Phil Ramone is one of the great record producers of our time. He has made so many that are classics that it is hard to keep count. Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon... the list goes on and on.
As a recording engineer and producer, Ramone is unparalleled. The clarity and power that he brings to the instruments and voices on his records is enviable. So any nuggets of recording wisdom that he shares are ones that I am more than happy to listen to.
The book occasionally gets bogged down by excessive praise of some of the artists, though I can hardly fault him for that. The value of the book is in his technical and personal reveals throughout the book - how to deal with people and equipment to make great recordings.
He recommends separating microphones by usage. Do not use the kick drum mic on vocals, keep the string mic on the strings. He also mentions one particular time when Bob Dylan purposefully infuriated a session player in order to get an inspired performance.
These little tidbits, along with an occasional glimpse into the artistic process of people like Billy Joel and Paul Simon make the book Making Records worth the time it takes to read, which is not much. It is relatively short and quick, with accessible prose and interesting stories.
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