A Life Recording Hits with The Rolling Stones - the Faces . . .

I am enjoying this book. It's more about encounters with people. If looking for a mixing tutorial this is not it, but if you are interested in the career steps of Glyn Johns and who he worked with its worth reading.

Great insight on classic albums and artists from a guy who set the standard for modern recording. Go back and listen (hell, even on iTunes!) to albums that he recorded and mixed, and compare them to other albums by the same artist recorded by someone else.

Glyn Johns has written a coherent, accessible autobiography that chronicles his remarkable life as an engineer and then producer during all of the major music production evolutions that began with mono recordings and ended with the current digital environment. He worked intimately with such bands as the Rolling Stones (he lived with their manager for a time), the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, The Eagles, The Steve Miller Band, and many, many more. No kiss and tell book, Johns is a true English gentleman in his treatment of the many personalities that existed during the '60s and '70s years of rock star excess. That he himself was never much of a drinker and didn't do drugs renders him a credible storyteller, while treating others with compassion. If you're at all a fan of rock history, this is a must read. If you want to wallow in the degenerate rock star lifestyle or learn hot, previously untold gossip, this book will leave you wanting. What is perhaps most recommended about this book is that he discusses so many bands and recording companies and personalities, while many other rock autobiographies only focus on their own band and label (while I loved Keith Richard's Life, did he mention a single other rock act or rock movement?).

I've admired Johns as a producer and engineer since the mid 70s when I started noticing such things. As with most other reviews, I really, really, really wish he'd going into more detail about, well, almost anything.

His description of his trademark drum setup felt obligatory, and lacking in detail. You'd sort of like some discussion of alternatives he'd tried and didn't like, and why. Same thing with mic setup for anything else. What mics did he like or not and why? When he was recording analog, what kind of levels did he like to run? Did he favor or disfavor noise reduction? 15/30 ips? What did he change when recording went digital, and why? All the sort of stuff that would have been in a good Recording Engineer/Producer interview.

Not that he has to tell all about relations with friends/clients, but it would have been useful to have had a few detailed examples of the critical discussions that take place, and what/how is "loudest voice" was determinative on some songs.

It would have been very interesting to talk about the business aspects -- what kind of royalties/advances did he get in that historically interesting period (which ain't coming back)?

It seemed to me that after White Mansions stiffed (deservedly, I've played my first pressing copy maybe 5 times, and meh) that he sort of checked out. He alludes to being not much into anything that happened in the 80s in the mainstream of pop. He might have been better suited to going alt-country, but perhaps his ego and pay expectations were too high at the time to consider it. A Johns produced Lucinda Williams would have been great.

I was really looking forward to this one, but Ouch! what a let-down. I mean - get a ghost writer! For someone who has been on the epicenter of so many great albums and sessions , he should have had stories by the box-full. Classic albums by Stones, Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the Who - can you even get any bigger? But I guess it goes to show that engineers and producers are ultimately there in a supporting role. Guys like Phil Spector or Guy Stevens are the exceptions.
I really believe a good editor and co-writer would have made the difference; someone to draw him out, focus on the parts the reader wants to hear. Honestly - no one here cares about Glyn Johns as a singer.

Johns was at the epicenter of popular music in the '60s and '70s. His work influenced the sound and direction of many of the biggest acts from that era, leaving an indelible mark on that aspect of pop culture. This is a fascinating read, weakened only by loose and sometimes awkward prose, the occasional sense that Johns is a bit high-handed, and perhaps a touch too free with naming checking all his famous friends. Quibbles aside, if you love classic pop music, you will find this book to be a delightful experience.

Glyn Johns has had as distinguished a career as an engineer and producer as anyone in the music business, but, as many reviewers have already noted, he could have used some help writing this memoir. His writing style is mostly competent and readable, but somewhat random, and he seems to leave out as much interesting material as possible. Inevitably, there are some good studio and concert anecdotes, but surprisingly few. Some of Johns' own opinions creep in, but for the most part the professionalism which served Johns so well in recording studios all those years has left him shy about saying much of anything now. He rides roughshod over a thousand topics with a cursory mention such as "And then I recorded the Beatles for part of the _Abbey Road_ album at Olympic." Yeaahhhh......? Aaannnd....????! What songs did you record with them? How did the songs change over time? How did you achieve the sounds we all know? What were their interactions like in the studio with you, with each other, with Yoko, with, hell, the tea boy? The whole book is frustrating in this fashion. What were the Rolling Stones like as people, or as musicians? What did they say or do, to you, to each other, and why? What innovative recording ideas were tried? Can you remember any particular Stones tracks at all, or ones that were fun to work on, and why? What was it like recording Led Zeppelin? And so on... sigh. For contrast, read the excellent "Here There and Everywhere" which Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick (very wisely) did with writer Howard Massey. In that well-organized book, one feels like a fly-on-the-wall at real sessions, gathering Emerick's detailed memories and perceptions of the Beatles and the specific songs and recordings being worked on in actual chronological order. Now, to be fair, perhaps a lot of detail is hard to remember; Johns has done an awful lot of sessions, many of them a long time ago. Indeed, he understandably seems to remember more and more as the book goes on and gets closer to the present time. But surely he can recall more than he writes about here. Look at another good book by a sound engineer, the one by Ken Scott. Scott says upfront that he doesn't recall the level of detail that Geoff Emerick apparently does, and yet he still manages to write an engaging and fairly detailed account of some sessions. As for this book by Glyn Johns, you can breeze through its short chapters in a couple of evenings, and learn one or two things you might not have heard before, but that is (disappointingly) all.

Would have liked more details on most of his sessions rather than just name dropping. He seems like a man of integrity which may be why he leaves out the juicy bits, but that is kind of what we want to read. I'm not sure if I really learned anything about production either. I learned how many artists Glyn worked with but would have liked to learn more about his craft and what made him so good, and how certain things were recorded in the studio. His version of history also seems at odds with other accounts, so I wonder if he forgot a few details, or if the others got it wrong.

For a gentleman with such interesting influence and connection in the world of classic English Rock he is quite the bland writer and memoirist. If you want to read about early English rock and roll's origins with color, candor and chutzpah read Andrew Loog Oldham's Stoned instead

THE PUBLICATION ABOUT GLYN JOHNS IS GREAT. THE PRICE AND SHIPPING WAS GOOD, BUT MY ONLY COMPLAINT IS THAT A SOMEWHAT LARGE BUNCH OF THE PAGES WERE BENT(DOGEARED). IF I WERE PURCHING THIS IN A STORE, I WOULD HAVE FOUND ONE IN PERFECT CONDITION. OTHER THAN THAT-GOOD READING.

Having read a few previous autobios from music producers or engineers I can say I enjoyed this as much as any of them. Glyn takes a less technical approach to his memoirs than some others but his tale is no less compelling for doing so. And perhaps nobody else can match his experience in working with the biggest names in the biz. Just an amazing career.

i quickly glanced at a review "should have been better" and although I really welcome a book (or long article) about Mr Johns - he leaves out alot of "the Early Daze" in the 60s when he was an engineer, apprentice. I would have welcomed a discog on the singles he was involved in. Whats important is - i enjoyed the book so much i couldnt put it down (read in 3 sessions). I can't believe he Glyn Johns was there for both Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus and The Beatles "Let it Be" rooftop performance. Imagine having Eric Clapton in your Wedding Band! Great Book - it seems everyday was a highlight in his life!

I was expecting a book describing his work in the studio. Looking at the arc of his career coupled with the evolution of studio equipment I was looking for a discussion of how he recorded. There is a lone description about the accidental discovery of the mic placement for the Led Zeppelin drum sound. But nothing more. Great book for name dropping but not for anything to do with sound or recording.

This is Johns insight into his studio work (including his own early attempts at becoming a singer) with many of the greatest bands of that era. The book has the feel of the era ("Johnny McLaughlin was so cool in his sharkskin suit and pencil tie with a button down shirt. He would lean on the pillar on the left side of the stage, barely moving, while playing the most incredible guitar.") but at several important points in his reminisces Johns glosses over, or judiciously prunes (for many readers including me) the seemingly important points of some subject, leaving them out altogether. Presumably it's because he's talking about friends and/or he's doing the British thing of being polite to a fault. And that's too bad because at some points you want him to keep on describing the action, but good manners and/or modesty seems to prevail. Because I'm from that era and would look for Johns' name on the back of an LP as an indication of how good it might be, I think (for nostalgia's sake) this book floats somewhere between 3 and 4 "stars". But to each his own.

But to his credit Johns does write in some depth about the era in general--from meeting Ian Stewart and recording the Rolling Stones very early on, to meeting both Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page at the start of their respective careers--and working in the studio with many of the best musicians of the period, but without resorting to gossip. Johns' remembrances (taken from his diaries) like this of George Harrison-- "So we waited for everyone to leave and he went out into the empty studio and played "Something in the Way She Moves"...." He came into the control room, and after having it played back to him, he asked what I thought of it, as he seemed unsure."--is about as personal as the book gets as far as any deep depth. But the many sessions he produced and the many great albums we all still hold up as pinnacles of great rock music give the book a feel of those days when the music was new and exciting. From his work on the Steve Miller Band album "Children of the Future" to working with The Eagles, and everyone else, the book brings up good memories of those times. He also talks about the music business in his era as compared to the present and how things have changed, and not all for the better. But if you're looking for information on how he got the sound he wanted, Johns doesn't dwell on the technicalities of his work.

But the day to day workings in the studio ("The rest of March 1971 was taken up with starting and completing the second album with McGuiness Flint and recording The Stones live in concert...", and "I went back in the studio with The Who to complete "The Who By Numbers" at Shepperton Studios.") with all the many bands does have the flavor of those heady times. This book isn't supposed to be a "tell all" type of read. He doesn't dwell on or go into the negative aspects of working with the many bands he's produced. This is Johns' observations of what went on in his life as a top studio producer, and being "straight" while most everyone else was under the influence of various substances means that he writes honestly (but not to deeply) without being judgmental. And on that point the book succeeds. Yes, at times I wish Johns had included a bit more about certain events, but for whatever reason he chose not to. And for a book about (basically) his job as a producer, Johns succeeds pretty well.

"The day I don't learn something in the recording studio is the day I'm done." Glyn Johns.

So if you're looking for some deep secrets to emerge or some mysteries to be brought into the light, this isn't the book. But if you want a look inside at working under pressure with some of the most egotistical artists of the era, with Johns trying to keep things moving in the right direction, this book will be of some interest.