Sound Man

September 8, 2014
In this dry but fascinating memoir, producer and sound engineer Johns describes his work with the most important musicians of the 1960s and ’70s. As an unemployed teenager, Johns serendipitously received a junior engineering job in the independent IBC recording studio. This led to a career in which he became a sought-after engineer (and later producer) for performers including the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Who, the Band, the Eagles, and many others. Unusually for his era, Johns never used drugs, which might explain his excellent recall of events stretching back over six decades. Johns’s writing can be flat but his understated humor and candor have a bracing charm. Take his comments on the Let It Be sessions he recorded and mixed for the Beatles: “John gave the tapes to Phil Spector, who puked all over them, turning them into the most syrupy load of bullshit I have ever heard.” It’s no surprise that Ronnie Lane gave him the nickname “Bluto.” To Johns’s credit, he doesn’t spare himself from similar criticism. Fans of the era will enjoy both the anecdotes and the technical descriptions of life behind the recording console.

October 15, 2014
A matter-of-fact memoir by the renowned record producer. Known for his work with the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Who, the Eagles, and Crosby, Stills and Nash, Johns seems like a modest guy with a strong work ethic, self-effacing to a fault. And he's not much for gossip, which means most of the secrets and scandals from these tempestuous artists are not illuminated here. As he explains of the recording of the Beatles' "Let It Be," where fissures turned into large cracks, "[i]t is not my place to discuss any detail of what happened, but it is common knowledge that George [Harrison] left the band and was persuaded to return a couple of days later." The author does acknowledge that Yoko Ono's presence was a little intrusive, but that's common knowledge as well. Readers looking for previously unrevealed dirt will be disappointed, as Johns isn't looking to grind any axes or settle scores. His revelations mainly concern himself, such as the fact that "most find it incomprehensible to believe that I was completely straight and in fact have never taken drugs of any sort. Other than the odd aspirin." Little wonder, then, that his favorite Rolling Stone was his one-time roommate Ian Stewart, the pianist who wasn't deemed rock 'n' roll enough by the band's manager, and that he didn't get on well with Keith Richards or Eric Clapton during the depths of their addictions. "I have yet to meet a heroin addict that I would choose to have any kind of social intercourse with let alone a creative relationship," he writes, "and I'm sure the feeling would be mutual." Though the book traces the arc of a half-century's worth of impressive studio credits, one never gets the sense of what distinguishes his studio approach and generated so many hit singles and classic albums. Johns comes across as an amiable guy who got lucky, and there must be more to it than that.

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 15, 2014
Glyn Johns was the producer or engineer of many of rock's classic albums, including works by the Beatles (Abbey Road), the Rolling Stones (Their Satanic Majesties Request, Beggars Banquet, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street), Eric Clapton (Slowhand), the Who (Who's Next), and the Clash (Combat Rock). He has also worked with such diverse artists as the Eagles, Joan Armatrading, Nanci Griffith, John Hiatt, Emmylou Harris, and Ryan Adams. As often happens, Johns got into the music business by sheer accident, good fortune, and an extraordinary turn of fate, and his memoir is an easygoing, insider's musical ramble. He describes all-night sessions with the Stones ( A typical session with the Stones would start at eight in the evening ) and the entourage surrounding Bob Dylan ( The level of security around Dylan was ridiculous ). Given the friction between the Beatles, he worries if Let It Be will ever be completed. Johns' account of a long and productive career is an entertaining slice of rock history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)