Gordon Raphael’s favourite tracks from The Strokes’ ‘Is This It’
Behind every great album is an even greater producer. Even the best song would fall flat without a powerhouse behind the mixing desk pulling it all together. The right person can completely transform an act from a live circuit favourite into a global recording sensation, and that’s exactly what Gordon Raphael did for The Strokes.
By the turn of the millennium, The Strokes were a big deal on the New York indie scene. Their shows at the city’s most iconic music venues had solidified their status as a key one to watch as their name began to spread fast through word of mouth.
Their 14-track live set was played around the city as songs like ‘Is This Is’, ‘Someday’ and ‘Last Nite’ took shape increasingly with each show. At one of their gigs at Luna Lounge, they lived the dream every band hopes for: playing a show where an industry head in the audience sees them and pays attention.
Producer Gordon Raphael was in the crowd that night, and he was impressed. He quickly offered the group his services to make a demo mix that became The Modern Age EP. That tape was sent to labels and magazines; the rest was history. By the time it came to making their debut album, Is This It, in 2001, they already had the songs and the hype to make it a major release.
The album is mainly made up of pieces from that early setlist, but Raphael’s help transformed the tracks into the timeless indie anthems we know today. He corralled the chaotic group of rich New York rockers and helped translate the energy of their live shows into studio versions that sounded just as good in your headphones as they do on a stage.
“They wanted to have a real, honest, rock-band-playing-in-a-room sound, and so it just made sense to do that,” Raphael said of the project and the decision to have the band simply play the songs while the producer worked around them.
It’s an album he seems supremely proud of, as he told Far Out, “I have lived for over 20 years with the music of The Strokes rattling around in my brain in the most delightful way.” When we asked him for his favourite The Strokes songs, it’s no wonder that several came from their debut record, holding fond memories of their first collaboration.
‘Take It Or Leave It’ is one of them, as it served as a key turning point during the recording process. “When we were recording their first album, there was a ‘revelation moment’ when Albert Hammond Jr played the guitar solo on this song,” Raphael said. “It was as if the very walls and floors of my Transporterraum NYC studio were vibrating and quaking under the pressure. Those bent notes and great melodic phrases really make that solo jump out.”
The song sounds just as huge today, but at the time, the producer was blown away by the band’s power from their guitars to their vocals. “Again, when Julian was singing it, I couldn’t believe the sheer force of his voice. The vocals sounded so aggressive, like a giant truck driving straight at you.”
He admits to having a love-hate relationship with ‘Last Nite’, simply because he said, “I already knew it had a sound of ‘this is going to be really popular’ when we were recording it the first time, so I avoided liking it too much because of my quirky musical reality.” But he’s since come to admit that it’s genius, thanks to the lyricism.
‘Soma’ is another favourite, owing again to Julian Casablancas’ lyrics. Raphael said, “When Julian started to sing this song, I was delighted with the Aldous Huxley reference. All the sounds here are unique, and it’s a perfect example of counterpoint harmony – with the guitars flying off in all directions while the voice makes a melody weaving through them.”
Raphael still listens to the record, admitting that his favourite track changes all the time. “This one is actually my current favourite of The Strokes’ songs,” he said of ‘Trying My Luck’. “It’s just so subtle and smooth yet powerful as hell. It gets me every time.”
One of his top picks was actually removed from the record for its first release. Coming soon after the 9/11 attacks, the track ‘New York City Cops’ was axed. But for Raphael, it remains a favourite. “From the drum hits at the beginning that sound like a taxi door slamming shut at four in the morning to the ungodly gasping sound at the end – this song is filled with dirt, trash, and energy.”
Perhaps the reason why the record sounds so good is because of all the love that went into it. As it was their debut album, the band were playing with something to prove. While the producer doesn’t have quite the same skin in the game as the artists themselves, Raphael cared as if he was a member of the band. In fact, he picked ‘Hard To Explain’ for this reason.
As the first single from the album, he flew back to New York from the UK just to be in the city for the release. He said, “It was truly buzzing when this song entered the world for the first time! ‘Hard To Explain’ is really a masterclass of tone and songwriting.”
The Strokes, it seems, were making music he’d always wanted to hear, appearing as a kind of fantasy band from his dreams. When recording the album and helping them make these songs, Is This It was capturing his tastes too, describing the record as holding “Exactly the kind of feeling I like with my music.”
Gordon Raphael’s favourite songs:
- ‘Take It Or Leave It’
- ‘Last Nite’
- ‘Soma’
- ‘New York City Cops’
- ‘Hard to Explain’
