Howling At The Moon - Walter Yetnikoff with David Ritz

Brilliant biog of one of the great Record Men of the boom period of the 70s and 80s.  Yetnikoff took Columbia from the reshaped position left by Clive Davis to top of the market then led the sale of Columbia to Sony.  This is a great read - flawed genius meets the excesses of the age. The financial rewards in the business at the time drove the lifestyle and the outrageous behaviour reflected in stories of record industry legend.  Read this after or before hitting Stan Cronyn's "Exploding"  which is the story of arch rival label Warner Brothers.  During the early 80s Yetnikoff used the legend "Fuck the Bunny" to rally his troops at sales conferences to beat Warners to the top spot.  This reflects the era and the man.  Ritz is effective as ever bringing out the human side of a driven individual.  A fun and fascinating read.

Not Abba - Dave Haslam

No it wasn't all flares, space hoppers, afros and punks. Neither was it prog rockers , Glam and all frivolous fun.  The 70's was a fab decade but one of political and social change - much of it reflected in the mass media arts of music, film and TV.  This book is a year by year trawl through what happened and when.  It takes me back to my formative years (I was 13 in 1971) when adults seemed miserable and brow beaten by life in general - they had good cause - with the rise of UK mainland terrorism; strikes, blackouts and raging inflation.  Teenagers, a second generation if you will from the Summer Of Love period (hippies behind them) saw the new world very differently.  I would recommend this book to anyone but for those of you of a similar age - this and it's fiction counterpart, The Rotters Club are great reads and will take you back to a very real image of a decade of major social change in this country.

Phill Brown - Are We Still Rolling? (2011)

I came across this during my research for Made In Walthamstow and ordered it as it seemed a rather unique take on the record business of the 70s and on - from the perspective of a well respected and accomplished sound engineer.  How fantastic that I found it even more enjoyable as it talked about the work of some of my heroes and favourites (Robert Palmer, Alan Spenner and Steve Winwood in particular) and about albums that I was responsible for manufacturing whilst I was at PolyGram (1978-1983).  It is a personal account of Phill's journey through a career of many highs both commercially and artistically (and at times chemically); of the characters that worked the industry for good or bad (a third devil category are those, there by chance and who treated it all with indifference); of the creation of some fantastic music; of the techniques used and the knowledge, experience and luck that brought them together.  Robert Palmer's forward describes it well when he says -

"This is not a technical manual (although it will certainly function as one) - it's a contemporary thriller.."  "That's what Phill Brown has written here - an adventure story.."  "It's a how-to book and a love story! A self-driven need to understand why creative people do what they do, and how to survive it and them"

When I was trying to get into the business I was told "get a job making the tea and then make yourself useful" - Phill Brown had an entry via his brother who worked at Olympic Studios and he would go and watch/help, obviously fascinated by the process - he found his way in and then did the "make himself useful" bit by working as tape operator at many of the never ending days and night owl sessions of the stars of the day including Hendrix, the Stones, Dusty Springfield. 

I love the mix of tech - mic set ups and reverb units and echo capture and the commercial reality, but the description of the periods of frantic creative process handled by a mixed cast for each new project; the issues (face fits? perhaps?) that led to being on a session or not all give another angle to the industry that interests us all.

One story of a recording struck a particular note with me.  Almost by accident, the author got involved in the recording of an album by Paul Carrack ("NightBird"), eventually co-producing the tracks and organising the sessions comprising a band (for me) to die for (Spenner, Lindscott, Hubbard, Renwick, McCalla, Collins).  Released in 1980 this was one of the last albums I worked on at the PolyGram factory before moving "up west".  I was making the vinyl of some of my heroes. Excited to see Carrack's name on the release sheet ("How Long" remains a favourite) I was disappointed by the artwork and the lack of interest actually given the release by Phonogram - i think we pressed all of 2-3,000.  Reading the chapter, and knowing some of the record guys concerned, tells me why.  I like it as an album - not a favourite - but it has class and epitomises the British rock,soul sound that was fairly ignored by the labels through the late 70s - shame because the Brits were pretty good at it.

As he moved on from the 70s working with Talk Talk, Faithless and Dido you get the feeling he pined for the old days - certainly (like me) he felt the presence of less record men and more money men.  At times his dilemma was compounded as he loved the work that he did and for one reason or another he never got to finish the final product (or be paid) or would lose the friends he had made over the years (his feelings after hearing of Spenner's death and of attending his funeral are understandable).

I finished this liking Phill Brown, seemingly a straight up ordinary guy, who worked in a high period for the industry, just before the suits moved in, he evolved and survived through the respect gained from his previous work - what better recommendation to have.  He doesn't pull punches but also refrains from putting people down, many biogs of this type big up the author by rubbishing their contemporaries - it and he are all the better for it.

He continues to work in the business - holding on to those "old" values of putting the creative process beyond the accountant and by the end you feel that he has (just) come to terms with the 70s being history - he and this book are part of that story and these pages are a worthwhile read and are highly recommended.

ISBN: 978-0-9779903-1-3

Tape Op Books

Phill Brown Web Site

Exploding - Stan Cornyn

Another good record industry history read - this time recommended by Louis Barfe - who knows a thing or two about the subject.  This tells the story from the inside of the beginning of Warner Music Group.  A second try at entering the record industry by film legend Jack Warner (the first, Brunswick - died with huge losses in the 30s) this was Warner's bid to capitalise on the lucrative soundtrack market that had developed alongside the new microgroove LP.  Acquisition of Sinatra's Reprise gave growth and credibility and after Frank's reluctantance to go into pop and rock was overcome the labels took off - cornering the market on the west coast in particular.  Warners was THE label in the 70s and 80s when there were majors and then there was Warners.  Growth from the deals that took in Atlantic then Elektra, Geffen's Asylum and later Geffen itself.  Artists like James Taylor; Madonna; The Doors; Paul Simon; Hendrix; Joni Mitchell; CSN+Y; Carly Simon; Led Zeppelin; Bad Company; Bette Midler; three Tenors; Roberta Flack; The Rolling Stones; The Eagles; AC/DC etc etc

Cornyn initially ran the graphics side working on the album covers and corporate ads that set them apart in the States at least.  He progressed through the corporate ladder and led the labels way into the CD launch amongst other things.  Here's a huge label (or set of them) that managed to hold onto their identities through massive growth.

This is an easy read for anyone interested in the industry, the music or even the corporate world - it tells of the sales conferences, the people, the artists, the deals and the development of the market from the 50s through to the merger of the business to become Time-Warner and beyond.  The musical chairs of the characters is amazing but the respect for the "record men" - Mo Ostin in particular shines through.

Highly recommended

Long Player Goodbye - Travis Elborough

One of my cruise reads was to finally finish this affectionate look at the history and life of the beloved vinyl LP format.  This follows on from a number of record industry histories that I have read but with a different twist in that it speaks not only about the business end but also the development of music from the 40s - todate, and gives a great deal of cultural context (and explains the impact of the LP itself).

A great read if you grew up with vinyl and still see CD and downloading as interlopers that have shifted the world away from a revered, fragile and treasured format (like me).  Travis Elborough is younger than me I guess given his dissing of a number of major artists from the 70s and 80s (each generation does this - I dismissed my brothers love of blues in the 60s - until I knew better) - but he identifies that the LP changed listening habits and gave the already tribal teens something to use as identification  - you were a mod or a rocker; a Smiths fan; Pink Floyd follower; a fan of introverted singer songwriters; a loud rocker etc.  The LPs you had identified the type of person you were (well certainly gave you a starting point.)  These days it would be what phone you have, i-pad? apple or PC? X-Box or Nintendo? in addition to clothes and all the other material goods now avaliable and promoted as the "must have"

This is a wonderful book and one i'm sure i'll pick up again and re-read - I recommend it.

"The Music Goes Round And Round"

The post about the Louis Barfe book made we relook at the other books I have on the history of the record industry.  I would recommend the following for anyone who is interested in the whole story from Edison onwards.  "Where Have All The Good Times Gone?" is one of the few that, as it is more recently written (2004) can bring you right up to date.  The following are books covering the story from the late 1800s through to the 1970s - so pre CD, pre digital, Napster, Apple etc.

The widely acknowledged master is Roland Gelatt's "The Fabulous Phonograph 1877-1977" which was first published in 1954 and updated in a second edition in 1977.   This is the starting point I would recommend as it lays out the problems and events of a technology based business intertwining with entertainment for the first time (pre film, TV etc).  The phonograph was the first invention of Edison to get him noticed, although he would go on to contribute to the development of the commercial use of electricity, invent the light bulb, the carbon microphone, the Kinetogaph and thousand others.  A history well written and less about the music more about the industry.

"Putting The Record Straight" by John Culshaw pubished in 1981 is a personal history of Culshaw's career with British Decca as a musical director.  As you would expect given his direct relationship with the artists this is a more musical story and certainly helped me build on my knowledge.

"On And Off The Record" by Elizabeth Schwartkopf is her memoir of Walter Legge, the EMI producer of some of the major classical recordings of his time.  Scwartzkopf was his wife and she combined Legge's own writings together with her own memories of her husband's career.  This would be more interesting to fans of classical music as it gives an insight into the prima donnas of the day, the challenges faced with recording large orchestras performing long compositions without the recording and editing technologies available today.

"The Music Goes Round And Round" is a collection of writing by Raymond Horricks and Peter Gammond covering many aspects of the business including the role of producer; the engineer;  the effects of the pop explosion of the 50s and 60s; Marketing and The Media.  Again this, after the first two mentioned here, would provide anyone with an understanding of the development of this, let's face it, fairly young industry.

All of these are available although probably second hand - the Gelatt in it's second edition can go for up to £50 and the Culshaw more, so shop around.

Apologies for the scans here - i'll try and get better at this.

Fings Ain't Wot They Used Ta Be

From Pick 'n' Mixed

Oh for record shops like this again.  I'd love it. This is from a great kids book called "Making A Record" by Josie Karavasil.  It's out of print but sometimes available on ebay and via used at Amazon.

The book "Last Shop Standing (Whatever Happened To Record Shops)" by Graham Jones is a real good read with the first half telling his tales of him working in retail and then wholesale followed by the stories of a number of stores that had coninued in the face of the onslaught of supermarkets, the internet and the digital file sharing age.


Here's a few requests made to record shop owners by customers that Graham has included in the book....... If you were one of these customers best keep it to yourself..........

A copulation album? – The shop suggested ‘Songs for Swinging Lovers’ by Frank Sinatra (I guess they were after a compilation album)

The ‘I’m arsehole, man’ song? – I’m a Soul Man by Sam & Dave

My grand-daughter is a big fan of The Mad Donna, do you stock her CDs?

And here's a message from the author whose cause needs all the help it can get:-

Graham Says...'To read a key reason why so many record stores have closed check out vatloophole.co.uk I am currently writing a follow up to Last Shop Standing - should you have any music-related humourous or serious stories I would love to hear from you. Keep supporting independent record shops and don't forget Record Store Day, 16th April! In the mean time, below are some of the funny things people have asked record shops for...'

Seek the book out (or follow the link to the website) and have a good read which is bittersweet in that there are some very funny moments but ultimately it documents the end of music retailing as we know (and love) it.

Published by Proper - ISBN978/0/09561/2120/2 order no. PMO100

or find it on Amazon via this link