Neil’s studio prowess- more than meets the ear
“Over the course of 50 years as a recording artist, Young has quietly proven himself one of rock’s most underrated studio masters.”
Variety’s senior features writer Andrew Barker examines Neil Young’s forays into the recording studio through the years.
Neil Young, the gearhead audiophile or studio perfectionist….
Barker writes: “The media worship of Neil Young doesn’t really give enough kudos to the technical facilities and engineers that have aided him,” says longtime L.A rock journalist Harvey Kubernik, whose book ‘Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and Music of Laurel Canyon’ explored the scene that informed Young’s early career. “Reprise Records let him make the kind of records he wanted to make. He had management that enforced that. And he got to use the best studios in town. It’s a huge component of his durability.”
Young’s memoir, “Waging Heavy Peace,” is filled with his appreciation for machines and engineering, be it cars, guitars, model trains or recording studios. Young speaks of such haunts as Los Angeles’ Gold Star Studios and Sunset Studios; producers Jack Nitzsche, David Briggs and Elliot Mazer; and Wally Heider Studios’ prized “Green Board” console — used to record Cream’s “Disraeli Gears” and the Monterey Pop Festival — with an awe that borders on the spiritual.
Other great quotes about Neil in this story from David Briggs, Ryan Bingham, Los Angeles New York Times music critic Robert Hilburn.
Read more at: http://variety.com/2013/music/features/neil-young-audiophile-1200586875/