In the Producer's Chair

Steve Lillywhite has recently finished producing the debut album by Liam Gallagher’s new band Beady Eye and admits that the partnership came about after he himself rang Liam! As he explained, “For me, it’s always the voice, no matter who I work with. I always thought that Liam has the British rock ‘n roll voice. So after I read that Oasis were splitting I asked them – what’s happening? I suggested the idea of me producing Liam’s new band and I think they liked the idea of me approaching them. Perhaps strangely, one of the albums I’d produced that they were very impressed with was The La’s album, which they love. So we took it from there. They’ve made a cracking album too.”

Beady Eye is merely the latest project for the former tape-op, who has become one of the most revered producers on Planet Rock. In fact, the list of acts Lillywhite has done studio time with reads like a rock ’n roll hall of fame, including as it does U2, The Rolling Stones, Travis, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, The Pogues, The Smiths and lots more.
Despite that impressive track record, the producer is modestly unsure what exactly artists expect from him when they engage him as a producer. Is it a magic wand? “No, I don’t think so,” he says. “I suppose they expect my taste to be a sound. That’s what they employ me for. They write the songs and everything, and it’s my taste added to it that makes it sound the way it is in the presentation of it. They have to trust my version of the presentation of their music.”
He can still recall his first impressions of U2 in the studio, way back when he worked on their debut album Boy. “They were very young and innocent. They were very dedicated and intense. What they lacked back then in musical competence they made up for in the passion they brought to their songwriting and their music. Of course they’ve grown over the years, and Edge is now really a bit of a scientist in the studio, but the rest of the band still just works off their spirit and what feels right for the music.”
He also fondly remembers the first production he took charge of. “It was Ultravox’s first album in 1977 when John Foxx was the vocalist,” he recalls. “They were more like a punky Roxy Music back then. But every artist is different, and I tailor what I do to fit in with the needs of each artist, for each project. I can’t think of any two albums I’ve produced that were identical to work on. I’ve worked so much with so many different styles that I can’t honestly say there’s a right way or a wrong way to do it. But there might be a right way or a wrong way for this or that specific artist, and that’s what I have to work to.”
Lillywhite agrees that approaches to recording in general have changed so much between the days of Ultravox and his more recent studio adventures with U2 or Beady Eye. “The big changes have been in the technology available. We now record everything digitally. In the early days there weren’t so many options open.
“Both ways are valid,” he adds. “Great records were made back then and great records are being made now, and it all depends on what you are trying to achieve. Artists too have changed over the years. They know so much more than they used to about what’s possible in the studio. In the old days there was a lot more innocence. These days, lots of artists have their own Pro Tools, even their own studios and systems, and they’re really clever at what they do.”
He believes the mistake artists are most likely to make in the studio, is thinking too much. “When artists play live in front of an audience they just do it. They don’t think about it at all! The studio is a very sterile environment and there’s no audience there to feed off, so it’s very hard for artists to get to that place they get to when they play live. But my job has a lot to do with helping them to get to that place so that they can perform without the barriers,” he says.
With the ever-changing world of music creating new challenges and new opportunities, many people are concerned about the quality of music heard through computers or cheap personal players. Does Lillywhite feel that producers will have to adapt what they do to take this into consideration? “This is something that’s more and more on my mind,” he admits. “We hear the record on big speakers and it sounds great, but when it comes down to these new media, you can argue that they can’t hear as much in the music listening through tinny speakers. So I’ve been thinking of changing my style a bit to compensate for that.” That said, he doesn’t as foresee artists making separate “downloads mixes” of their recordings.
Asked to name his own favourite producer he immediately plumps for Phil Spector. “He was one of my early inspirations. I’ve always admired Trevor Horn’s productions,” he tells Hot Press. He frankly admits that what he does is “never work, although it can seem like it at the time.” And he still exudes a hugely impressive passion and energy for the music. Despite the extraordinary calibre of the artists he’s already worked with, I wonder if there’s anybody still on his wish list. There is. “I’d love to produce Arcade Fire. I’ve always loved them. His voice reminds me of Elvis Presley. I know them and I’ve actually asked them – and they told me that they’re all producers and they don’t need somebody like me! But maybe one day ...”

Steve Lillywhite appears at The Music show, which takes place in the RDS, Dublin on October 2 and 3.