If These Halls Could Talk: A Historical Tour through San Francisco Recording Studios [Paperback]

Heather Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2006

If These Halls Could Talk: A Historical Tour Through San Francisco Recording Studios takes an in-depth look at San Francisco's colorful and diverse music and music recording history, covering both the recordings and recording studios that housed the jazz and blues of the '50s and psychedelic rock of the '60s, to the rock and funk of the '70s, punk and new wave of the '80s, and the alternative rock, R&B and hip-hop of the '90s through today. Leading Bay Area artists, producers, engineers, and studio owners take readers on a guided tour through some of San Francisco's top recording studios, venturing behind the scenes of some of popular music's hottest albums. Readers will learn about the recording techniques, the magic, and often unusual experiences that went into a wide range of recordings, including works by Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Santana, the Pointer Sisters, Herbie Hancock, Journey, Huey Lewis and the News, Chris Isaak, Faith No More, Green Day, and many more. In addition, If These Halls COuld Talk chronicles the history of the studios themselves. The book discusses the arrival, growth, and departure of studios in and around San Francisco, the myriad advancements in technology through the years and its effect on the recording industry, and how the San Francisco Bay Area's recording facilities have endured through economic ups and downs, increased competition, decreased demand, and the ever-changing, unpredictable music industry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Artistpro; 1 edition (May 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598631411
• ISBN-13: 978-1598631418
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > Computers & Technology > Business & Culture > History
  • #79 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Recording & Sound
  • #89 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Music

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book - not just for equipment nerds, June 26, 2006

By 

Pat Thomas "Pat Thomas" (San Francisco/Oakland) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: If These Halls Could Talk: A Historical Tour through San Francisco Recording Studios (Paperback)

really a special book that traces the golden years of music (in other words - recording studios in the San Francisco Bay Area) during the 1960's and 70's and beyond. if you want to know where the Dead recorded American Beauty or where Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young recorded Deja Vu - this is the book for you. But besides these hippie classics - you get behind the scenes stories of SF punk bands recording their LPs as well. The book does mention what kind of equipment was used in certain studios or on certain records - but it's MORE about the people, the music, and the building/locations of the studios themselves. very well researched and written. the author interviewed alot of the people involved firsthand.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT READ!!, October 27, 2006

By 

Dan Alexander - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If These Halls Could Talk: A Historical Tour through San Francisco Recording Studios (Paperback)

If These Halls Could Talk : A historical tour through San Francisco Recording Studios.

Heather Johnson , a well known writer for Mix Magazine and many other recording media related publications, has produced an extensively researched, factual account of the history of the recording studios and the creative people involved in the creation of the San Francisco recording scene.

Starting in the post world war II era , San Francisco has inspired a plethora of musical innovators of many genres: jazz and blues by Dave Brubeck , Herbie Hancock and Lowell Fulsom, the "San Francisco Sound" of the Grateful Dead, the Beau Brummels, and Creedence Clearwater, the funk of Tower of Power , Sly and The Family Stone and rock by Metallica ,The Dead Kennedys and Joe Satriani to name just a few. Presently, the impact of contemporary bay area musicians continues unabated.

Without the local recording studios, much of this music would have gone unheard by the world at large. From the top drawer studios like CBS (later the Automatt) ,The Record Plant and Wally Heiders (later Hyde Street) , to mid level studios like Different Fur and Coast Recorders, on down to "street level " studios like Funky Jacks and Tewksbury, the recording scene was ( and is) alive with personalities and recording projects. Ms. Johnson has done an admirable job of illuminating the struggles and triumphs of the many studio facilities, their founders, and the engineers who have contributed so much to this rich musical fabric.

Illustrated with dozens of photographs , Johnson presents an entertaining , educational, and historic tribute to the studios and the people who shaped them. Although the San Francisco recording scene was never as big as New York or Los Angeles, this book provides an insight and historical perspective that validates and preserves their history.

Hopefully, she will continue to write similar histories for other recording scenes. Chicago, Nashville, Detroit, and of course New York and LA all seem like fertile ground for such an endevour.

A well written , highly recommended, and thoroughly enjoyable book for anyone interested in recording, and the creative process of music making in general .

Dan Alexander

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Overview of Bay Area Recording Studio History, September 28, 2008

By 

John Tenney - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If These Halls Could Talk: A Historical Tour through San Francisco Recording Studios (Paperback)

Heather Johnson's fascinating book is a history of a big part of my professional life!

I'm a Bay Area native, a violinist, working in the local concert halls, theater pits and recording studios for more than 35 years. But this book goes back even farther than that. My dad had a record store in Berkeley, and I vividly remember a trip to the old Circle Records pressing plant in SF; I couldn't have been more than seven, so it was around 1952. I hadn't thought of it in years, if not decades, until I came across reference to it in Johnson's book. That was just one of many fond recollections triggered by her research.

I worked in every studio (I think) covered in the book, at one time or another. It was really interesting to read interviews with many of the engineers I worked with, as well as to get a more comprehensive idea of the flow of the recording business over time, seeing how facilities changed hands, upgraded (and occasionally downgraded), etc.

A different kind of "trip down Memory Lane" than for many, I suppose, but this book sure invoked some nostalgia in this old fiddler! Any musician who's done serious studio work hereabouts would appreciate the effort Heather Johnson put into her book.