The Albert Brothers

Last updated

Ron and Howard Albert, known as the Albert Brothers, are an American record production duo best known for their work on recordings at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, United States. Their work includes notable albums such as Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos and CSN , the 1977 Crosby, Stills, and Nash reunion album. Howard Albert has said "I think we have 40 gold records to our name and about 30 or so platinum." [1] They have recently been inducted into the Florida Music Hall of Fame and have been working as music engineer/producers for over 40 years. [1]

Contents

History

In 1967, with his brother Howard having been drafted to serve in the United States Army to fight in the Vietnam War, 14-year-old Ron Albert pursued a job at the only major recording studio in Miami at that time, Criteria Studios, where he was hire as a typist for the studio's tape library. A short time after Albert was hired, the studio's owner and chief engineer, Mack Emerman, became sick, and Ron Albert filled in as an engineer, eventually becoming Criteria Studios primary engineer upon Emerman's retirement. [2] In 1969, Ron's brother Howard was discharged from the Army and, upon returning to Miami, began working alongside his brother at Criteria Studios as an engineer. [3]

The Albert brothers became known as "Fat Albert Productions." Along with Atlantic producers Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin, Atlantic co-owner Jerry Wexler, and equipment-designer Jeep Harned, the brothers helped Criteria become a heavily sought-after recording studio. Eventually, the brothers became Criteria Studio business partners. By 1983, however, Criteria was in debt and, planning on retiring, the brothers sold their share in the company.

In 1987, the Albert Brothers abandoned their retirement plans and partnered with another ex-Criteria engineer, Steve Alaimo, to form two new companies: Vision Records and Audio Vision Studios. Originally intended to house familiar artists from Criteria and TK Records, Vision Records' focus later shifted to releasing records by artists in the Miami Bass and Freestyle scenes. [2]

The Albert Brothers currently reside in Miami, where they are primarily occupied with being the owners of the aforementioned Vision Records and Audio Vision Studios. With hip-hop being the most popular type of music in Miami, they now use digital Pro Tools for music production. Audio Vision Studios has been working with many major hip hop artists, including Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, Ludacris, Big Tymers, Ace Hood, Ghostface Killah, Missy Elliot, Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. [4] However, the brothers are not very involved in producing the records of the hip hop artists. [5]

Music

Throughout their lengthy and expansive career, the Albert Brothers have engineered or produced music by many revered and distinguished artists. Artists whose music they have worked on include Jimmy Buffett, The Eagles, The Bee Gees, [2] the Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa, Aretha Franklin, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Derek and the Dominoes, the Allman Brothers Band, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Miles, Joe Cocker, Procol Harum, Wishbone Ash, Johnny Winter, [6] Betty Wright, John Mellencamp, Firefall and Pure Prairie League. [7]

Drum sound

A key achievement the brothers are known for is their creation of the "Fat Albert" drum sound. They achieved this sound by adding a microphone to each part of a drum kit. A separate microphone would be added to each tom, snare, cymbal, bass drum, and so forth. This resulted in a new and unique drum sound as no one before them had tried to multi-mike a drum kit. According to Ron, "as we got a few clients, we started getting recognition for it. The Rolling Stones and Eric Claptons and the Stephen Stillses of the world were coming for our drum sound.... It became the 'Miami Sound' because we were in Miami making it." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Record producer</span> Individual who oversees and manages the recording of an artists music

A record producer is a music recording project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions: ensuring artists deliver acceptable performances, supervising the technical engineering of the recording, and coordinating the production team and process. The producer's involvement in a musical project can vary in depth and scope. Sometimes in popular genres the producer may create the recording's entire sound and structure. However, in classical music recording, for example, the producer serves as more of a liaison between the conductor and the engineering team. The role is often likened to that of a film director though there are important differences. It is distinct from the role of an executive producer, who is mostly involved in the recording project on an administrative level, and from the audio engineer who operates the recording technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek and the Dominos</span> British–American blues-rock band

Derek and the Dominos was a short-lived English–American blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton, keyboardist and singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. All four members had previously played together in Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, during and after Clapton's brief tenure with Blind Faith. Dave Mason supplied additional lead guitar on early studio sessions and played at their first live gig. Another participant at their first session as a band was George Harrison, the recording for whose album All Things Must Pass marked the formation of Derek and the Dominos.

<i>Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs</i> 1970 studio album by Derek and the Dominos

Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is the only studio album by the English–American rock band Derek and the Dominos, released on 9 November 1970 as a double album by Polydor Records and Atco Records. It is best known for its title track, "Layla", which is often regarded as Eric Clapton's greatest musical achievement. The other band members were Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon, and Carl Radle (bass). Duane Allman played lead and slide guitar on 11 of the 14 songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Layla</span> Song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon

"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded with their band Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970). Its contrasting movements were composed separately by Clapton and Gordon. The piano part has also been controversially credited to Rita Coolidge, Gordon's girlfriend at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefall</span> American rock band

Firefall is an American country rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The band's biggest hit single, "You Are the Woman", peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard chart in 1976. Other hits included "Just Remember I Love You", "Strange Way", "Cinderella", "Headed for a Fall", and "Staying with It".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Dowd</span> American music recording engineer and producer (1925–2002)

Thomas John Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock, and soul records.

<i>Song of Innocence</i> 1968 studio album by David Axelrod

Song of Innocence is the debut album by American composer and producer David Axelrod. It was released in October 1968 by Capitol Records. In an effort to capitalize on the experimental climate of popular music at the time, Axelrod composed the album as a suite-like tone poem interpreting Songs of Innocence, a 1789 illustrated collection of poems by William Blake. Recording took place at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles with an orchestra and studio musicians from the Wrecking Crew collective, including keyboardist and conductor Don Randi, guitarist Al Casey, bassist Carol Kaye, and drummer Earl Palmer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Nichols (recording engineer)</span> American recording engineer, producer, and inventor

Roger Scott Nichols was an American recording engineer, producer, and inventor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Alaimo</span> American pop singer

Charles Stephen Alaimo is an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s. He later became a record producer and label owner, but he is perhaps best known for hosting and co-producing Dick Clark's Where the Action Is in the late 1960s. He had nine singles chart in the Billboard Hot 100 without once reaching the Top 40 in his career, the most by any artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hip hop production</span> Creation of hip hop music in a recording studio

Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "scratching" using record players and the creation of a rhythmic backing track, using a drum machine or sequencer, it is most commonly used to refer to recording the instrumental, non-lyrical and non-vocal aspects of hip hop.

<i>CSN</i> (box set) 1991 box set by Crosby, Stills & Nash

CSN is the eleventh album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, issued on Atlantic Records in 1991. A box set on four compact discs, it features material spanning 1968 through 1990 from their catalogue of recordings as a group in addition to selections from Crosby & Nash, Manassas, and their individual solo albums. It peaked at No. 109 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The set is "dedicated to the loving memory of Cass Elliot, without whom most of this music may not have been made." A two-disc distillation of the box was released for other markets later in the year.

<i>Right by You</i> 1984 studio album by Stephen Stills

Right by You is the sixth album by American singer-songwriter Stephen Stills, released in 1984. This is his last solo recording released on a major label, and was a critical and commercial failure peaking at number 75 on the US charts. It was also his only solo album of the 1980s.

<i>Carry On</i> (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album) 1991 compilation album by Crosby, Stills & Nash

Carry On is the twelfth album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, issued on Atlantic Records in 1991, generally for the European and Australian markets. It is a two-disc sampler of their four-disc box set, CSN, released two months previously in the United States and the United Kingdom. It features material spanning 1968 through 1990 from their catalogue of recordings as a group in addition to selections from Crosby & Nash, Manassas, and their individual solo albums. It was reissued on 30 June 1998 on the WEA International record label. This compilation should not be confused with the Stephen Stills box set of the same name released in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Fell (drummer)</span> American drummer

John Fell is an American drummer. Born in New York City in 1961 to academic parents, he came into prominence in the early 1980s playing with rock/reggae/Latin band from Miami named "Watchdog". He is the co-owner of Main Drag Music located in Williamsburg. There, he creates custom snares, and repairs and sells drums. He has been listed on a number of lists of great drummers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Throw It on Me</span> 2007 promotional single by Timbaland featuring The Hives

"Throw It on Me" is a song performed by American producer, songwriter and rapper Timbaland featured Swedish band The Hives from Timbaland's second studio album Shock Value (2007). The song was released as a promotional single on August 4, 2007 only in Australia.

The Society of Professional Audio Recording Services (SPARS) is an organization that holds conferences and publishes papers about the professional audio community. Its members include many of the top audio engineers working in the industry today.

<i>Pleasure Train</i> 1978 studio album by Teri DeSario

Pleasure Train is the first album by singer, songwriter, producer and composer Teri DeSario, released in 1978 by Casablanca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music Center Incorporated</span> American audio equipment manufacturer

Music Center Incorporated (MCI) is the former name of a United States manufacturer of professional audio equipment that operated from 1955 until 1982 when it was acquired by the Sony Corporation. The company is credited with a number of world firsts: commercialising the 24-track multi-track recorder, the tape Auto Locator and in-line mixing console.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devon Allman</span> American rock musician

Devon Allman is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and record producer. He is the son of musician and singer-songwriter Gregg Allman and has appeared occasionally as a guest musician for Gregg Allman and The Allman Brothers Band. Allman was the founder and bandleader of Honeytribe, also known as Devon Allman's Honeytribe, with whom he released two albums and toured across North America and Europe. Prior to Honeytribe, Allman contributed to several other musical recordings, notably Vargas Blues Band and the A Song for My Father compilation album. He was one of the original members of Royal Southern Brotherhood and contributed to their first two studio albums and toured with them. In 2013, Allman launched his solo career as the Devon Allman Band, and has since released three albums. His latest tour, branded as the Devon Allman Project, features special guest Duane Betts.

References

  1. 1 2 "Best Recording Studio - 2013 Audio Vision Studios." Miami New Times, 20 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ron Albert." Discogs, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
  3. ↑ Peeples, Stephen K. "‘Layla’ Engineers Ron and Howard Albert Q&A." Stephen K. Peeples, 12 Feb. 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
  4. ↑ "Audio Vision Studios - Discogs." Discogs, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2023.
  5. 1 2 Katel, Jacob. "Howard and Ron Albert Are Analog Kings." Miami New Times, 13 Nov. 2008. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
  6. ↑ Buskin, Richard. "CLASSIC TRACKS: Derek & The Dominos 'Layla'" Sound On Sound Sept. 2006: n. pag. Sound On Sound. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
  7. ↑ 6.Hogan, Ed. " Howard Albert." AllMusic, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.