TVD's Daily Wax | The Producers | Roy Thomas Baker

Time was when the announcement of a particular producer for an artist's next recording project was indeed heralded as NEWS. Labels and artists would jockey for position to marry a producer, and most importantly a producer's SOUND, to an upcoming release. As such, yours truly followed the hiring of a producer with 'inside baseball'-like interest.

And that interest hasn't abated, despite the role of producer all but being ruled out of the current hype-equation. So, this week, we'll go about remedying the current brand of under-appreciation a bit as we count down TVD's Top Five Producers. Ever.

Coming in at number five is: Roy Thomas Baker. As Mix magazine noted, "Baker's name...will forever be associated with Queen albums such as Queen II and Night at the Opera, which contained the track “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the band's ode to rock 'n' roll bombast, and was filled to the brim with overdubs. It was the highpoint of what Baker calls his “kitchen sink production time: Any idea that we had, we just threw it on.”"

Indeed, the hallmark of his production style is the multilayered, operatic vocal approach which shines on not only Queen records but on such diverse releases by Nazareth, Guns N' Roses, The Who, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, The Cars, Foreigner, Journey, Pilot, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, T. Rex, Devo, The Stranglers, Dusty Springfield, Starcastle, T'Pau, Yes, Cheap Trick, Gasolin' and The Darkness. Most recently he has worked with The Smashing Pumpkins on their 2007 album, Zeitgeist.

The Cars - My Best Friend's Girl (Mp3)
The Darkness - Is It Just Me (Mp3)
Journey - Lights (Mp3)
Queen - Bicycle Race (Mp3)
Queen - We Are The Champions (Mp3)