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How Shel Talmy created one of the most thrilling sounds in rock
How Shel Talmy created one of the most thrilling sounds in rock
The crunch and immediacy of the Kinks’ and the Who’s early songs? That was Talmy.
Talmy, photographed in 1973, helped shape the sound of rock music with his production for the Kinks and the Who. (Tplp/Getty Images)
Analysis by Geoff Edgers
November 15, 2024 at 12:10 p.m. EST
The sound is unmistakable. A barre chord slices through the speakers, the guitar edging into distortion. The snare kicks in and kicks you over, each hit growling like a ’69 GTO. These are the songs: “You Really Got Me,” My Generation” and the dynamic double shot of “A Well Respected Man” and “Sunny Afternoon.” ... This was the work of Shel Talmy, the criminally underappreciated producer who died this week at age 87.
The sound that Talmy perfected in the studio is as British mod as a Vespa turning onto Carnaby Street. And yet Sheldon Talmy was born in Chicago, went to high school in Los Angeles and didn’t land in Swinging London until the summer he turned 25. In 1963, a year after that arrival, Talmy met a band called the Ravens led by a pair of usually warring brothers, Ray and Dave Davies, and signed on to produce them.
The Kinks, after a name change and a few false starts, released “You Really Got Me” in August 1964, inventing punk years before anyone would call it that. Lead guitarist Dave Davies certainly did his part, slashing his amp with a razor blade to get that fuzz. But the drums are all Talmy. He had a thing with microphones. While other producers would use two or three, Talmy mounted a dozen at different places around the kit. All of it — Dave’s little green amp, the overmiked drums, Ray’s gingerman sneer — created a crunch that is distinctly Talmy’s own. You can hear it in just about everything he did afterward.
The Kinks were soon stars, a naughty and class-conscious alternative to the Beatles and Stones. Pete Townshend heard what they were up to and called up Talmy. Soon, he was producing the Who, applying his controlled chaos to “I Can’t Explain,” “My Generation” and “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere.” The latter included a solo with so much feedback that the record company initially wondered if there had been an error in the studio.
{snip}
By Geoff Edgers
Geoff Edgers, The Washington Post's national arts reporter, covers everything from fine arts to popular culture. He's the author of "Walk This Way: Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and the Song That Changed American Music Forever." follow on X @geoffedgers
The crunch and immediacy of the Kinks’ and the Who’s early songs? That was Talmy.
Talmy, photographed in 1973, helped shape the sound of rock music with his production for the Kinks and the Who. (Tplp/Getty Images)
Analysis by Geoff Edgers
November 15, 2024 at 12:10 p.m. EST
The sound is unmistakable. A barre chord slices through the speakers, the guitar edging into distortion. The snare kicks in and kicks you over, each hit growling like a ’69 GTO. These are the songs: “You Really Got Me,” My Generation” and the dynamic double shot of “A Well Respected Man” and “Sunny Afternoon.” ... This was the work of Shel Talmy, the criminally underappreciated producer who died this week at age 87.
The sound that Talmy perfected in the studio is as British mod as a Vespa turning onto Carnaby Street. And yet Sheldon Talmy was born in Chicago, went to high school in Los Angeles and didn’t land in Swinging London until the summer he turned 25. In 1963, a year after that arrival, Talmy met a band called the Ravens led by a pair of usually warring brothers, Ray and Dave Davies, and signed on to produce them.
The Kinks, after a name change and a few false starts, released “You Really Got Me” in August 1964, inventing punk years before anyone would call it that. Lead guitarist Dave Davies certainly did his part, slashing his amp with a razor blade to get that fuzz. But the drums are all Talmy. He had a thing with microphones. While other producers would use two or three, Talmy mounted a dozen at different places around the kit. All of it — Dave’s little green amp, the overmiked drums, Ray’s gingerman sneer — created a crunch that is distinctly Talmy’s own. You can hear it in just about everything he did afterward.
The Kinks were soon stars, a naughty and class-conscious alternative to the Beatles and Stones. Pete Townshend heard what they were up to and called up Talmy. Soon, he was producing the Who, applying his controlled chaos to “I Can’t Explain,” “My Generation” and “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere.” The latter included a solo with so much feedback that the record company initially wondered if there had been an error in the studio.
{snip}
By Geoff Edgers
Geoff Edgers, The Washington Post's national arts reporter, covers everything from fine arts to popular culture. He's the author of "Walk This Way: Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and the Song That Changed American Music Forever." follow on X @geoffedgers
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
I love learning about the movers and shakers like Mr. Talmy who fashioned my life without my knowing about it!!!
RIP Good Sir 
