Album review : PRODUCERS – self titled (5 CD Boxset)

Cherry Red [Release date : 26.07.24]

To call them a Supergroup would be a cliché. This collection of musicians transcends tired headlines.

Chris Braide, Trevor Horn, Steve Lipson, Lol Creme and Ash Soan need no introduction to tuned in music lovers.

The band project was Trevor Horn’s creation, sparked into life by his live performance at a Princes Trust gig at Wembley Arena in 2004.

Shortly after, his wife Jill died a tragic death he badly needed some kind of meaningful distraction to help cope. And so Producers, the band, was born.

Hard to believe they then started gigging around London as a covers band, but it worked and led to writing and recording original material.

Daryl Easlea (Record Collector) articulates the events that followed in several pages of entertainingly assembled liner notes, taking the form of commentary and interviews with the band members. No exaggeration to say this is like having a bonus disc.

CD1 : Original album
CD2 : Outtakes and Edits
CD3 : Made In Basing Street (remix of original album)
CD4 : Extras
CD5 : Instrumentals

‘Freeway’ opens the set. Ash Soan: “It was the first thing we did, that was Lol. Nearly every tune has got a little connection to Lol somewhere. He’s just one of the most creative people ever”.

Stephen Lipson: “The song ‘You And I’ came from a sound that I had in a little piece of software I’ve got, where you hold down one note and it plays a chord. That was the origin of that song.”

Ash: I had this little idea that I had been playing around with on guitar. Lol in particular, really loved it and on the way home that night, he’d written the lyrics. He came up with ‘Barking Up The Right Tree’. Lol’s sentiment really reflects that little ditty that I came up with” (It became the first single).

And so the story continues on, each of these talented guys sparking off and referencing each other without fear or favour.

Subsequently, Chris Braide crossed the Atlantic to enjoy a hugely successful writing and producing career.

Meantime, back at Basin Street, Trevor Horn and the band re-retooled the material to reflect Braide’s absence.

As a result it lost a little of its original shine and shimmer. But perhaps gained something in commercial appeal.

Producers – Made In Basing Street was originally released 2012.

CD 2 comprises material left off the original “album”.

CDs 4 and 5 speak for themselves. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)