THE SPECTRE (PHIL SPECTOR OF MADNESS)

We all know the sordid history of the late “Wall of Sound” producer, Phil Spector, who was convicted of murder later in his life and passed away in prison. Despite the controversial private life he led, he did leave a considerable musical legacy with his layered production style which some critics have claimed was often guilty of overproduction. Both John Lennon and George Harrison chose to use him as a producer for several of their early solo works.

Bought this rare hardcover edition of this book, which has a chapter that specifically deals with the creation and production of John Lennon’s and Yoko Ono’s Christmas classic “Happy Xmas (War is Over).” That was the purpose of purchasing the book as I wanted to learn more information about the Happy Xmas recording sessions. I had the softcover but only recently did I acquire the hardcover. As a collector, I always prefer hardcover editions of any book I purchase. In any analysis of Phil Spector it seems like a natural endeavor to separate his often catastrophic and repulsive personal life to his significant contributions to popular music. It is obvious he had some severe mental health issues. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this Richard Williams-authored book:

The front cover of the more obscure hardcover version of the book:

The back cover of the more obscure hardcover book:

A brief excerpt of the book:

The picture that became the picture sleeve accompanying the Apple release in the US!

Here is one of the Spector productions of a solo Beatles release as he produced the legendary Imagine LP. I had bought this item because the eBay ad advertised the inscription as being “To John” which I felt to be ironic and somewhat morbid since it was a John Lennon album and it was signed after John had been murdered and before the infamous Spector shooting that put him in jail.

In summary, Phil Spector had a legendary musical career, yet he also seemed to have some severe psychological problems as is evidenced by much of the strange behavior he exhibited over the years that is documented in several books.

QUESTION:

Question for the blog post? In a possible deluxe John Lennon box set of the Rock ‘n’ Roll LP, would you like to see a bonus disk of isolated tracks using MAL technology of Peter Jackson to some of the Spector session tapes?

BUZZ