MUSIC PRODUCERS: Conversations With Today's Top Record Makers

As seen above, be wary of subtitles on books.  The word "Top" should tell you all you need to know.  Plus the fact that it's published by Mix magazine.  In fact, it's culled from interviews that have appeared in the pages of Mix.  Uh oh.  You can probably guess what kind of horrible hit-makers they prop up in here, so I'll try to pass and tell you about the cool ones.  Our pal Don Dixon makes a brief appearance here, mostly reiterating what he's more recently told to Tape Op.  Daniel Lanois makes a fine appearance as the quiet genius he is.  Rick Rubin plays the part of the recording rebel well.  KRS-One gets treated like a novelty act and barely gets to touch on making records, which is something he excels at.  There's also a humorous chat with George Martin that I liked.  Several of the guys (of course) interviewed here refer to making a record in cake-baking terms, which gets quite stupid after a while.  Otherwise, there's a lot of fluff, and people saying stuff about recording that will make you mad 'cause they're so removed from what rocks that it's evil.  It's also interesting to me that all the articles seem shorter and less informative than anything in Tape Op; which is not to blow my own horn but to wonder what the hell is going on here... who are these articles geared at?  Industry professionals?  "Project studio" geeks?  It's certainly not much use for people that are trying to actually make recordings.  And that seems kinda weird.  (Mix, 6400 Hollis St. #12, Emeryville, CA 94608)