Jack
Nitzsche is one of the most crucial "back-room" figures in rock
annals, as producer, arranger, and writer of over 50 hit records,
many of them true classics. He's also one of the most mysterious
personalities, infrequently interviewd, rarely stepping into the
spotlight, remaining (perhaps by choice) a shadowy figure, seldom
photographed, occassionally visible hunched over a piano backing
Neil Young from time to time.
Nitzsche's career is a microcosm of L.A. rock & roll.
Starting with Specialty Records in the late 50's (A&R chief:
Sonny Bono), he worked with Lee Hazelwood, Lou Adler, Lester
Sill, Terry Melcher, Nik Venet, and other pioneers of the West
Coast record industry. Arranging nearly every Philles record, he
translated Phil Spector's grandiose concepts into thunderous
musical monuments, and a significant portion of the credit for
all those beloved Crystals, Ronettes and Righteous Brothers
records is |
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due him.
Spector, never noted for sharing the honors, asserted that
Nitzsche was merely a musical secretary, taking down Spector's
ideas, but Nitzsche's track record as a producer/arranger apart
from Phil demonstrates his mastery of that marvelous production
style. Here, according to Nitzsche (as told to Crawdaddy),
is how it works:
"Four guitars play 8th notes; four pianos hit it when he says
roll; the drum is on 2 and 4 on tom-toms, no snare, two
sticks-heavy sticks - at least five percussionists." Now go ahead
and try it.
Nitzsche was also a gifted songwriter (the classic "Needles
and Pins" is his), and over the years has worked with artists as
varied as the Rolling Stones, Jackie DeShannon, Neil Young, the
Turtles, Ringo Starr and the Tubes. He scored several movies,
including the memorable Performance soundtrack and One
Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, |
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not to mention orchestrating the
legendary Tami Show.
Through it all he's remained unknown to the public at large,
and has acquired a reputation for moodiness and inaccessibility.
On the occasion of this interview, Nitzsche, accompanied by
managerial reps (and noteworthy record biz figures in their own
rights) Denny Bruce and Dan Bourgoisa, proved charming, humorous,
and frighteningly knowledgeable (further interviews would
doubtless shed light on vast areas of rock history not covered
here).
For the interview, I brought along
as many noteworthy Nitzsche records as I could dig up, and
recorded his comments. Here, then, is the edited transcript,
arranged and produced by Ken Barnes (egotism running rampant),
with discographical assistance from Greg Shaw, Dan Bourgoise, and
Jack Nitzsche.
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