Bruce Botnick | |
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Born | 1945 (age 78–79) Los Angeles, California, US |
Occupation(s) | Audio engineer, record producer |
Years active | 1963–present |
Notable work | L.A. Woman , Eddie Money , Life for the Talking , Street Talk , Let It Bleed , Pet Sounds |
Bruce Botnick (born 1945) is an American audio engineer and record producer. He is best known for co-producing L.A. Woman , the sixth studio album by the Doors, after producer Paul A. Rothchild quit during production of the album. Botnick is also known for producing for Eddie Money and his platinum albums Eddie Money and Life for the Talking, as well as Steve Perry's platinum album Street Talk . [1] Botnick also engineered for the Beach Boys and their eleventh studio album Pet Sounds , as well as producing and engineering for acts such as Love, Buffalo Springfield, Dave Mason, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Rolling Stones, as well as film composer Jerry Goldsmith. [1]
Botnick engineered Love's first two albums, and co-produced their third album, Forever Changes , with the band's singer-songwriter, Arthur Lee. [2] He also is listed as the one of two recording engineers on the 1965 Curtis Amy LP The Sounds of Broadway - The Sounds of Hollywood - said to have been released in 1965, [3] although it also has been said to have been released earlier. The LP back cover liner notes, written by Curtis Amy, formally thank Bruce Botnick for his work on the recordings.
Botnick audio engineered the Doors' studio recordings starting with their first album in 1966.
In November 1970 he took over production of The Doors' L.A. Woman album, their last with lead singer Jim Morrison, after the band's long-serving producer Paul A. Rothchild fell out with the band over the album's direction. [4] According to Robby Krieger it was Botnick's idea to record the album at the Doors rehearsal space where they were more comfortable and used to the sound, rather than at a more costly recording studio. [5]
Botnick has a credit as assistant engineer on the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed album. He later produced Eddie Money's first two albums, Eddie Money in 1977 and Life for the Taking in 1978. Botnick also produced two albums for Paul Collins' rock group The Beat, including 1979's The Beat and 1982's The Kids Are The Same. He also co-produced Kenny Loggins’ 1982 album, High Adventure .
Botnick had a long-running association with film composer Jerry Goldsmith as his scoring mixer. Botnick first met Goldsmith on 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture and they worked together on most of Goldsmith's film projects - numbering over 100 - from the 1980s through to Goldsmith's death in 2004.
He also engineered at least two of Lonnie Mack's late-1960s Elektra albums, and is credited as Re-Recording Mixer for the movie Gremlins.
Was the producer and mixing engineer of the 1972 album Rising by the band Mark-Almond.
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts of the 1960s, primarily due to Morrison's lyrics and voice, along with his erratic stage persona and legal issues. The group is widely regarded as an important figure of the era's counterculture.
The Doors is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on January 4, 1967, by Elektra Records. It was recorded in August 1966 at Sunset Sound Recorders, in Hollywood, California, under the production of Paul A. Rothchild. The album features the extended version of the band's breakthrough single "Light My Fire" and the lengthy closer "The End" with its Oedipal spoken word section. Various publications, including BBC and Rolling Stone, have listed The Doors as one of the greatest debut albums of all time.
Strange Days is the second studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on September 25, 1967 by Elektra Records, arriving eight months after their self-titled debut album. After the latter's successful release, the band started experimenting with both new and old material in early 1967 for their second record. Upon release, Strange Days reached number three on the US Billboard 200, and eventually earned a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It contains two Top 30 hit singles, "People Are Strange" and "Love Me Two Times".
Waiting for the Sun is the third studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released by Elektra Records on July 3, 1968. The album's 11 tracks were recorded between late 1967 and May 1968 mostly at TTG Studios in Los Angeles. It became the band's only number one album, topping the Billboard 200 for four weeks, while also including their second US number one single, "Hello, I Love You". The first single released off the record was "The Unknown Soldier", which peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the band's first hit album in the UK, where it reached number 16.
The Soft Parade is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Doors, released on July 18, 1969, by Elektra Records. Most of the album was recorded following a grueling tour during which the band was left with little time to compose new material. Record producer Paul A. Rothchild recommended a total departure from the Doors' first three albums: develop a fuller sound by incorporating brass and string arrangements provided by Paul Harris. Lead singer Jim Morrison, who was dealing with personal issues and focusing more on his poetry, was less involved in the songwriting process, allowing guitarist Robby Krieger to increase his own creative output.
Morrison Hotel is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Doors, released on February 9, 1970, by Elektra Records. After the use of brass and string arrangements recommended by producer Paul A. Rothchild on their previous album, The Soft Parade (1969), the Doors returned to their blues rock style and this album was largely seen as a return to form for the band. The group entered Elektra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles in November 1969 to record the album which is divided into two separately titled sides, namely: "Hard Rock Café" and "Morrison Hotel". Blues rock guitar pioneer Lonnie Mack and Ray Neapolitan also contributed to the album as session bassists.
L.A. Woman is the sixth studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on April 19, 1971, by Elektra Records. It is the last to feature lead singer Jim Morrison during his lifetime, due to his death exactly two months and two weeks following the album's release, though he would posthumously appear on the 1978 album An American Prayer. Even more so than its predecessors, the album is heavily influenced by blues. It was recorded without producer Paul A. Rothchild after he quit the band over the perceived lack of quality in their studio performances. Subsequently, the band co-produced the album with longtime sound engineer Bruce Botnick.
An American Prayer is the ninth and final studio album by the American rock band the Doors. Following the death of Jim Morrison and the band's breakup, the surviving members of the Doors reconvened to set several of Morrison's spoken word recordings to music. It was the only album by the Doors to be nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Spoken Word" category.
"Light My Fire" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. Although it was principally written by the band's guitarist, Robby Krieger, songwriting was credited to the entire band. Recognized as one of the earliest examples of psychedelic rock, it was recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967 on their eponymous debut album. Due to its erotic lyrics and innovative structure, the track has come to be regarded as synonymous with the '60s psychedelic and sexual revolutions.
"Touch Me" is a song by the Doors from their 1969 album The Soft Parade. Written by guitarist Robby Krieger in late 1968, it makes extensive use of brass and string instruments, including a solo by featured saxophonist Curtis Amy.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American rock band the Doors, released in 1980. The album, along with the film Apocalypse Now, released the previous year, created for the band an entirely new audience of the generation that did not grow up with the Doors. The album went on to become one of the highest-selling compilations of all time, with combined CD and vinyl sales of 5,000,000 in the United States alone.
"Roadhouse Blues" is a song by the American rock band the Doors from their 1970 album Morrison Hotel. It was released as the B-side of "You Make Me Real", which peaked at No. 50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 41 in Canada. "Roadhouse Blues" charted in its own right on the Cash Box Top 100, peaking at No. 76. The song became a concert staple for the group and it has been covered by numerous artists.
The Doors: Original Soundtrack Recording is the soundtrack to Oliver Stone's 1991 film The Doors. It contains several studio recordings by the Doors, as well as the Velvet Underground's "Heroin" and the introduction to Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. None of Val Kilmer's performances of the Doors' songs that are featured in the movie are included in the soundtrack.
Essential Rarities is a compilation album by the Doors, originally released as part of the boxed set The Complete Studio Recordings in 1999, but reissued in 2000 as a single CD, containing studio cuts, live cuts and demos taken from the 1997 The Doors: Box Set.
"Love Her Madly" is a song by American rock band the Doors. It was released in March 1971 and was the first single from L.A. Woman, their final album with singer Jim Morrison. "Love Her Madly" became one of the highest-charting hits for the Doors; it peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and reached number three in Canada. Session musician Jerry Scheff played bass guitar on the song.
The Very Best of The Doors is a compilation album by the Doors, released in the US in 2001. It features the same cover art as The Best of The Doors compilation released the previous year, and a similar track listing to the single CD version of that album.
The Doors: Vinyl Box Set is the seventh box set for American rock band the Doors. It is a seven-record set of the original six studio albums, remastered in stereo from the original analogue tapes and pressed on 180-gram HQ vinyl, and a mono version of the debut album. Artwork, packaging, and inner sleeves are replicas of the original LPs issued between 1967 and 1971. The albums were remastered from 192k/24 bit digital copies and pressed at Record Technology (RTI). An insert booklet includes notes from Jac Holzman, founder of Elektra Records and Bruce Botnick the Doors' longtime sound engineer/co-producer on all the original studio albums.
Live at the Matrix 1967 is a double live album by the American rock band the Doors. It was recorded at The Matrix in San Francisco on March 7 and 10, 1967 by club co-owner Peter Abram. The recording is notable as one of the earliest live recordings of the band known to exist, played to a mostly empty venue. By March 1967, the Doors had recorded only their debut album and "Light My Fire" had yet to be released as a single, and they were still relatively unknown outside Southern California.
A Collection is a six compact disc box set by the Doors, released by Elektra and Rhino Records on July 5, 2011.
The Future Starts Here: The Essential Doors Hits is a compilation album by the rock band the Doors. It was released in the U.S. in 2008 to commemorate the band's 40th anniversary and contains new stereo audio mixes of the songs.