Legendary studio engineer and musician Alan Parsons interviewed at Premier Guitar:
Studio Legends: Alan Parsons on "Dark Side of the Moon"Nice in-depth (three pages) interview. Alan's own website is here: Alan Parsons Music And here is the website for The Art and Science of Sound Recording -- looks really comprehensive and not that high a price - $150 for a three DVD set -- ten hours of instruction.
Imagine, you're 19 years old, and you've landed a job as an assistant engineer at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London. Among your first sessions? The Beatles' last two albums, Let It Be and Abbey Road. Then, after being promoted to full engineer, you are assigned to work with a band called Pink Floyd on a project called Atom Heart Mother, followed by Dark Side of the Moon -- the latter of which earns you the first of nearly a dozen Grammy nominations. Not a bad way to start out, is it?
For Alan Parsons, it was a launching pad for a stellar career engineering and producing a who's who of recording artists, including the Hollies (He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, The Air That I Breathe), Paul McCartney (Red Rose Speedway, Wild Life), Al Stewart (Year of the Cat, Time Passages), Ambrosia (Ambrosia), and many more. But Parsons wasn't content to stay behind the console. He also stepped out front with his Alan Parsons Project, earning hit records (including I Robot, Eye in the Sky, Stereotomy), and touring the world to soldout crowds along the way. He is an accomplished vocalist, keyboardist, saxophonist, flautist, bassist, guitarist, and songwriter.
These days, Parsons maintains a busy schedule as a producer, and performs around the world with his Project. His latest venture is educating a new generation of engineers and producers with his Art and Science of Sound Recording series of DVDs, web videos, and master classes.
Needless to say, after working with axe slingers ranging from George Harrison to David Gilmour, Alan Parsons knows a thing or two about tracking great guitar tones. Premier Guitar recently sat down with Parsons to discuss his guitar-recording secrets, as well as how he captured the seminal sounds on Dark Side of the Moon.
