Wall of Sound

Phil Spector was one of the examples used in the Back to Mono article of producers who worked solely in Mono. Spector's trademark Wall of Sound remains one of the most recognisable production sounds in the history of pop music.

The Wall of Sound was a dense layered recording technique Spector developed in the 1960's that was made to sound good on AM radios and jukeboxes that were popular at the time. The distinctive sound was achieved by recording large groups of musicians at once, often with multiples of each instrument playing the same part. This was then transmitted to an echo chamber, a basement room fitted with speakers and microphones, before feeding back to the control room giving it a natural reverb soaked sound.

The session musicians who played on the tracks, nicknamed The Wrecking Crew, were the same musicians Brian Wilson hired to record Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations.

This is one of my favourite tracks Spector recorded during this period; He's a Rebel by The Crystals with a lead vocal from the amazing Darlene Love.

He's a Rebel - The Crystals