Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios: Amazon.ca: William & Cogan, J Clark: Books

Product Description

Book Description

Temples of Sound tours the greatest American recording studios where much of the 20th century's most important music was preserved for all time. Whether they were cramped or improvised spaces (an appliance shop's back room that was New Orleans' J&M, or the van Gelder studio, a suburban living room that produced legendary John Coltrane and Miles Davis records), or were state-of-the-art spaces from inception (Capitol) these are the studios that recorded the hits of the 20th century. Each chapter focuses on one studio, outlining the history of each in text and images. Readers get a tour of the studios and sessions that recorded hitmakers such as Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis. The studio photographs capture the energy of the singers, musicians, producers, and engineers hard at work. With anecdotal contributions from the producers, engineers, and artists who made the signature sounds, and rarely seen photographs, Temples of Sound unlocks the secrets behind the places where classic music was born.

About the Author

Jim Cogan has worked for 15 years as a recording engineer and producer, resulting in some of the most critically acclaimed albums in jazz of the 20 years. He lives in Milwaukee. William Clark is an award-winning writer and producer of films, plays, and books. The lead scriptwriter for AMerica's Most Wanted, he lives in Maryland.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
Rock and roll may have ruled near the end of the decade, but the 1950s were really the golden age of pop. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews

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3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars A Dissenting Review, April 30 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios (Paperback)

While I have enjoyed reading the book, I would not
have purcased it had I known how little it actually
contains about the rooms. As someone interested in
audio engineering, I was hoping it would have a lot of
information about the rooms themselves, with dimensions,
acoutic treatments, unusual equipment used, etc. Instead,
the book tells the story of the studio mostly around
which artists recorded there. I don't really need to
see a list of who recorded for Sun Records, I want to

know what Sam Phillips did to make the room sound the way
it did. I want details of the famous Capitol echo chambers.
This book does not provide the sort of information
the title implies.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Those were the days, Dec 29 2003

By

kennedy19 "kennedy19" (wakefield, ma USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios (Paperback)

"Temples of Sound" is an interesting and inspiring look at some popular American recording studios, mostly from the late 1950s and early 60s, but with a few nods to the later sixties and early 70s. (Sorry, no British studios. Abbey Road, Olympic, and Trident spring to mind - anyone want to write one?) Each chapter picks a particular studio (Sun, Chess, Motown, Western, Columbia, etc.) and gives a brief overview of its history (down to the present day; alas many of the studios no longer exist), its features, and the people who made it special, both artists and engineers. Indeed, the authors have interviewed a number of studio owners and engineers, which adds much to the text. The book certainly succeeds in being evocative - these were the days when echo chambers could be someone's bathroom, when everything was recorded on glorious analog tape, when most basic tracks were done live all in the same room with sonic leakage, and cigarette smoking in the studio was glamorous. Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, Elvis Presley, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, John Coltrane, the Doors, and other greats make walk-on appearances, and there are good photographs of many of them at work. (Actually, I could have used even more photos.) The book also rescues from relative obscurity one Bill Putnam, who apparently designed many of the sweetest-sounding rooms in the country. Often there are anecdotes about the history of studio owners and their labels, which are interesting, though one might hope for even more anecdotes about the artists and recording sessions. I found myself wishing for a little bit more technical information too, about how each room was set up and what specific gear they had, though some of this is mentioned briefly. And, of course, they can't cram every studio in here - for instance, there is no chapter on Muscle Shoals. However, the book ends with a nice discography of tracks to hunt down and listen to, each associated with one of the studios, and all of which I want to listen to after reading about these places' heydays. I find this book fascinating for what it does tell us, and inspiring in its depiction of an era when artistic talent, engineering skill, and human warmth made sometimes low-tech rooms into hallowed cathedrals of sound. A good gift for anyone interested in recording, or in the 50s-60s period.

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3.0 out of 5 stars It's OK, not great, Sep 22 2003

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THX1138b (NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios (Paperback)

I just can't muster the enthusiasm of other reviewers for this book. Perhaps most interesting and informative are the stories of how some of the best recordings of the golden days of analog were made on a shoe string, over garages on third hand equipment. There are some insights into what made some of the studios sound unique.

The early chapters dwell lovingly on some details of the lives of the produces, engineers and some of the artists. But by the end the facts are marshaled and rushed past, leaving the reader with the distinct impression that they were included so as not to offend some egos or just to drop some names. In some cases the fact that the producers were flat out ignorant of music, rather unlikable individuals and driven by the Wall-Street motives of fear and greed are all too clear, but left between the lines.

All in all the book it left me with more questions than answers about the recording process. A decent compendium of facts about who did what when and where with a smattering of favorite artists and a few pictures to keep pop audiences happy. The authors are weakest when the crass business of the music industry intrudes into their picture of the studio as a crucible of pop art. I'd rather have more detail (even if it hurts) about a few studios or a focus on just a few top engineers and specific recording sessions.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Really interesting!
Great book, especially after recently seeing the movie, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown." A must-read for any musicologist, especially one who grew up with all of... Read more

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This ain't no temple, this ain't no disco, this ain't no foolin' around-it's just a rockin' good read, and one of the best books ever on the recording industry. Read more

Published on July 8 2003 by Matt H Newman