Phil Spector technique
Phil Spector mostly majored in two techniques that are layering and reverb. Most producers usually deal with pianos, drums, and guitar among other, while Spector usually had several guitars, several pianos, several drums, etc . this resulted to a feeling of hugeness and thickness because of the use of over the top reverb (Braasch, 2016) . The music that he produced sounded like five bands were playing the same song; this is where the name “the wall of sound came from .” Spector intended to create a dense aesthetic that was best for the radio stations and the jukeboxes. He wanted a situation whereby if the content of the song were not great then the sound would be good and please everybody.
Then he kissed me
In the production of “Then he kissed me” Phil Spector used the wall of sound technique. This technique meant that the musicians spent long hours in the studio, it is a known fact that Spector was stingy in allowing breaks. The reason he did not allow breaks is because he did not want the microphones to be moved or any other pieces of equipment, he wanted everything to stay as it was. The artists could work for two hours or more before anything was recorded on tape. His technique was to tire the musicians for them not to sing individualistic. And in the long run, they would just meld into the wall of sound (Braasch, 2016) . In the song he used a lot of percussions, all his sounds were drenched in reverb with vocal choirs backing the songs, and he aimed to blend all the instruments into one making the end product one huge organic sound.
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The Ronettes "Baby I Love You"
The song Baby I love you by the Ronettes is a good example of Specters wall of sound. On the backing track, the song had the wrecking crew, and the background vocals were the Cher and The Blossoms. The track" baby I love you" is swimming in reverb caused by the Spector sound. The record company had a unique chamber that packed a lot of verb with the help of the frequency response. All the recording was done on the same track ; this was made possible by a two-track tape machine one recorded the instruments while the other recorded the vocals all of which were recorded at the same time.
Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana is an American musician with a Mexican descent born on July 20th, 1947. He became famous in the 70’s with his band. His band was the first to create a fusion of Latin American music and rock music. The sound of the band included blues-based guitar lines set against Latin and African rhymes. His band also featured instruments like timbales and congas which are not usually used in rock music (Montiel, 2016) . In 2003 Santana was listed number twenty among the best 100 guitarists of all time. He has won three Latin Grammy awards and ten Grammy awards.
In his early days, he was influenced greatly by the artists of the 50s the likes of B.B King and John Lee. After noticing he had a talent for playing guitar, he joined local bands where he added his own fusion of Rock n Roll. In 1966 he started gaining fame due to a series of accidental events that happened on the same day. During a mante show, Paul Butterfield was supposed to perform but he was not able to due to intoxication, this was the breakthrough that Santana got he performed his best in that show, and from that show the audience and Graham noticed him . He was later signed by CBS Records and recorded his first album in January of 1969.
References
Braasch, J. (2016). Instrument identification and blending in vinyl records during the transition period from jazz to rock music. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America , 139 (4), 2203-2203.
Montiel, M. K. (2016). Popular Music Genres. A Companion to Popular Culture , 123.
