Interesting thread from ZZs Legs producer

[Joe L]

Check out this thread about the making of ZZ Top's Legs from the original producer.

[The Dude]

Yep,......Terry Manning is a God. But then I might be a bit biased. I play in a ZZ Top tribute band.

[Joe L]

Really Dude? I've played a lot of ZZ's stuff over the years and never get tired listening to them. In the '70s we played every song on Tres Hombres except for Have You Heard.

For all these years I always did my own thing on the first lead of Lagrange so now that I'm retired, I'm just finishing up learning it note for note. At 160bpm, it is going to take some work to get it to speed but just knowing what Billy played impresses the hell out of me.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Local "classic rock" FM plays the bejeezus out of all the tired old dinosaurs. Just like in your town everybody! (Same company owns all the stations, sets all the formats. Who needs a program director? There's a do-nothing job I wish I had.) What a drag. If I hear Night at the Opera again my head will explode. However, I'll forgive 'em for playing ZZ Top. THAT, I'll listen to. Gibbons' tone, to die for.

[km6xz]

What was described was more the norm than a departure. A producer worth their pay/points is inventing novel solutions or techniques on every project, otherwise they would sound just as cliched and tired as everything else that is trying to copy what is out. If it was just recording the performance, journalistically, anyone could do it and there would be no market for producers who get 3-8 points on a record, often more than the artist. The only "by the book" recording is possibly forms of ethnic or classical music where deviation is not taken lightly.
I am sent MP3s and CDs several times a week for my opinion and there is no mistaking a home made project from a professional team project, even though technically the signal chain of a home hobby studio is orders of magnitude better than any pro studio gear 35 years ago. As I say, reproduction tone quality has little bearing on whether a song gets to you, no more than isolated guitar amp "sounds" ever made a record popular or not popular, it is a non-issue that primarily preoccupies amateurs, who should be spending their time developing their musician and writing chops instead of searching endlessly for some tone they think will bypass the need for something worthwhile to say and talent to say it.
One thing a good producer does is cut through all the illusions an artist clings to about how great their new song is. At the end of production, the song is usually a lot more interesting with a creative producer than as written. The beginning producer has a hard time with that because they do not command respect and a sense of awe from the artist, no matter what good ideas he might have. Also, many of the "tricks" that set the record apart from the masses, are invented real time by the engineer, not the producer who tend to be more music than process oriented. Some good producers are also good engineers but it is not the norm. The artist, particularly new artists, have surrounded themselves with "yes" men(usually girlfriends and mothers) who say everything is amazing. The only person who can put reality back in the picture is a producer the artist is intimidated by. Not as in intimidating personality but by a discography that the artist is intimidated by. In that way, a good producer can be expected to get more out of the artist a less effective producer. The biggest egos in the control room typically are young rock and rap artists and the most reasonable to deal with are established artists with a long productive history. They know every new act, every envious critic is going to try to knock them off their pedestal and know it is hard work to be "lucky" for so long.
Regarding ZZ Top.....One of the few rock bands I would pay to see who are still performing.