Saxon (album)
Saxon is the debut studio album by the English heavy metal band Saxon, released in 1979. Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic gave the album three stars out of five, and, in his mixed review, described it as "the quiet before the storm", criticised the band's then-lack of experience in the studio as well as their record label, for not knowing "how to capture a heavy metal sound on tape", meaning that the album "only hints at Saxon's true personality and songwriting potential", he said that the progressive rock sounding "Rainbow Theme"/"Frozen Rainbow" and glam rock sounding "Big Teaser" and "Still Fit to Boogie", "suggested some lingering doubts as to musical direction", but that, overall, "the LP helped to put Saxon on the map". A vinyl copy of the album was featured in the music video for "In The Beginning" by the hard rock band, Heaven. All tracks written by Paul Quinn, Graham Oliver, Steve Dawson and Pete Gill. Bonus tracks 14-18 recorded on Tommy Vance's Friday Rock Show, transmitted 15 February 1980.
Bonus tracks 20-22 recorded live at Donington, 1980. SaxonBiff Byford - vocals Graham Oliver - guitar Paul Quinn - guitar Steve Dawson - bass guitar Pete Gill - drumsProductionJohn Verity - producer John Verity - engineer Livingstone Studios, UK - recording and mixing location
Steve Dawson
Steven "Dobby" Dawson is an English bass guitarist and a founder of Saxon. Dawson was the inspiration for Harry Shearer's Spinal Tap character Derek Smalls. Saxon Wheels of Steel Strong Arm of the Law Denim and Leather The Eagle Has Landed Power & the Glory Crusader Innocence Is No Excuse Rock the Nations BBC Sessions Live at Donnington 1980 Victim You Re://Landed It's Alive The Second Wave: 25 Years of NWOBHM Motorbiker Pandemonium Circus Oliver / Dawson Saxon Official website
Record producer
A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performer's music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has varying roles during the recording process, they may gather musical ideas for the project, collaborate with the artists to select cover tunes or original songs by the artist/group, work with artists and help them to improve their songs, lyrics or arrangements. A producer may also: Select session musicians to play rhythm section accompaniment parts or solos Co-write Propose changes to the song arrangements Coach the singers and musicians in the studioThe producer supervises the entire process from preproduction, through to the sound recording and mixing stages, and, in some cases, all the way to the audio mastering stage; the producer may perform these roles themselves, or help select the engineer, provide suggestions to the engineer. The producer may pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record label's budget.
A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording and production of a band or performer's music. A producer has many roles that may include, but are not limited to, gathering ideas for the project, composing the music for the project, selecting songs or session musicians, proposing changes to the song arrangements, coaching the artist and musicians in the studio, controlling the recording sessions, supervising the entire process through audio mixing and, in some cases, to the audio mastering stage. Producers often take on a wider entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules and negotiations. Writer Chris Deville explains it, "Sometimes a producer functions like a creative consultant — someone who helps a band achieve a certain aesthetic, or who comes up with the perfect violin part to complement the vocal melody, or who insists that a chorus should be a bridge. Other times a producer will build a complete piece of music from the ground up and present the finished product to a vocalist, like Metro Boomin supplying Future with readymade beats or Jack Antonoff letting Taylor Swift add lyrics and melody to an otherwise-finished “Out Of The Woods.”The artist of an album may not be a record producer or music producer for his/her album.
While both contribute creatively, the official credit of "record producer" may depend on the record contract. Christina Aguilera, for example, did not receive record producer credits until many albums into her career. In the 2010s, the producer role is sometimes divided among up to three different individuals: executive producer, vocal producer and music producer. An executive producer oversees project finances, a vocal producers oversees the vocal production, a music producer oversees the creative process of recording and mixings; the music producer is often a competent arranger, musician or songwriter who can bring fresh ideas to a project. As well as making any songwriting and arrangement adjustments, the producer selects and/or collaborates with the mixing engineer, who takes the raw recorded tracks and edits and modifies them with hardware and software tools to create a stereo or surround sound "mix" of all the individual voices sounds and instruments, in turn given further adjustment by a mastering engineer for the various distribution media.
The producer oversees the recording engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as "the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record", like a director would a movie. Indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation is music director; the music producer's job is to create and mold a piece of music. The scope of responsibility may be one or two songs or an artist's entire album – in which case the producer will develop an overall vision for the album and how the various songs may interrelate. At the beginning of record industry, the producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live; the immediate predecessors to record producers were the artists and repertoire executives of the late 1920s and 1930s who oversaw the "pop" product and led session orchestras. That was the case of Ben Selvin at Columbia Records, Nathaniel Shilkret at Victor Records and Bob Haring at Brunswick Records.
By the end of the 1930s, the first professional recording studios not owned by the major companies were established separating the roles of A&R man and producer, although it wouldn't be until the late 1940s when the term "producer" became used in the industry. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1960s due to technology; the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously. All of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio where the performance was recorded. With multitrack recording, the "bed tracks" (rhythm section accompaniment parts such as the bassline and rhythm guitar could be recorded first, the vocals and solos could be added using as many "takes" as necessary, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. A pop band could record their backing tracks one week, a horn section could be brought in a week to add horn shots and punches, a string section could be brought in a week after that.
Multitrack recording had another pro
Nikolo Kotzev
Nikolo Kotzev is a Bulgarian guitarist, song writer and producer most famous for his 2001 rock opera Nostradamus and his band Brazen Abbot. Kotzev was started taking violin lessons at the age of five. While in his teens he took an interest to rock music, started playing the guitar. Nikolo played the guitar in a Bulgarian rock group Impulse. While touring with the band in Europe in the late 80s, Nikolo met Swedish singer Björn Lodin; when Nikolo relocated to Mariehamn, Åland, Finland in 1989, he joined Lodin's band Baltimoore, with whom he recorded two albums: Double Density and Thought For Food. Creative differences led to Kotzev's departure in 1994, at which point Nikolo started working on a solo project under the Brazen Abbot moniker; the result was Live and Learn, which featured singers Göran Edman, Glenn Hughes and Thomas Vikström, keyboard player Mic Michaeli, bassist Svante Henryson and drummer Ian Haugland. Kotzev played the guitar, produced and wrote all the songs for the album; the follow-up album, Eye of the Storm, featured the same people, with Joe Lynn Turner replacing Hughes and John Levén replacing Henryson.
The same line-up released Bad Religion. Brazen Abbot was put on hiatus. Due to a string of setbacks, including scheduling conflicts and Kotzev's record company, USG Records, going bankrupt, the album wasn't completed until 2000 and was released as Nikolo Kotzev's Nostradamus in 2001 on SPV Records; the album featured most Brazen Abbot members, in addition to singers Jørn Lande, Alannah Myles and Sass Jordan. Fifteen years it premiered at the State Opera of city of Ruse, for the 450th anniversary of Nostradamus's death. Kotzev resumed work with Brazen Abbot in 2002, releasing Guilty as Sin in 2003; the line-up was the same as for Bad Religion, with Lande replacing Vikström. Michaeli, Levén and Haugland departed Brazen Abbot to rejoin Europe. Temporary replacements filled in during a short tour in Bulgaria, recordings of which were released on the live album A Decade of Brazen Abbot. My Resurrection followed in 2005, featured four singers: Edman and new members Tony Harnell and Erik Mårtensson and a new backing band consisting of bassist Wayne Banks, organist Nelko Kolarov and drummer Mattias Knutas.
In addition to being a recording artist, Kotzev has produced and mixed albums by other bands, such as Saxon, Molly Hatchet, Rose Tattoo and Messiah's Kiss. In 2011 Kotzev started a band in Sofia, named Kikimora, which plays hard rock with Bulgarian lyrics, he received criticism from his former colleague Joe Lynn Turner in 2015 when he released a twentieth-anniversary compilation CD/DVD of Live And Learn material, which Turner condemned as a'homemade bootleg.' Baltimoore - Double Density Baltimoore - Thought For Food Brazen Abbot - Live and Learn Brazen Abbot - Eye of the Storm Brazen Abbot - Bad Religion Nikolo Kotzev - Nostradamus Brazen Abbot - Guilty as Sin Brazen Abbot - A Decade of Brazen Abbot Brazen Abbot - My Resurrection Media related to Nikolo Kotsev at Wikimedia Commons Official Brazen Abbot website Official Nikolo Kotzev's Nostradamus website Nitrax Productions, Kotzev's Production Company's website Nikolo Kotzev's Draconia - the rock opera Brazen Abbot Argentina Fansite Nikolo Kotzev at Bulgarian Rock Archives
Solid Ball of Rock
Solid Ball of Rock is the tenth studio album by heavy metal band Saxon released in 1991. Five of its 11 tracks were written by new bassist Nibbs Carter. "For our audience – and without an audience there is no band – our focus returned on Solid Ball of Rock…" noted singer Biff Byford. "Since we've been right on it." SaxonBiff Byford – vocals, engineer Graham Oliver – guitar Paul Quinn – guitar Nibbs Carter – bass guitar Nigel Glockler – drumsProductionKalle Trapp — producer, engineer
Power & the Glory
Power & the Glory is the fifth studio album by heavy metal band Saxon released in 1983. The album sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. This is the first Saxon studio album with new drummer Nigel Glockler and was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia in the fall of 1982; the album peaked at #15 in the UK Albums Chart. It reached No.1 in the Metal charts in Sweden, Norway and Germany selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide. It was their first album to enter the Billboard 200 in the US, peaking at #155. A retrospective AllMusic review by Eduardo Rivadavia gave the album three out of five stars. Rivadavia criticised the mixing, saying that the album "sounds as though it was recorded in a tin can, albeit a very large tin can" eliminating the "big, in-your-face, gritty" sound heard on the band's past albums, he criticised the material itself, saying that "despite a few sparks generated by "Redline," "Warrior," and the proto-thrashing "This Town Rocks," only the anthemic title track showed enough staying power to earn a frequent slot in Saxon's live repertoire".
Canadian journalist Martin Popoff writes quite the opposite and considers Power & the Glory Saxon's best album, praising the production and the contribution of "new ass-kicking drummer Nigel Glockler" to "working a metal magic, the embodiment of the NWOBHM's ideals now made real."In 2005, Power & the Glory was ranked number 376 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. All tracks written by Paul Quinn, Graham Oliver, Steve Dawson and Nigel Glockler. "Power and the Glory" was released as a single in April 1983. It reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart; the song is lyrics relating to war and battles. A music video was made for the song with band members running through a castle with dead dolls. Biff Byford - vocals Graham Oliver - guitar Paul Quinn - guitar Steve Dawson - bass guitar Nigel Glockler - drumsProductionJeff Glixman - producer Jeff Glixman - engineer Cheryl Bordagary - engineer Les Horn - engineer Axis Sound Studio, Atlanta - recording and mixing location
Wheels of Steel
Wheels of Steel is the second studio album by the English heavy metal band Saxon. It was released in 1980 and reached Gold status in the UK. "747" is about a power cut that forced planes in New York to remain in ascent in 1965 with the power outage provoking a Scandinavian flight to detour to Kennedy airport in the dark. The title track is featured in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City and Brütal Legend, it has been covered by L. A. Guns on their album Rips the Covers Off and bears a strong resemblance to the outro riff of "Rock'n' Roll Doctor" by Black Sabbath, although according to guitarist Graham Oliver the song was inspired by the Ted Nugent song "Cat Scratch Fever"; the album received positive reviews by critics and is today regarded as being a classic metal album helping to define the genre. Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic lists the album as "topping the heap of essential Saxon albums, pretty much hand in hand with its immediate successors, Strong Arm of the Law and Denim and Leather... setting the template for the band's most successful efforts".
Canadian reviewer Martin Popoff regards Wheels of Steel as a "qualified classic" and "one of two or three of building blocks". Sputnikmusic's Mike Stagno praises "the solid, consistent rhythms that produce the riffy, yet accessible tunes" and Biff Byford's "powerful singing", which make Wheels of Steel "perhaps not one of metal's best albums", but "still a worthwhile album."The album went on to achieve Gold status in the UK. It was their first album to enter the UK Albums Chart, peaking at #5, is their highest-charting album in the UK Albums Chart to date. All tracks written by Biff Byford, Paul Quinn, Graham Oliver, Steve Dawson and Pete Gill.2009 remaster bonus tracks 13-17 recorded live at Donington, 1980. SaxonBiff Byford - vocals Graham Oliver - guitar Paul Quinn - guitar Steve Dawson - bass guitar Pete Gill - drumsProductionPete Hinton - producer Will Reid Dick - engineer
