I read the wikipedia page on it and im still confused on how it is made and what exactly was so good about it. Im not familiar with music production but ive seen people mention Spector and how he contributed to music and the “wall of sound” is always something i see people mention. But i never know what exactly that is
In: 248
The “wall of sound” technique was a revolutionary audio production method that involved orchestrating multiple instrumental and vocal tracks to create a dense, layered, and immersive sound experience
It was important for music because it added depth and richness to the overall sound, making it more engaging and impactful for listeners.
[Tower of Power Horns playing though the Wall of Sound would be a Feat!](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aFGtBIicF7w)
I guess a good example would be of Michael Jackson’s thriller. He sang “cause this is thriller, thriller night” on one track in a certain key. Then he sang the same thing on another track in another key. He repeated this process around 8 times to make a chord, like playing more than one note at the same time on a piano or guitar. The final result was a layered sound which gave depth to the vocals that you couldn’t get with only one track.
[deleted]
There are two “Walls of Sound” — the first was created by Phil Specter & others for the recording studio, the second was created by the Grateful Dead & others for live concerts. The system used by the Dead consisted of 604 separate speakers, 92 amps generating 26,400 watts of power and one massive cable from a nuclear submarine to connect it to the local power grid.
The basic idea behind the wall of sound is to layer lots and lots of instrument tracks, and especially multiple of the same instrument playing the same or similar parts, to create very full sound. This makes the music sound louder, more intense, and more energetic, which can make it more exciting to listen to.
You can really hear how effective this was if you listen to some records from the same time period that didn’t use the wall of sound technique and compare these with records produced by Phil Spector or other people applying his techniques. For example, here are some hit songs from the 60s that didn’t use the wall of sound:
[Martha and the Vandellas – Heat Wave](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k0GDQrK2jo)
[The Chiffons – He’s So Fine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rinz9Avvq6A)
Now some classic Spector-produced wall of sound songs:
[The Crystals – Da Doo Ron Ron](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0dikX80Ed8)
[The Ronettes – Be My Baby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSPpbOGnFgk)
Compared to other songs from the time, these tracks absolutely blast you in the face with sound. This was new and exciting at the time, and hugely influential on later music. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys was heavily influenced by Spector’s sound, and incorporated aspects of it in a lot of his production for Beach Boys records. ‘Good Vibrations’ is a great example of this:
[The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eab_beh07HU)
The wall of sound might not seem like that big of a deal to us now precisely because of how much it influenced later music production, so it’s easy to take for granted how revolutionary these rich, densely layered tracks must have sounded to people in the 60s. People listened to Phil Spector records, other R&B records from producers inspired by Spector, Beach Boys records, and so on, the sound gradually became commonplace throughout music production.
I could spend all day pasting links to songs that show influence of the wall of sound technique, but I’ll just give you two more. One is Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’, which has Stevie overlapping **8** different Clavinet parts:
[Stevie Wonder – Superstition](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CFuCYNx-1g)
Another is the Smashing Pumpkins ‘Cherub Rock’. Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins is well known for overdubbing a ridiculous number (like, 50 — literally) of guitar tracks to create an immense guitar sound:
[Smashing Pumpkins – Cherub Rock](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-KE9lvU810)
There’s nothing good or bad about it. One song might sound good with one voice and one or two guitars, another might sound good with a full orchestra, or multiple instrumental tracks. As music recording equipment got more sophisticated, more options became available
Here’s Elvis Presley’s #1 hit from 1957, [All Shook Up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkxFvoMSsZ4), from a contemporary vinyl. Here’s [My Prayer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDlcqhlzDqQ) from the Platters, most played song from 1956. And here’s [Rock Around the Clock](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbYiGR0YAAk) by Bill Haley and the Comets, from 1955.
Okay, now in 1958, Phil Spector pioneered the ‘Wall of Sound’ production technique with [Don’t You Worry, My Little Pet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd3NU8A1Jws) by the Teddy Bears, and probably the most iconic song featuring Phil Spector’s ‘Wall of Sound’ approach, [You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOnYY9Mw2Fg) by the Righteous Brothers.
If you listen to them carefully, you’ll quickly *feel* the difference in how much more “busy” the backing of the songs are, where earlier rock hits tended to be just a clean recording of what the act’s regular touring band would have recorded. With ‘Wall of Sound’ there is never a moment, never a space between each note where there’s nothing going on. There’s always some instrument or vocals carrying the piece, in between the recording’s major notes.
The thing is, the appeal of ‘wall of sound’ technique has tended to fluctuate over time in terms of popularity. Bands trying to carry off a minimalist, punk, or retro sound will often abandon it, so as to lend their works a different type of intensity. So acts like The Proclaimers with [I’m Gonna Be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbNlMtqrYS0), or Fugazi with [Waiting Room](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMOAXm94VWo), or Billy Joel with [It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eAQa4MOGkE), or Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats with [S.O.B.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iAYhQsQhSY) will affect that less produced, more primal band sound.
For those who came here to read about the [Wall of Sound (Grateful Dead)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_of_Sound_(Grateful_Dead)) it was also quite innovative, delivering a pure, undistorted sound capable of reaching crowds of 100,000 plus enhancing the live experience to new levels for its time.
Listen to almost any Ramones song and then listen to “Rock and Roll Radio” which Spector produced. The difference is startling. Another great example is the Phil Spector Christmas album.
Latest Answers