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R/E/P => Recording - Engineering & Production => Topic started by: Bubba--Kron on March 17, 2011, 06:26:57 PM

Title: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Bubba--Kron on March 17, 2011, 06:26:57 PM
I'm wondering if there are any artists who have successfuly produced their own recordings.  The only one I can think of is Trent Reznor.   

Is this impossible, even with all the apropriate tools at ones disposal?

Is it like Tom Hanks trying to make Forest Gump all by himself?

Is this kind of thing a bad direction to go in?

Thanks
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: bleen on March 17, 2011, 07:38:42 PM
I'm wondering if there are any artists who have successfuly produced their own recordings.  The only one I can think of is Trent Reznor.

Chris Walla/Death Cab?
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Tim Halligan on March 17, 2011, 09:48:09 PM
Define "successful".

Cheers,
Tim
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Jeff Goodman on March 17, 2011, 09:57:21 PM
Prince comes to mind
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: zakco on March 18, 2011, 12:20:48 AM
Daniel Lanois?
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: rosshogarth on March 18, 2011, 12:57:31 AM
Prince
Todd Rundgren

just a start
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Mo Facta on March 18, 2011, 05:51:21 AM
Didn't Imogen Heap produce (and I think engineer) her albums?
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: franman on March 18, 2011, 07:20:32 AM
Nile Rodgers....
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: tooold on March 18, 2011, 08:42:34 AM
There was this guy named Paul McCartney...  and there was this other guy named Stevie Wonder... they were sort of successful...
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Rader Ranch on March 18, 2011, 11:25:42 AM
Jack White, Sufjan Stevens, Frank Zappa, Lisa Germano, Leon Russell, Koop...gosh, I mean, there are a ton, aren't there? But then I'm defining successful simply by my level of enjoyment of the work, combined with the fact that there's some implied level of success in having work that exists and is distributed or otherwise available in some fashion.
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: mellow on March 18, 2011, 02:01:06 PM
Curtis Mayfield
Stevie Wonder
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Michael Brauer on March 18, 2011, 02:52:28 PM
except for Chris Walla who is truly amazing, can anyone come up with artists from the last couple years?
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: peteAndrews on March 18, 2011, 10:09:48 PM
i'd say sufjan is pretty amazing.

-pete
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Bubba--Kron on March 19, 2011, 04:54:40 AM
Has any of these guys ever mixed their own record?


Cheers
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Michael Brauer on March 19, 2011, 08:34:28 AM
ray charles, if we're gonna go way back, also produced his own records. And he used to mix it also.

Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Bob Olhsson on March 19, 2011, 12:56:56 PM
Smokey Robinson produced most of his hits after co-producing "Shop Around" with Berry Gordy.

Elvis Presley by all accounts produced almost everything he did before he went into the Army although other people took credit. He's somewhat unusual in that he hadn't previously worked with a top producer or engineer. A lot of noted "self-producers" have left doing that out of their biography.
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: faganking on March 19, 2011, 03:18:17 PM
ray charles, if we're gonna go way back, also produced his own records. And he used to mix it also.


Yes, he did. RPM International. I have about 75 Ray Charles albums. Some of the records 'he' mixed are really cool. Mojave mixing. Dry as a bone!!!
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Tim Halligan on March 19, 2011, 09:40:21 PM
Has any of these guys ever mixed their own record?


Steve Vai


Cheers,
Tim
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: justinpeacock on March 21, 2011, 12:04:48 AM
How about Ryan Tedder? Although I don't think he's produced the OneRepublic records (certainly not the first that Greg Wells did) but his writing/producing career has pretty much exploded in parallel...

It also seems this is more common in hip-hop. I'm thinking Kanye, Dre, etc.

With a few rare exceptions, I think even incredibly talented artists who could self-produce know that the music will benefit from some outside perspective.
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: stevengamel on March 21, 2011, 02:28:48 AM
90% of dance/electronic music is totally produced, mixed and sometimes even mastered by the musicians these days.
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Millice on March 21, 2011, 11:33:23 AM
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez for the win
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: JohnTravis on March 30, 2011, 11:17:31 PM
Wow I must admit to being a little surprised that nobody mentioned Dr Dre, Kanye West, DJ Premiere or a ton of other hip hop producers, many of whom actually do know their way around a mixing console. Then you also have guys like the great Booker T and Steve Cropper, Isaac Hayes and and so many more.
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: J.J. Blair on March 31, 2011, 01:20:48 PM
Nile Rogers.  Marvin Gaye.

Recently, Jason Falkner.  Successful in terms of quality, that is. 
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Bubba--Kron on March 31, 2011, 04:16:33 PM
So some of these guys ever tracked/mixed/mastered and chose all the instruments?  Sorry for the repetative questions, but I would really like to know.  Would a REC company ever let one person over-see an entire release.  Like maybe Moby or Beck?!?!

Thanks
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: JohnTravis on April 04, 2011, 12:36:11 PM
Although I've never worked with him, my friends that have have told me that Prince knows his way around an SSL pretty well and he seems to be able to play every instrument at an exceptional level. Of course there's also Stevie Wonder, Trent Reznor and a ton of other people. I would almost throw out the question are there any artists who have made more than three or four records, with a degree of success and involvement with the creative process, that don't think they can produce?
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Jim Sam on April 04, 2011, 08:14:36 PM
Jimmy Page, Steve Albini, David Thomas (Pere Ubu), and, as noted above, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (The Mars Volta) come to mind.
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: JohnTravis on April 05, 2011, 02:00:09 AM
Hey Michael,

In answer to your question about someone from recent years other than Chris Walla, how about Atticus Ross who co-composed and produced the soundtrack to "The Social Network" and is a band member of Trent's new group "How to Destroy Angels". Atticus is a great writer, programmer, composer, producer and artist.
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: zakco on May 22, 2011, 10:21:52 PM
Not sure of everyone else's definition of "truly successful", but Ray Lamontagne's latest is a fine record and self produced.
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: FrownSound on May 23, 2011, 01:01:43 PM
Don't forget Brian Wilson  :)
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Wireline on May 26, 2011, 07:49:54 AM
John Fogerty, Ricky Skaggs, Ray Benson come to mind
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Deuce 225 on June 04, 2011, 04:25:23 PM
i'd say sufjan is pretty amazing.

-pete

I went to see Sufjan earlier this year with my 17 year old son....Unbelievable show ! Think Pink Floyd meets The Flaming Lips meet Paul Simon. His latest album is a pretty radical departure from his last couple of albums.  The guy is very creative.

I would also add Jeff Lynne to the list of successful artist and producers...
Best,
Tim Cochran
Title: Re: Has there ever been a truly successful Producer/Artist?
Post by: Billy Bush on June 22, 2011, 02:08:57 AM
I'm wondering if there are any artists who have successfuly produced their own recordings.  The only one I can think of is Trent Reznor.   

Is this impossible, even with all the apropriate tools at ones disposal?

Is it like Tom Hanks trying to make Forest Gump all by himself?

Is this kind of thing a bad direction to go in?

Thanks


Butch Vig/Garbage