Portal:Record production

The Record Production Portal

Noted audio engineer Roger Nichols at a vintage Neve recording console

P:RECORD

This portal is focused on music production within the era of written records through sound recordings, digital downloads, and beyond. Its scope includes articles that document the considerations and mechanisms used by, and consistent with, the purview of the production element. As an art form, music predates transcription and simultaneously transcends descriptive limitations. As an industry, music has demonstrated consistent viability over time. The record producer conjoins these potential, and serves as a broker to bridge the demand (spawned by their aspirations) with supply and satisfaction. The results are measurable and attributable, derived from effort and skillful application of craft, to a manifestation of the art in its melodic form. (Read more)

The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent and supply music creators. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate in the industry are: the songwriters and composers who write songs and musical compositions; the singers, musicians, conductors, and bandleaders who perform the music; the record labels, music publishers, recording studios, music producers, audio engineers, retail and digital music stores, and performance rights organizations who create and sell recorded music and sheet music; and the booking agents, promoters, music venues, road crew, and audio engineers who help organize and sell concerts. (Read more)

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Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

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Mayer performing in 2019

John Clayton Mayer (/ˈmeɪ.ər/ MAY-ər; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he left for Atlanta in 1997 with fellow guitarist Clay Cook, with whom he formed the short-lived rock duo Lo-Fi Masters. After their split, Mayer continued to play at local clubs, refining his skills and gaining a minor following. He performed at the 2000 South by Southwest festival, and was subsequently signed by Aware Records, an imprint of Columbia Records through which he released his debut extended play (EP), Inside Wants Out (1999). His first two studio albums—Room for Squares (2001) and Heavier Things (2003)—were both met with critical and commercial success; the former spawned the single "Your Body Is a Wonderland", which won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards, while the latter peaked atop the Billboard 200.

By 2005, Mayer had moved away from the acoustic music that characterized his early records, and further delved into the blues and rock music that had originally influenced him. Forming the John Mayer Trio, he released the live album Try! (2005) and his third studio album, Continuum (2006). Both were met with positive critical reception, while the latter was nominated for Album of the Year, and won both Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for its single "Waiting on the World to Change" at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. It was followed by Battle Studies (2009), which marked his return to pop. (Full article...)
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Body Count is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Body Count, released on March 10, 1992, by Sire Records. The album's material focuses on various social and political issues ranging from police brutality to drug abuse. It also presents a turning point in the career of Ice-T, who co-wrote the album's songs with lead guitarist Ernie C and performed as the band's lead singer. Previously known only as a rapper, Ice-T's work with the band helped establish a crossover audience with rock music fans. The album produced the single "There Goes the Neighborhood".

Body Count is well known for the inclusion of the controversial song "Cop Killer", which was the subject of much criticism from various political figures, although many defended the song on the basis of the group's right to freedom of speech. Ice-T eventually chose to remove the song from the album, although it continues to be performed live. It was voted the 31st best album of the year in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics poll, and is believed to have helped pave the way for the mainstream success of the rap metal genre. (Full article...)
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Secret of Mana, originally released in Japan as Seiken Densetsu 2, is a 1993 action role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sequel to the 1991 game Seiken Densetsu, released in North America as Final Fantasy Adventure and in Europe as Mystic Quest, and it was the first Seiken Densetsu title to be marketed as part of the Mana series rather than the Final Fantasy series. Set in a high fantasy universe, the game follows three heroes as they attempt to prevent an empire from conquering the world with the power of an ancient flying fortress.

Rather than using a turn-based battle system like contemporaneous role-playing games, Secret of Mana features real-time battles with a power bar mechanic. The game has a unique Ring Command menu system, which pauses the action and allows the player to make decisions in the middle of battle. An innovative cooperative multiplayer system allows a second or third player to drop in and out of the game at any time. Secret of Mana was directed and designed by Koichi Ishii, programmed primarily by Nasir Gebelli, and produced by veteran Square designer Hiromichi Tanaka. (Full article...)
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Rhythm Killers is an album by Jamaican musical duo Sly and Robbie, released in May 1987 by Island Records. By the time of the album's recording, Sly and Robbie had transitioned away from their prolific work in the reggae genre. They spent the 1980s experimenting with electronic sounds and contemporary recording technology on international, cross-genre endeavors, which influenced their direction for Rhythm Killers.

Sly and Robbie enlisted producer Bill Laswell and an ensemble of musicians to record the album at the Quad studio in New York City. Along with their live instruments, the duo used electronic recording equipment such as the Fairlight CMI synthesizer and electronic drums. The predominantly funk and dance-oriented album is arranged into two side-long gapless suites of songs. Other styles featured on the record include hip hop, hard rock, worldbeat, and downtown music. Laswell's densely layered production incorporated electronic grooves, hard beats, string synthesizers, and cross-rhythms produced by turntable scratches, African and Latin-influenced percussion, and percussive raps. (Full article...)
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Messiaen in 1986

Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (UK: /ˈmɛsiæ̃/, US: /mɛˈsjæ̃, meɪˈsjæ̃, mɛˈsjɒ̃/; French: [ɔlivje øʒɛn pʁɔspɛʁ ʃaʁl mɛsjɑ̃]; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th century, he was also an outstanding teacher of composition and musical analysis.

Messiaen entered the Conservatoire de Paris at age 11 and studied with Paul Dukas, Maurice Emmanuel, Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupré, among others. He was appointed organist at the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris, in 1931, a post he held for 61 years, until his death. He taught at the Schola Cantorum de Paris during the 1930s. After the fall of France in 1940, Messiaen was interned for nine months in the German prisoner of war camp Stalag VIII-A, where he composed his Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) for the four instruments available in the prison—piano, violin, cello and clarinet. The piece was first performed by Messiaen and fellow prisoners for an audience of inmates and prison guards. Soon after his release in 1941, Messiaen was appointed professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1966, he was appointed professor of composition there, and he held both positions until retiring in 1978. His many distinguished pupils included Iannis Xenakis, George Benjamin, Alexander Goehr, Pierre Boulez, Jacques Hétu, Tristan Murail, Karlheinz Stockhausen, György Kurtág, and Yvonne Loriod, who became his second wife. (Full article...)
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Ghostbusters II is a 1989 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts. It is the sequel to the 1984 film Ghostbusters and the second film in the Ghostbusters franchise. Set five years after the events of the first film, the Ghostbusters have been sued and put out of business after the destruction caused during their battle with the deity Gozer the Gozerian. When a new paranormal threat emerges, the Ghostbusters reunite to combat it and save the world.

After the success of Ghostbusters, Columbia Pictures wanted a sequel but struggled to overcome objections from the cast and crew. As with the first film, Aykroyd and Ramis collaborated on the script, which went through many variations. The pair wanted to convey a message about the consequences of negative human emotions in large cities. They settled on the idea of negative feelings creating a mass of supernatural slime beneath New York City that empowers malevolent spirits. With a budget of $30–40 million, filming took place between November 1988 and March 1989 in New York City and Los Angeles. Production was rushed and large sections of the film were scrapped after poorly received test screenings. New scenes were written and filmed during re-shoots between March and April 1989, only two months before its release. (Full article...)
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Paul Celebrating 30 Years Playing Passim
Club Passim
October 17, 2019

Ellis Paul (born Paul Plissey; January 14, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Presque Isle, Aroostook County, Maine, Paul is a key figure in what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, a literate, provocative, and urbanely romantic folk-pop style that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s. His pop music songs have appeared in movies and on television, bridging the gap between the modern folk sound and the populist traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.

Paul grew up in a small Maine town. He attended Boston College on a track scholarship, majoring in English. Injured during his junior year, Paul began playing guitar to help fill his free time and soon began writing songs. After graduating college Paul played at open mic nights in the Boston area while working with inner-city school children. He won a Boston Acoustic Underground songwriter competition and gained national exposure on a Windham Hill Records compilation which helped him choose music as a career. (Full article...)
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Blonde on Blonde is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as a double album on June 20, 1966, by Columbia Records. Recording sessions began in New York in October 1965 with numerous backing musicians, including members of Dylan's live backing band, the Hawks. Though sessions continued until January 1966, they yielded only one track that made it onto the final album—"One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)". At producer Bob Johnston's suggestion, Dylan, keyboardist Al Kooper, and guitarist Robbie Robertson moved to the CBS studios in Nashville, Tennessee. These sessions, augmented by some of Nashville's top session musicians, were more fruitful, and in February and March all the remaining songs for the album were recorded.

Blonde on Blonde completed the trilogy of rock albums that Dylan recorded in 1965 and 1966, starting with Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited (both 1965). Critics often rank Blonde on Blonde as one of the greatest albums of all time. Combining the expertise of Nashville session musicians with a modernist literary sensibility, the album's songs have been described as operating on a grand scale musically, while featuring lyrics one critic called "a unique mixture of the visionary and the colloquial". It was one of the first double albums in rock music. (Full article...)
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Odyssey Number Five is the fourth studio album by the Australian rock band Powderfinger, produced by Nick DiDia and released on 4 September 2000 by Universal Music. It won the 2001 ARIA Music Award for Highest Selling Album, Best Group and Best Rock Album. The album is the band's shortest yet, focusing on social, political, and emotional issues that had appeared in prior works, especially Internationalist.

The album produced four singles. The most successful, "My Happiness", reached #4 on the ARIA Singles Chart, won the 2001 ARIA Music Award for "Single of the Year", and topped Triple J's Hottest 100 in 2000. The album also featured "These Days", which topped Triple J's Hottest 100 in 1999. The album ranked at number 1 in Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time poll in 2011. (Full article...)
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Original lineup in 1965
From left: Pete Quaife, Dave Davies, Ray Davies and Mick Avory

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965. Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned "You Really Got Me", became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States.

The Kinks' music drew from a wide range of influences, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall, folk, and country. The band gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies' observational and satirical lyricism, and made apparent in albums such as Face to Face (1966), Something Else (1967), The Village Green Preservation Society (1968), Arthur (1969), Lola Versus Powerman (1970), and Muswell Hillbillies (1971), along with their accompanying singles including the transatlantic hit "Lola" (1970). After a fallow period in the mid-1970s, the band experienced a revival with their albums Sleepwalker (1977), Misfits (1978), Low Budget (1979), Give the People What They Want (1981) and State of Confusion (1983), the last of which produced one of the band's most successful US hits, "Come Dancing". (Full article...)
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Motörhead performing in May 2005; left to right: Phil Campbell, Mikkey Dee and Lemmy

Motörhead (/ˈmoʊtərhɛd/) were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precursor to the new wave of British heavy metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Though several guitarists and drummers have played in Motörhead, most of their best-selling albums and singles feature drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor and guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke. From 1995 until the band's break-up in 2015, the group consisted of Kilmister, guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee.

Motörhead released 23 studio albums, 10 live recordings, 12 compilation albums and five EPs over a career spanning 40 years. Usually a power trio, they had particular success in the early 1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart. The albums Overkill, Bomber (both 1979), Ace of Spades (1980) and, particularly, the live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith (1981) cemented Motörhead's reputation as a top-tier rock band. The band are ranked number 26 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. By 2025, the band has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide. (Full article...)
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Hex Enduction Hour is the fourth studio album by the English post-punk group the Fall. Released on 8 March 1982, it was built on low-fidelity production values and caustic lyrical content of their earlier recordings, and features a two-drummer lineup. Frontman Mark E. Smith established an abrasive Northern aesthetic built as part of the 20th century literary traditions of kitchen sink realism and magic realism. Smith described the album as an often-satirical but deliberate reaction to the contemporary music scene, a stand against "bland bastards like Elvis Costello and Spandau Ballet ... [and] all that shit."

Recording for Hex began during a 1981 three-concert visit to Iceland, where Smith was inspired both by the otherworldliness of the island's landscape and the enthusiasm of an audience unaccustomed to visiting rock groups. The Fall recorded "Hip Priest", "Iceland" and non-album single "Look, Know" at the Hljóðriti studio in Reykjavík, and the remaining tracks in a disused cinema in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that to promote the Buffalo Club, Rising Tide Records sent packages of plastic buffalo to music industry executives in Nashville?
... that one critic interpreted a SZA song as being about her fears about the growing influence of AI in the music industry?
... that until the release of the documentary Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop, sexual abuse claims involving record producer Johnny Kitagawa went widely unreported in Japanese media?
... that voice actress Rika Hayashi brought a golf club to the recording studio for Tonbo!, a golf-themed anime series?
... that Light Vessel 95 is now a recording studio?
... that according to Billboard magazine, Laufey created a blueprint for jazz music in the modern music industry and helped push it back into the mainstream?

Born this day

Birthdays in Music: May 8

Toni Tennille, American singer of Captain & Tennille, turns 85.
Keith Jarrett, American keyboardist and soprano saxophonist, turns 80.
Philip Bailey, American singer of Earth, Wind & Fire, turns 74.
Alex Van Halen, American drummer for Van Halen, turns 70.
Dave Rowntree, Brit drummer with Blur, turns 61.
Enrique Iglesias, Spanish-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor, turns 50.
Martha Wainwright, Canadian singer-songwriter, turns 49.
Ian Watkins, Brit bubblegum pop vocalist with Steps, turns 49.
Joe Bonamassa, American blues-rock guitarist and vocalist , turns 48.
Ana Maria Lombo, American girl group vocalist of Eden's Crush fame, turns 47.
Matt Willis, (a.k.a. Matt Jay; born Matthew James Willis) Brit singer and songwriter of Busted fame, turns 40.
6ix9ine, (born Daniel Hernandez) American rapper, turns 29.

Jerry Rusch (Record production, 1943 –May 05, 2003), (born Jerome A. Rusch) American trumpeter, would have turned 82 this year.
Ricky Nelson (Record production, 1940 –December 31, 1985), American singer, would have turned 85 this year.
Papa Bue (Arne) Jensen (Record production, 1930 –November 02, 2011), Danish bandleader and trombonist, would have turned 95 this year.
Mary Lou Williams (Record production, 1910 –May 28, 1981), American arranger, composer, and pianist, would have turned 115 this year.
Red Nichols (Record production, 1905 –June 28, 1965), American bandleader and cornetist, would have turned 120 this year.
Jack Bland (Record production, 1899 –October , 1968), American guitarist, would have turned 126 this year.

List of musical events • Anniversaries • More birthdays...

Selected albums - load new batch

These are all Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

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Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. is the first album recorded by American heavy metal band Slipknot, and their only release with original lead vocalist Anders Colsefni. The album was limited to 1,000 copies, with distribution beginning on October 31, 1996. The band sold the last 386 units through ‑ismist Recordings in 1997. The album has become sought after by fans since Slipknot's rise to fame, and original copies have sold for up to $1,000.

Despite originally being deemed Slipknot's debut album, Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. was later considered a demo by the band, who have included the majority of its songs on subsequent releases, albeit usually in radically altered forms. The record was recorded in Des Moines, Iowa over a period of four months and features many musical influences including funk, jazz, and disco which are not apparent in later material. Many of the lyrics and the album's title are inspired by the role-playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse. According to Allmusic, the songs contain a stronger "emphasis on non-traditional songwriting" and melodic themes than the band's later material. (Full article...)
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This Will Be the Death of Us is the second studio album by American rock band Set Your Goals, released on July 21, 2009, on Epitaph Records. Following the release of their debut album Mutiny! in 2006, the group discovered they were not being paid royalties. After a prolonged battle to terminate their contract, the band began working on their second album in late 2008. They spent March 2008 recording with producer Mike Green in Los Angeles, California. Friends from other bands contributed additional vocal performances on several songs. Preceded by supporting tours with New Found Glory and All Time Low, This Will Be the Death of Us was released through independent label Epitaph Records in July 2009.

Following the release, the group embarked on tours of Australia and the US, and appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. Music videos were released for the title-track and "Summer Jam". This was followed by a support slot for Mayday Parade in the US; a European tour closed out the year. Further tours of the US, Australia and the UK (including an appearance at the Slam Dunk Festival) followed, leading up to a stint on the Warped Tour and the release of a music video for "Gaia Bleeds (Make Way for Man)". (Full article...)
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Colours is the fifteenth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on July 2, 2014, in Japan by Avex Trax, worldwide by Avex Entertainment Inc., and on July 18 in Taiwan by Avex Taiwan. The songs on the album were entirely written by Hamasaki, while production was led by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura; it also included a variety of Western producers such as Armin van Buuren, members from RedOne Productions De Paris and Rush, Darkchild, and Fedde Le Grand, among others. This became Hamasaki's first studio album to have not been fully produced by Matsuura, and her first album to incorporate a large amount of English language. Musically, Colours is an electronic dance music album.

Upon its release, Colours received favorable reviews from music critics. Critics commended the material and how Hamasaki included more producers outside of Matsuura, alongside praising the production. Commercially, it was not as successful as her predecessor records in Japan, reaching number five on the Oricon Albums Chart. It is her lowest charting album in Japan, sold 53,406 units by the end of the year, and featured a similar run in other charts in other Asian territories. Each track from the album was released as a single, with "Feel the Love"/"Merry-Go-Round" and "Terminal" entering the Oricon Singles Chart. (Full article...)
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Ones (Spanish: Unos) is a compilation album by American singer Selena, released in the United States on October 1, 2002 by EMI Latin. It was released on November 11, 2002 in Spanish-speaking countries, while the limited edition included a bonus DVD of her music videos. Ones was released building on the popularity of the 1997 biographical film Selena. The album was aimed at Selena's new generation of fans, and its release marked the singer's twentieth year in the music industry. Ones features six number one singles namely, "Amor Prohibido", "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom", "No Me Queda Más", "Fotos y Recuerdos", and her duets with Álvaro Torres on "Buenos Amigos" and the Barrio Boyzz on "Donde Quiera Que Estés".

Selena's brother, A.B. Quintanilla, remixed three of her singles ("Amor Prohibido", "Como la Flor" and "Si Una Vez") into a medley mash-up entitled "Con Tanto Amor Medley", the same tracks found on the album. Ones received a positive reception among music critics, while Jon O'Brien of AllMusic noticed that the record label ignored Selena's self-titled debut album. The recording peaked at number two on the US Billboard Top Latin Albums and number one on the Latin Pop Albums charts. Ones peaked at number 42 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified 18× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying 1,080,000 album-equivalent units sold in the United States. (Full article...)
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Endgame (sometimes stylized as ENDGAME) is the twelfth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was produced by Dave Mustaine and Andy Sneap and released through Roadrunner Records on September 15, 2009. Endgame was the first album to feature guitarist Chris Broderick, following Glen Drover's departure in 2008, and was the band's last studio album with bassist James LoMenzo until he rejoined after 2022's The Sick, The Dying, and The Dead, as original bassist David Ellefson rejoined the band several months after Endgame was released.

There are eleven tracks on the album, with lyrics inspired by subjects ranging from The Lord of the Rings and the Great Recession of 2008, to insanity, torture and crime. Two singles were released from the album: "Head Crusher" and "The Right to Go Insane"; the former was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Endgame entered the Billboard 200 at number nine, and reached number one on the U.S. Top Hard Rock Albums chart. As of April 2011 it has sold about 150,000 copies in the U.S. The album received positive reviews from music critics, and was thought to continue the success of the band's previous album, United Abominations (2007). In 2009, it won two Metal Storm Awards: Best Thrash Metal Album and Biggest Surprise. It was also awarded Best Album in Burrn! magazine's 2009 Readers' Poll. (Full article...)
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Tomahawk is the debut studio album by American experimental rock band Tomahawk. Recorded after a meeting between vocalist Mike Patton and guitarist Duane Denison, the album features members of Faith No More, The Jesus Lizard, Helmet and Melvins. The band toured with Tool in support of the record.

Released on October 30, 2001, through Patton's record label Ipecac Recordings, Tomahawk has received positive attention from critics, with most appraisals drawing attention to the versatility of Patton's vocals. The album charted in both Australia and the United States, reaching a peak of number 20 in the Billboard Independent Albums countdown. (Full article...)
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Significant Other is the second studio album by American nu metal band Limp Bizkit. It was released on June 22, 1999, through Flip and Interscope Records. It saw the band expand their sound from that of their 1997 debut Three Dollar Bill, Y'all to incorporate further metal and hip hop influences, but with a more melodic and less hardcore punk-influenced sound.

Significant Other received high commercial sales, peaking at number one on the US Billboard 200. The band's distinctive sound and performance, which was thought to be an improvement over the band's debut, received positive reviews from the critics. At least 16 million copies of the album have been sold worldwide. (Full article...)
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The High End of Low is the seventh studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on May 20, 2009, by Interscope Records. Multiple editions of the record were released by the label, each containing unique bonus tracks. The album's lyrics were largely inspired by the personal troubles experienced by the band's eponymous vocalist relating to his divorce from burlesque performer Dita Von Teese, as well as his later relationship with actress Evan Rachel Wood.

Manson first began work on the album with guitarist Tim Sköld. However, Sköld left the band when the vocalist reunited with former bassist Twiggy Ramirez. The album was produced by Manson and Twiggy (who dropped the Ramirez moniker) along with former Nine Inch Nails co-producer and keyboardist Chris Vrenna, as well as Antichrist Superstar (1996) and Mechanical Animals (1998) co-producer Sean Beavan. It was the last album to feature the band's long-time drummer Ginger Fish. (Full article...)
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Your Majesty is the second studio album by American rock band the Anniversary. It was released on January 22, 2002, through Vagrant Records. Following the release of their debut studio album, Designing a Nervous Breakdown in early 2000, the band started writing new material by that August. They later recorded the album in June 2001 at Sonora Recorders in Los Feliz, California, with producer Rob Schnapf.

Your Majesty is a garage rock, neo-psychedelia, pop rock and space rock record that includes slow tempos, guitar solos and a grand piano; comparisons were made to the works of the full-band iteration of Elliott Smith, the New Pornographers, and the Kinks, among others. Leading up to the release of it, the Anniversary completed two US tours. The album was promoted with supporting slots for Guided by Voices, Dashboard Confessional and Cheap Trick, and two headlining tours by the band. (Full article...)
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The Return of Dr. Octagon is the eighth solo studio album by American rapper Kool Keith (Keith Matthew Thornton), and his second release under the 'Dr. Octagon' alias, following Dr. Octagonecologyst. It was released on June 27, 2006, on OCD International in the United States. The album revives the character of Dr. Octagon, who was killed off on Thornton's 1999 release First Come, First Served. Production for the album began in 2002 under the title The Resurrection of Dr. Octagon with producer Fanatik J.

Thornton signed a contract with CMH Records to release the album. Following a contractual dispute, Fanatik J was released from the project. The album's production was completed by the One-Watt Sun production team based upon three completed vocal recordings and older unfinished recordings. Thornton had little involvement with the production of the album. He later stated that he liked the completed product, but that it hurt his musical reputation. (Full article...)
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Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album Leisure (1991) had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its release, and fell out of public favour. After the group returned from an unsuccessful tour of the United States, poorly received live performances and the rising popularity of rival band Suede further diminished Blur's status in the UK.

Under threat of being dropped by Food Records, for their next album Blur underwent an image makeover championed by frontman Damon Albarn. The band incorporated influences from traditional British guitar-pop groups such as the Kinks and the Small Faces, and the resulting sound was melodic and lushly produced, featuring brass, woodwind and backing vocalists. Albarn's lyrics on Modern Life Is Rubbish use "poignant humour and Ray Davies characterisation to investigate the dreams, traditions and prejudices of suburban England", according to writer David Cavanagh. (Full article...)
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Pretty on the Inside is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Hole, released on September 17, 1991, in the United States on Caroline Records. Produced by Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, and Gumball frontman Don Fleming, the album was Hole's first major label release after the band's formation in 1989 by vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist Courtney Love and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson.

Blending elements of punk rock, the album features distorted and alternating guitar compositions, screaming vocals from Love, and "sloppy punk ethics", a style which the band would later distance themselves from, opting for a less abrasive sound on subsequent releases. Love's lyrics on the album are often presented in an abstract narrative form, and describe disparate scenes of graphic violence, death, and female sexuality. The record was dedicated to Rob Ritter of the Los Angeles punk rock acts the Bags and the Gun Club. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various record production-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The studio at Ridge Radio in Caterham, England (from Recording studio)
Image 2Home studio setup (from Recording studio)
Image 3The TASCAM 85 16B analog tape multitrack recorder can record 16 tracks of audio on 1-inch (2.54cm) magnetic tape. Professional analog units of 24 tracks on 2-inch tape were common, with specialty tape heads providing 8, or even 16 tracks on the same tape width (8 tracks for greater fidelity). (from Multitrack recording)
Image 4Scully 280 eight-track recorder at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (from Multitrack recording)
Image 5Korg D888 eight-track digital recorder (from Multitrack recording)
Image 6Hip hop producer and rapper RZA in a music studio with two collaborators. Pictured in the foreground is a synthesizer keyboard and a number of vinyl records; both of these items are key tools that producers and DJs use to create hip hop beats. (from Hip-hop production)
Image 7Donna Summer wearing headphones during a recording session in 1977 (from Recording studio)
Image 8Control room at the Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus (from Recording studio)
Image 9A selection of instruments at a music studio, including a grand piano (from Recording studio)
Image 10Mixing desk with twenty inputs and eight outputs (from Multitrack recording)
Image 11Neve VR60, a multitrack mixing console. Above the console are a range of studio monitor speakers. (from Recording studio)
Image 12Digital audio interface for the Pro Tools computer-based hard disk multitrack recording system. Digital audio quality is measured in data resolution per channel. (from Multitrack recording)
Image 13The Siemens Studio for Electronic Music c. 1956. (from Recording studio)
Image 14Engineers and producers watch a trumpet player from a window in the control room during a recording session. (from Recording studio)
Image 15Danny Knicely records with Furnace Mountain Band in Virginia (2012) (from Recording studio)
Image 16The TEAC 2340, a popular early (1973) home multitrack recorder, four tracks on ¼ inch tape (from Multitrack recording)

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Featured lists have been determined by the Wikipedia community to be the best lists on English Wikipedia.

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Merle Haggard topped the chart with one of his best-known songs, "The Fightin' Side of Me".

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1970, 23 different singles topped the chart, which was published at this time under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports supplied by stores.

In the issue of Billboard dated January 3, 1970, "Baby, Baby (I Know You're a Lady)" by David Houston replaced the final chart-topper of 1969, Charley Pride's "(I'm So) Afraid of Losing You Again" at number one. Houston's single held the top spot until the January 31 issue, when it was replaced by Tom T. Hall's song "A Week in a Country Jail". Hall had achieved success as a songwriter, including penning the song "Harper Valley PTA" which had been both a pop and country number one for Jeannie C. Riley in 1968, but "A Week in a Country Jail" was his first number one as a performer. Hall also wrote "The Pool Shark", which gave Dave Dudley his one and only week at number one. Husband-and-wife duo Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan also reached number one for the first and only time with "Tennessee Bird Walk". Lynn Anderson topped the chart for the first time with "Rose Garden", which was also a major crossover hit, reaching the top five of Billboard's all-genres chart, the Hot 100. Hank Williams Jr., the son of one of the most influential country singers of all time, Hank Williams, achieved the first number one of a career which would go on to span more than fifty years when he collaborated with the Mike Curb Congregation on the single "All for the Love of Sunshine". (Full article...)
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Lonestar spent eight weeks at number one with "Amazed", the longest run of the year.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1999, 19 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

At the start of the year, the number one song on the chart was "You're Easy on the Eyes" by Terri Clark, one of seven female vocalists to top the chart during the year; during the late 1990s, female performers achieved a level of success on the country charts greater than they did in the first half of the decade or would in the next decade. Two female vocalists achieved the first number one singles of their careers in 1999: Sara Evans with "No Place That Far" in March and Chely Wright with "Single White Female" in September, as did Mark Wills in May with "Wish You Were Here" and Brad Paisley with "He Didn't Have to Be" in December. Jo Dee Messina topped the chart in January with "Stand Beside Me", the third number one song taken from her album I'm Alright and became the first female vocalist to have multi-week runs at number one with three consecutive singles from one album since Billboard began tracking country albums in 1964. (Full article...)
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Westlife had 11 No. 1 singles between 2000 and 2009, including a cover of Phil Collins' "Against All Odds", which they released as a duet with Mariah Carey in 2000

The UK singles chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry. In the 2000s the chart week ran from Sunday to Saturday, and the top 40 singles were revealed each Sunday on BBC Radio 1. At the start of the decade, before the advent of legal music downloads, it was based entirely on sales of physical singles from retail outlets, but in 2005 permanent downloads began to be included in the chart compilation.

During the 2000s, 274 singles reached the No. 1 position on the chart, the most of any decade so far. Over this period, Westlife were the most successful group and music act at reaching the top spot, with 11 No. 1 singles. Rihanna and Jay-Z's song "Umbrella" spent 10 weeks at No. 1 in 2007, the longest spell at the top of the charts since Wet Wet Wet's 1994 hit "Love Is All Around", which topped the charts for 15 weeks. The Internet allowed music to be heard by vast numbers of people on social networking sites such as YouTube and Myspace; it also increased piracy. This and the introduction of the UK Singles Downloads Chart in 2004 led to a decrease in record sales and a reduction in the number of copies sold of a No. 1 record on the singles chart. Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" became the first song to reach the top of the charts based on downloads alone in 2006, remaining at No. 1 for nine consecutive weeks. (Full article...)
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With nine number-one hits attained in the 1980s and 1990s, LL Cool J emerged as one of the most successful artists on the Billboard rap chart.

Hot Rap Songs is a record chart published by the music industry magazine Billboard which ranks the most popular hip hop songs in the United States. With hip hop having greatly increased in mainstream popularity in the late 1980s, Billboard introduced the chart in their March 11, 1989 issue under the name Hot Rap Singles. Prior to the addition of the chart, hip hop music had been profiled in the magazine's "The Rhythm & the Blues" column and disco-related sections, while some rap records made appearances on the related Hot Black Singles chart. The inaugural number-one single on Hot Rap Singles was "Self Destruction" by the Stop the Violence Movement. From its 1989 inception until 2001, the chart was based solely on each single's weekly sales. To formulate chart rankings, Billboard assembled a panel of selected record stores to provide reports of each week's top-selling singles.

Between 1989 and 1999, 173 singles topped the Hot Rap Singles chart, with "Hot Boyz" by Missy Elliott featuring Nas, Eve and Q-Tip being the final number-one single of the 1990s. The single's 18-week reign at the top spot extended into the next decade, and until 2019 it held the record for the most weeks at number one in the chart's history. LL Cool J and Puff Daddy each attained nine number-one hits on the Hot Rap Singles chart during its first 11 years, the most for any artist during this period. In a 25th anniversary listing of the top 100 songs in the history of Hot Rap Songs based on chart performance, "Me So Horny" by the 2 Live Crew and "Tootsee Roll" by 69 Boyz were the highest-ranked singles of the 1980s and 1990s respectively. (Full article...)
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The Billboard Latin Music Award for Hot Latin Song of the Year (formerly Hot Latin Track of the Year) is an honor presented annually at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, a ceremony which honors "the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music, as determined by the actual sales, radio airplay, online streaming and social data that informs Billboard's weekly charts." The award is given to the best performing singles on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, which measures the most popular Latin recordings in the United States. The Hot Latin Songs chart was established by the magazine in September 1986 and was originally based on airplay on Latin music radio stations. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, radio airplay, and online streaming. From 1995 to 1998, each music genre's field (pop, tropical/salsa and Regional Mexican) had their own Hot Latin Track of the Year category.

Enrique Iglesias and Nicky Jam are the most awarded acts in the category with three wins each. Alejandro Fernández, Wisin & Yandel, Don Omar, Romeo Santos, Ozuna, Nicky Jam, Peso Pluma and Grupo Frontera are the only acts with two nominated songs in the same year, a milestone achieved twice by Santos. Bad Bunny became the only act to have three nominated songs in the same year. As of 2017, only Iglesias and Nicky Jam have won Hot Latin Song of the Year twice in a row. As of 2023, the holders are Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma for the song "Ella Baila Sola". Enrique Iglesias and Bad Bunny became tied for the most nominations as of 2023. (Full article...)
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Luis Enrique was the first artist to reach number one on the Tropical Airplay chart in 1994.

In October 1994, Billboard magazine established Tropical Airplay, a chart that ranks the top-performing songs played on tropical radio stations in the United States based on weekly airplay data compiled by Nielsen's Broadcast Data Systems (BDS). It is a subchart of Hot Latin Songs, which lists the best-performing Spanish-language songs in the country. According to a 1985 article by Billboard, tropical music is the "sound of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean – though it extends beyond it". It usually encompasses dance genres such as salsa, merengue, bachata, vallenato, and the Colombian cumbia and tropical music in Mexico. Five songs topped the chart in 1994 and 12 tracks did the same in 1995. Until November 5, 1994, BDS ran test charts which only listed the number one song of the week on Billboard's electronic database.

The first song to reach number one on the Tropical Airplay chart was "Quién Eres Tú" by Luis Enrique which remained in the top spot for three weeks. It was replaced by La India's cover of "Nunca Voy a Olvidarte", making her the first female artist to reach the top of the chart. Both artists were the only acts to have more than one chart-topper in 1994. La India had the final number one song of the year with her rendition of "Ese Hombre" which was also the first at the start of 1995. La India and Gloria Estefan were the only female acts to reach number one in 1995. (Full article...)
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Enrique Iglesias's debut single "Si Tú Te Vas" became his first song to reach number one on the Latin Pop Airplay chart in 1996. He also had the best-performing song of the year with "Por Amarte".

Latin Pop Airplay is a chart that ranks the top-performing songs (regardless of genre or language) on Latin pop radio stations in the United States, published by Billboard magazine based on weekly airplay data compiled by Nielsen's Broadcast Data Systems. It is a subchart of Hot Latin Songs, which lists the best-performing Spanish-language songs in the country. In 1996, 16 songs topped the chart, in 52 issues of the magazine.

The first number one of the year was "Más Allá" by Gloria Estefan, which had been in the top spot since the issue dated December 30, 1995, and spent a total of three weeks at this position. Enrique Iglesias, Cristian Castro, Luis Miguel, and Soraya were the only acts to have more than one chart-topper in 1996. Iglesias's debut single, "Si Tú Te Vas", became his first chart-topper and spent two weeks at number one. He also had the best-performing Latin pop song of the year with "Por Amarte" despite it only spending one week at number one. Castro's self-penned track, "Amor", held the top spot for the longest in 1996 with 10 weeks. "Sueña", which spent four weeks at number one, is the Spanish-language adaptation of "Someday" from Disney's 1996 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which Miguel recorded for the Latin American edition of the movie's soundtrack. Soraya achieved her only number ones with "De Repente" and "Amor en Tus Ojos". (Full article...)
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Alan Jackson collaborated with Jimmy Buffett on the song "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere", which spent eight weeks at number one.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 2003, 19 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

Singer George Strait's song "She'll Leave You with a Smile" was at number one at the start of the year, having been at the top since the issue dated December 28, 2002. It remained at number one for one further week in 2003 before being replaced by "19 Somethin'" by Mark Wills. The highest total number of weeks spent at number one by a song in 2003 was the eight achieved by "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere", a collaboration between Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett. The success of "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" gave Buffett his first ever country number one, more than thirty years after he began his singing career. The duet spent an initial seven weeks at the top, was replaced for a week, and then returned for a final week at number one. The song's first spell at number one tied for the longest unbroken run at the top with "Have You Forgotten?" by Darryl Worley. In addition, the song's eight-week run at number one tied with Lonestar's "Amazed" for the longest-running number one based on country radio airplay since Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems was initiated in 1990, a record which would stand until 2022. Another collaboration between a younger star and a music veteran to top the charts in 2003 was "Beer for My Horses" by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson, which spent six weeks at number one and made Nelson, at age 70, the oldest singer to top the chart. The number one position was dominated by male artists; no solo female singers topped the chart in 2003, although the all-female band Dixie Chicks spent a single week at number one. (Full article...)
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Three songs by Bob Wills reached number one in 1946, including "New Spanish Two Step", which spent 15 consecutive weeks in the top spot.

From 1944 until 1957, Billboard magazine published a chart that ranked the top-performing country music songs in the United States, based on the number of times a song had been played in jukeboxes; until 1948 it was the magazine's only country music chart. In 1946, nine different songs topped the chart, which was published under the title Most Played Juke Box Folk Records. The chart was compiled based on a survey of jukebox operators nationwide, and its methodology allowed for the possibility of records tying for a position. On several occasions during 1946 two or more songs tied for the number-one spot, including the issue of Billboard dated February 2, when four songs tied for the peak position. The Juke Box Folk chart is considered part of the lineage of the current Hot Country Songs chart, which was first published in 1958.

In 1946 the top spot was dominated by two songs which each spent 16 weeks at number one and which between them topped the chart from February to September. In the issue of Billboard dated February 2, "Guitar Polka" by Al Dexter reached number one for the first time, albeit jointly with three other songs. After one week out of the top spot it returned to number one, where it spent fifteen consecutive weeks, one of them jointly with "New Spanish Two Step" by Bob Wills, widely known as the "King of Western swing". After Dexter's run at number one ended, Wills's song returned to the top spot and also spent fifteen consecutive weeks atop the chart. Wills had topped the chart earlier in the year with "Silver Dew on the Blue Grass Tonight" and "White Cross on Okinawa" and was the only artist to take three different songs to number one in 1946. Dexter, however, had the highest number of total weeks at number one, spending 21 weeks in total (including two tied weeks) atop the chart with "Guitar Polka" and "Wine Women and Song". Wills and Dexter were the only acts with more than one chart-topper during the year. (Full article...)
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Donovan never had a number-one single or number-one album in his native UK; however, his Universal Soldier EP spent eight weeks at the top of the EP chart.

In the 1950s and 1960s "a third vinyl format" was introduced alongside long-playing (LP) albums, and singles. The extended play (EP) used the same formats as singles but contained more tracks. Singles were the popular record format at the time – predominantly 10-inch 78 rpm and 7-inch 45 rpm formats – and the first singles chart was published by New Musical Express in 1952 with many other publications also producing singles charts in the 1950s and 1960s. Record Mirror published the first album chart in 1956, and when Record Retailer began compiling an LP chart on 12 March 1960, they also compiled an EP chart. The EP chart consisted of a top ten and was expanded to fifteen positions the following week, and twenty the week after that. EPs "died out in the late 1960s" and Record Retailer reduced the chart to ten positions on 16 April 1966, publishing the final EP chart on 16 December 1967. For six weeks in 1966 and two weeks in December 1967, Record Retailer did not publish EP charts but they were compiled and Record Mirror published them; Record Mirror had begun publishing charts compiled by Record Retailer in March 1962, following a decision to stop compiling their own albums and singles charts.

The longest consecutive duration at the top of the chart was 23 weeks for The Shadows' EP The Shadows to the Fore. The most weeks at number one was achieved by The Beach Boys' EP Hits which spent 34 weeks there from June 1966 and was the incumbent number one when the chart ceased at the end of 1967. The Beatles had eight different EPs top the chart as did The Shadows (four with Cliff Richard and four on their own). The Shadows spent 69 weeks with an EP on top of the chart in comparison to The Beatles' 63 weeks. Conversely, only four acts spent a total of one week atop the chart; Joan Baez, Jim Reeves, George Mitchell Minstrels and Bobby Vee (with The Crickets). Although official music recording sales certifications were not introduced until the British Phonographic Industry was formed in 1973, Disc introduced an initiative in 1959 to present a silver disc to records selling over 250,000 units. Seven EPs are recorded as going silver: The Beatles' number-one EPs Twist and Shout, The Beatles' Hits, All My Loving, Long Tall Sally as well as The Beatles (No. 1) and Magical Mystery Tour (which did not reach number one but would have done so had the EP chart lasted only a few more weeks) and The Rolling Stones' number-one EP Five by Five. (Full article...)