, painter, record producer, film producer, and animal-rights activist. ... Let It Be track listing The Long and Winding Road is a ballad written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) that originally appeared on The Beatles album Let It Be. ... Let It Be… Naked, released on November 18, 2003, is a remastered and remixed version of the original session tapes from the 1970 Let It Be album by the Beatles. ... For other persons named George Harrison, see George Harrison (disambiguation). ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ...

Recordings produced by Spector for Leonard Cohen and Ramones have been subject to much criticism. Cohen's Death of a Ladies' Man employed a grand Wall of Sound and was a direct departure from Cohen's usual stark acoustic sound. The Ramones' End of the Century blended punk rock with the wall of sound in hopes of creating a more radio-friendly sound. Fans and members of the Ramones dismissed the album after its release. However, it contains some of their most well-known songs. Leonard Norman Cohen, CC (born September 21, 1934 in Westmount, Quebec) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. ... This article is about the band. ... Death of a Ladies Man is the fifth and most controversial of Leonard Cohens albums. ... End of the Century is the fifth album by the Ramones. ...

Other references

The term "wall of sound" first appeared in print in the New York Times on June 22, 1874, in a description of Richard Wagner's redesigned Niebelungen Theatre in Bayreuth, Germany, which placed the orchestra (for the first time, it seems) in an orchestra pit in front of the stage rather than behind the opera singers: "The mere sinking of the orchestra is, however, not the only innovation. Wagner leaves there, a space of eighteen feet wide, and extending the entire breadth of the stage (not merely of the proscenium) and extending up to the roof, perfectly free. He calls this the Mystic Space, because he intends that here the invisible 'wall of music,' proceeding from the invisible orchestra, shall separate the real (that is the audience) from the ideal (the stage pictures.) If we may so express ourselves, the audience will perceive the scenes through an invisible wall of sound." The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as they were later called). ... Bayreuth [pronounced by-royt] is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Frankish Alb and the Fichtelgebirge. ... An orchestra pit is the usually lowered area (hence pit) in front of a stage where an orchestra accompanies the performers. ...

The term became popularly used around 1945 to describe sound of the jazz orchestra led by Stan Kenton, with its booming trombone, trumpet, and percussion sections. The same term (more commonly known as "sheets of sound") was also frequently used to describe the improvising style of tenor sax player John Coltrane, particularly his way of running through scales rapid fire—the individual notes blurring into a larger pattern. Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. ... Sheets of sound was a term coined in 1958 by Down Beat magazine jazz critic Ira Gitler to describe the new, unique style of John Coltrane. ... Coltrane redirects here. ...

Grateful Dead

The term "Wall of Sound" was also used to describe the enormous public address system designed by Owsley Stanley specifically for the Grateful Dead's live performances circa 1974. The Wall of Sound fulfilled the band's desire for a distortion-free sound system that could also serve as its own monitoring system. Raymond Scott nicknamed the vast array of homemade sequencers and synthesizers that took up a wall of his studio the "wall of sound". The Wall of Sound was an enormous sound system designed specifically for the Grateful Dead by legendary soundman and LSD chemist Owsley Bear Stanley. ... School public address system A public address or PA system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a given sound (e. ... This article is about the LSD chemist and Grateful Dead soundman. ... Raymond Scott, 1937 Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow, September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994), was an American composer, orchestra leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio maverick, and electronic instrument inventor. ...

Other songs using technique

"Be My Baby", a 1963 hit for The Ronettes, written by Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich and produced by Phil Spector, is often cited as the quintessential expression of the Wall of Sound^[1]. The Ronettes version of "Sleigh Ride" - one of the better-known versions of the song - also heavily used the effect, while Swedish pop group ABBA used a similar technique in their earlier songs, including "Ring Ring", "Waterloo", and "Dancing Queen". Harry Nilsson's hit "Everybody's Talkin'," which became the theme song for Midnight Cowboy used Wall of Sound-style production techniques. This article is about the 1963 song. ... The Ronettes first album The Ronettes were a girl group of the 1960s from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. ... Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg, 1938, Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Ellie Greenwich (born 1940, Brooklyn, N.Y.) comprised one of the most prolific and successful Brill Building song writing and production teams in the early 1960s. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Harvey Philip Spector (born December 26, 1939) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. ... The Ronettes first album The Ronettes were a girl group of the 1960s from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. ... Sleigh Ride was written by Leroy Anderson in 1948, and was first recorded in 1949 by Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops Orchestra. ... Abba redirects here. ... Ring Ring was a 1973 single by ABBA, which gave the group their big break in Australia and parts of Europe (though the rest of Europe and North America were introduced to ABBA the following year). ... Audio sample Info (help· info) Waterloo was the first single from ABBAs second album Waterloo, their first for Epic and Atlantic. ... Dancing Queen is the biggest hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA, and as such is considered to be their signature song. ...

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's landmark Born to Run, which includes more than 30 guitar tracks incorporates Spector's "Wall of Sound" approach. The most recent example of the Wall of Sound technique was in Mariah Carey's holiday hit "All I Want for Christmas Is You".The metal band Strapping Young Lad are also well-known for using this technique. Born to Run is a rock album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). ... This article is about the singer. ... This article is about the Mariah Carey song. ...

Shoegazing

Shoegazing, a style of alternative rock, is influenced by Wall of Sound. Shoegazing emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s and lasted until the mid 1990s, peaking circa 1990 to 1991. Common musical elements in shoegazing are distortion, delay, and chorus effects, droning riffs and a "wall of sound" from noisy guitars. Typically, two distorted rhythm guitars are played together to give an amorphous quality to the sound. Although lead guitar riffs were often present, they were not the central focus of most shoegazing songs. Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze or shoegazer; practitioners referred to as shoegazers) is a genre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. ... Alternative music redirects here. ...

Vocals are typically subdued in volume and tone, but underneath the layers of guitars is generally a strong sense of melody. While the genres which influenced shoegazing often used drum machines, shoegazing more often features live drumming. Chapterhouse and Seefeel utilised both samples and live drumming. Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Chapterhouse is a British shoegazing band of the early 1990s, originally from Reading. ... Seefeel are a British music group. ...

Sources

1. ^ allmusic

• Middleton, Richard (1990/2002). Studying Popular Music. Philadelphia: Open University Press. ISBN 0-335-15275-9.
• Williams, Richard (1974/2003). Phil Spector: Out Of His Head. Abacus. ISBN 0-7119-9864-7. Cited in Middleton (1990).