The Unsung Heroes of Rock

The 1980s saw an explosion happen in America, raining down on Sunset Strip in a cloud of makeup, spandex, hair spray and loud rock n' roll.

Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Skid Row and The Scorpions appeared on the scene in an outburst of adolescent hormones and rebellion.

We have all heard the stories of the antics these and many other bands got up to in their time clambering up the rock n' roll ladder of fame, but we rarely hear about those behind the scenes.

In many music biographies and biopics we capture glimpses of Management, Producers and Agents, but rarely is the focus on these people, nor is it on those who were there to see the tears, anger, pain loss and the good times.

How many rock or heavy metal producers could you name? Honestly?

Unless you are a bit of a music geek like me, you probably know one or two, perhaps you can name a few producers if you are into Rap or electronic music but, rock and metal seems to be the genre in which these people are least known.

These days anyone, with a computer and a good ear can call themselves a producer if they produce music. This isn't to say that everyone can be a good or even a great producer; some of the most overlooked unsung heroes of the rock and heavy metal genres were responsible for many unforgettable songs that stand the test of time and are instantly recognisable.

Since its release on 11 March, 1978, Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell album has been constantly in the album charts. Most people who have heard this album are under the impression it was written by Meat Loaf.

The attributed writer is of course Mr. Jim Steinman. The producer however was musician Todd Rundgren, and without his talented skills in music, the album would possibly never have become the icon it is today.

In 1984, Yorkshire rockers Def Leppard suffered a major setback in their career when drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car accident. Their previous three albums had all given them hit singles with the help of the infamous producer Robert “Mutt” Lange.

With his help, their hit album Hysteria took three years to record before its release in 1987, becoming one of the biggest selling albums of all time, a feat very few achieve and something a band from the steel mills of Sheffield could be proud of.

Mutt Lange is also known for producing other bands. Foreigner's album 4 reached number 1 for 13 weeks in 1981 and gave the band two number 1 singles, "Urgent" and "Waiting for a Girl Like You."

AC/DC's iconic Back in Black LP was produced by Mr. Lange in 1980, making it to number 1 in France and England. Between 1981 and 2014, the album made the number 1 spot seven more times in several different countries across the world.

Mr. Lange's production credits are quite lengthy, and a full list of the albums he has worked on can be found at the link below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Albums_produced_by_Robert_John_%22Mutt%22_Lange

One of my favourite producers I admit I only discovered over the last few years, although he has been working in the music industry since well before 1996 and has worked with some fantastic musicians and bands.

He also runs a YouTube channel called Produce Like A Pro, which is very informative and full of tips on how to produce and record music, as it says, “like a pro.” I am of course talking about the very talented Mr. Warren Huart.

https://www.producelikeapro.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpyUGZeMUtOvt57UACw3H2g

As we are focusing predominantly on rock and metal, I will only list a few of the artists and albums/songs Mr. Huart has worked on as he covers a broad variety of genres.

In 2006 he worked with Korn on the Live & Rare album, and again in 2011 on the compilation The Essential Korn. Mr. Huart also worked on Aerosmith's music, on the From Another Dimension! album as engineer, recording the drums, vocals and mixing, proving that his talent and ear is second to none. This album in 2012 reached number 1 in the US Top Rock Albums (Billboard).

Another great musician Mr. Huart has worked with is Ace Frehley of the band Kiss in 2014 on his solo album Space Invader, and in 2016 he mixed, engineered and produced the album Origins Vol 1. In 2018, he was the engineer and mixer for the album Spaceman.

His most recent rock credits are as engineer on Disturbed's 2018 album Evolution, which reached number 1 in both the US Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums (Billboard).

If anyone embodies the term of “Great Producer,” it is our next musician, Mr. Trent Reznor, known as the vocalist and man behind the Industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Mr. Reznor has produced much, if not all, of his band's music.

He is also one of the biggest influences (along with the aforementioned producers) in my own music.

When most people listen to music, they only hear it; most people do not actually listen to the songs. They hear the beat, the melody, a catchy riff or chorus, but how many of these people can put on a song and break it down, isolating the bass, drums or other instruments used?

How many people actually listen to every word sung, taking in the meaning behind the lyrics? Every song tells a story if only the listener opens up their mind and hears it: the emotion in a singer's voice as they project certain words, the passion in a guitar solo as the player pours out his heart, the sweat of the drummer keeping the band together with his partner, the bass.

Without producers and engineers, the above mentioned would be meaningless. They are the people who take those individual components and turn that talent into something amazing, something that makes you want to dance, cry, sing.

Yes, it may be true that without the musicians or bands, the producer's role would not be as important, but most if not all the producers I have mentioned in this article have and do play on the songs and albums they work on, and their musical talent is as much part of the performance that the listener hears as the band whose name is in bold type on the front cover.

So next time you hear a song you like, don't just hear it, listen to it, look deeper into who wrote the lyrics. Who were the session musicians brought in to play on the recording? Look at who produced and engineered the song or album and who designed the cover art.

Show your appreciation for these unsung heroes of rock music.