The History of Music Production 1st Edition

Great book and although the subject is deep and wide this gives a pretty good overview.

Only 17 lines talking about Bill Putnam?No paragraph for Alfred Lion!!!!!Rudy Van gelder not even mentioned!BIGGGGG JOOOOOOKE!!!!To read "the history of music production" right after "Temples of sound" is a big disappointement, a joke.I would not download these book for free.

First, the good news. Burgess is a an industry professional who knows what he's talking about. The information here is pretty much spot-on: good accounts of the development of music technologies to the present day and the role of the "producer" therein.The bad news. Burgess is a an industry professional whose personal involvement is rather intrusive and makes him an author with a very obvious axe to grind. So whereas he packs in huge amounts of information in the early chapters about the emergence of recording technologies—skipping across whole swathes of developments like a stone across a pond—we suddenly around the middle of the book (historically 1977) get four pages (with pictures) of the making of his band's album with early digital sequencers. Then there's more about his involvement in early electronic drums, the importance of which is far less than the weight he gives it.Then beyond this point it really becomes a book about the modern music business, i.e. the way it has been transformed by digital technologies. All very accurate and relevant. BUT, part of this is Burgess' beef about producers/engineers etc. not getting any royalties from digital downloads and from streaming. He just goes ON and ON about it and, eventually, I was desperate for the book to end.He also shamelessly and blatantly plugs his other book numerous times.All a bit embarrassing...

Richard James Burgess clearly knows his subject well and, on the whole, this book is a straightforward read. Occasionally I got lost in some of the technical detail and I certainly learned some new terms. I especially found the description of the development of synthesizers and digital technology quite fascinating.The only thing that bothered me was the way Burgess' writing slipped in and out of personal experience i.e. third person becoming first person. That didn't spoil the enjoyment but it was a bit strange. However, the book is definitely worth 5 stars.