The only producers that Brian Wilson claimed to love
In the world of rock and roll, the producer is a lot more valuable than any of them are given credit for. Even though it might seem harsh trying to coach bands throughout their time in the studio, it takes a true craftsman to make songs that feel like the musicians are being pushed to their limits to deliver something great. While Brian Wilson learned most of his production chops on the job with The Beach Boys, he admitted that Phil Spector and Bob Crewe were the only ones that he ever listened to.
Then again, Wilson was always a bit of an outlier by having his foot in both worlds. Even though he rose to prominence as the high falsetto behind many of The Beach Boys’ classic songs, he was the one looking to make something that no one had ever heard before, eventually writing, producing and layering vocals on top of each other to create their signature sound.
Right around the time Wilson started learning the basics of harmony, Spector was already building up a reputation as one of the few pop music geniuses. Outside of his checkered past, Spector’s knack for building his signature ‘Wall of Sound’ always resonated with the listener whenever his tracks came on the radio, sounding like the listener was getting hit in the face rather than being sung a song.
Wilson would also cite ‘Be My Baby’ by the Ronettes as one of his favourite songs, featuring the immaculate vocal performance of Phil’s wife, Ronnie Spector. The hallowed producer would also catch the ear of various rock legends, going on to produce various singles for John Lennon and bring George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass to life.
While Spector is the more high-profile producer that Wilson followed, Bob Crewe is criminally overlooked when it comes to building the sound of harmony singing. Although The Beatles tend to get a lot of credit for breaking down doors with their harmony vocals, what Crewe did with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons showed how vocals sat in the mix.
Although The Four Seasons were primarily a vocal group, Crewe knew just what to use to add a sense of melodrama, either using different string parts or bringing in horn arrangements that perfectly followed the chords of the tune. While it may have been far from typical rock and roll, Wilson was still transfixed by what he was hearing.
When talking about his biggest inspirations for production, Wilson thought both Spector and Crewe stood alone, saying, “There were only two other producers I studied closely. The first was Phil Spector, who taught me how to make tracks and craft what some might call ‘baroque’ backgrounds. The second was Bob Crewe, famous for his work with Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, who showed me how to utilize horns to sharpen and sculpt an overall sound.”
For Wilson, these pieces were lessons building towards the creation of landmark albums like Pet Sounds. Utilising some of the same musicians who worked on projects by Spector, Wilson elected to take his music one step further than his favourite singles, eventually making sophisticated chord changes that turned rock and roll on its head. Spector and Crewe may have wanted to make the kind of songs that made people want to dance, but Wilson found that middle ground that touched people’s hearts while they were dancing.
