Here is an excerpt from my book, NEVER SAY NO TO A ROCK STAR . . .

In my mind’s eye, I was sitting in the control room of studio R-2. It was September of 1974. I had not yet reached my 19th birthday.

The King Biscuit Flower Hour, a syndicated radio program that broadcast live recordings of the greatest bands of the time, booked studio time with Phil to remix tapes of the Rolling Stones recorded in Brussels during their ’73 European tour. Mick was coming in to supervise the remix. We’d be spending the next several days together.

Waiting for Mick Jagger to arrive at the studio was agonizing. Having become apprenticed to my master almost a year before, I had already worked with a number of famous people, but none that I loved. My heart beat with tremulous excitement.

Like a true star, in the same way that the Stones would build excitement by getting on stage at the last possible moment, Jagger waited in the wings till we were all assembled in the control room so he could make his grand entrance.
The 31-year-old Jagger, in a billowy green silk shirt, a blue ascot with yellow polka-dots, tight black pants and low, black leather boots, blew into the room, affecting shyness. In his deliciously crusty Mockney baritone, he asked, “Am I in the right place?”

The question was ironic. How could Mick Jagger ever be in the wrong place?

For once, the reality beat the fantasy. Mick could shine his charm on a room of 4 or 5 as brilliantly as he could light up a stadium of 50,000. With his moppy hair, crinkly eyes, and toothy smile, he was radiant, spectacular, gorgeous.

We were all deferential to the future Sir. Even Ramone, whose first record was the Grammy-winning Girl From Ipanema, and had worked with the scariest artists from Streisand, to Paul Simon, to McCartney, seemed a little humbled by the presence of Mr. D. Usually, Phil was fiercely possessive of his console. But for some unknown reason, without Mick saying a word, he yielded the mixing seat to Mick, who sat down and placed his fingers on the red faders. These were the sliding volume controls for the various instruments: Bill’s steady bass, Charlie’s propulsive kick, snare, toms, and cymbals, Mick Taylor’s crying lead guitar, Keith’s indomitable, archetypal guitar riffs, assorted horns, keys, and background vocals, and Mick’s own manically-inspired lead vocals.

We listened to the first song, “Brown Sugar.” Mick adjusted the balance between the instruments, trying to get a blend that would bring you into the middle of the concert.

I sat inches from young Mick, at his side, by the console, watching his hands on the red faders. Usually, when a mix was in process, the mixer would become quite precious about the placement of these faders. Balancing the instruments could be a delicate affair, and when you got something you liked you were very careful to keep the slider in a very precise place. Before the advent of digital recording, it was my job to notate exactly where every knob in the studio was placed, so we could always get the magic back.

But Jagger, after playing with the mix for a while, got frustrated, and knocked down all the faders to zero, ruining all that he had just built up. He got out of his seat, growling, “Ahh!” and signaled Ramone to take over.

Ramone, without hesitation, leapt behind the board to ride the faders like he was running a thoroughbred, swooning and tapping his foot, bringing his mystic vibe into the proceedings. But as amazing as he could be, this wasn’t his thing. He was more a jazz, folk, and pop man, not a rocker.

As Ramone tweaked the timbre of Keith’s guitar, Mick looked at me, without Phil seeing. He rolled his eyes and crinkled his nose, signaling he wasn’t happy with the sound Ramone was getting. Nodding back at Mick, I intuited that he wanted something tougher than the clean sound Phil was going for. Mick tilted his head, encouraging me to crank it. He wanted me to sharpen the tone, using what we called an “outboard equalizer” which sat behind Ramone, out of his view. Behind Phil’s back, I twisted the “EQ” knob all the way up to boost the midrange, so Keith’s guitar would rub in your face. Jagger nodded his approval and smiled at me. I swooned. I never told Ramone that little secret. It was just between me and Mick.

This memory suffused me with a warm glow. My smile broadened, as I remembered how, after the EQ moment, Mick had seemed to take a liking to me. Or maybe he was just a sweet guy who was nice to all the assistant engineers. He’d come into the studio and walk straight to me, gently punch me a few times, rub my long, curly red hair and say, “How ya doin’ Gin-jah?”

With that, I ascended to a realm somewhere between heaven and nirvana. I’m straight, but if he would’ve asked, I would’ve said yes to spilling some beans all night long.

Cool, Very Cool!

More more!! please

Great story.
Thanks for sharing and giving us a glimmer of what your book is about.
And thank you for your great job at the outboard equilizer!

Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away

Cool story. Thanks

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Keep On Rolling

Very good title !
it makes me feel like buying it ..will a french version be available someday ?
thanks.

A longer version of that story was already posted here years ago. I remember him describing how Jagger overdubbed the vocals on HTW. And the author and Mick bonded thanks to Dylan's weirdness and drugs.

Very interesting. Thanks for putting this up.

A very sweet story - but can I ask what "in my mind's eye" means in this case?

As far as "in my mind's eye" goes, the story in the book juxtaposes a life changing day in 2005 when I saw the Stones at Madison Square Garden, and the memory of working with Mick.

I hope it gets translated into French! If you know anyone who is willing . . . thanks for asking!

Always makes me giggle when straight guys admit they could be swayed by Sir Mick. It's completely understandable. A magic man.

I'm curious as to why they were working on a mix for Brown Sugar when it was September of 1974...

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GasLightStreet
I'm curious as to why they were working on a mix for Brown Sugar when it was September of 1974...

Well, they were working on live tapes from Brussels 1973 and each and every show from 1972 and 1973 had Brown Sugar as the opening song...

Someone tweaked Keef's guitar tone and lived to tell the story...? ><

Good luck with the book, Glenn!

Hilarious.

Glenn, you captured the thrills, oh, yeah!

~"Love is Strong"~

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shrinkysays
Here is an excerpt from my book, NEVER SAY NO TO A ROCK STAR . . .

Thanks, this excerpt was a great read!

great excerpt...but...

it seems more like you mixed it, by somehow intuiting what Mick Jagger was after...

Thanks for the link. Great read. I liked it.

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RipThisBone
Thanks for the link. Great read. I liked it.

Thank you for reading the book. Glad you liked it! An Amazon review would be more than appreciated!

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shrinkysays
Here is an excerpt from my book, NEVER SAY NO TO A ROCK STAR . . .

In my mind’s eye, I was sitting in the control room of studio R-2. It was September of 1974. I had not yet reached my 19th birthday.

The King Biscuit Flower Hour, a syndicated radio program that broadcast live recordings of the greatest bands of the time, booked studio time with Phil to remix tapes of the Rolling Stones recorded in Brussels during their ’73 European tour. Mick was coming in to supervise the remix. We’d be spending the next several days together.

Waiting for Mick Jagger to arrive at the studio was agonizing. Having become apprenticed to my master almost a year before, I had already worked with a number of famous people, but none that I loved. My heart beat with tremulous excitement.

Like a true star, in the same way that the Stones would build excitement by getting on stage at the last possible moment, Jagger waited in the wings till we were all assembled in the control room so he could make his grand entrance.
The 31-year-old Jagger, in a billowy green silk shirt, a blue ascot with yellow polka-dots, tight black pants and low, black leather boots, blew into the room, affecting shyness. In his deliciously crusty Mockney baritone, he asked, “Am I in the right place?”

The question was ironic. How could Mick Jagger ever be in the wrong place?

For once, the reality beat the fantasy. Mick could shine his charm on a room of 4 or 5 as brilliantly as he could light up a stadium of 50,000. With his moppy hair, crinkly eyes, and toothy smile, he was radiant, spectacular, gorgeous.

We were all deferential to the future Sir. Even Ramone, whose first record was the Grammy-winning Girl From Ipanema, and had worked with the scariest artists from Streisand, to Paul Simon, to McCartney, seemed a little humbled by the presence of Mr. D. Usually, Phil was fiercely possessive of his console. But for some unknown reason, without Mick saying a word, he yielded the mixing seat to Mick, who sat down and placed his fingers on the red faders. These were the sliding volume controls for the various instruments: Bill’s steady bass, Charlie’s propulsive kick, snare, toms, and cymbals, Mick Taylor’s crying lead guitar, Keith’s indomitable, archetypal guitar riffs, assorted horns, keys, and background vocals, and Mick’s own manically-inspired lead vocals.

We listened to the first song, “Brown Sugar.” Mick adjusted the balance between the instruments, trying to get a blend that would bring you into the middle of the concert.

I sat inches from young Mick, at his side, by the console, watching his hands on the red faders. Usually, when a mix was in process, the mixer would become quite precious about the placement of these faders. Balancing the instruments could be a delicate affair, and when you got something you liked you were very careful to keep the slider in a very precise place. Before the advent of digital recording, it was my job to notate exactly where every knob in the studio was placed, so we could always get the magic back.

But Jagger, after playing with the mix for a while, got frustrated, and knocked down all the faders to zero, ruining all that he had just built up. He got out of his seat, growling, “Ahh!” and signaled Ramone to take over.

Ramone, without hesitation, leapt behind the board to ride the faders like he was running a thoroughbred, swooning and tapping his foot, bringing his mystic vibe into the proceedings. But as amazing as he could be, this wasn’t his thing. He was more a jazz, folk, and pop man, not a rocker.

As Ramone tweaked the timbre of Keith’s guitar, Mick looked at me, without Phil seeing. He rolled his eyes and crinkled his nose, signaling he wasn’t happy with the sound Ramone was getting. Nodding back at Mick, I intuited that he wanted something tougher than the clean sound Phil was going for. Mick tilted his head, encouraging me to crank it. He wanted me to sharpen the tone, using what we called an “outboard equalizer” which sat behind Ramone, out of his view. Behind Phil’s back, I twisted the “EQ” knob all the way up to boost the midrange, so Keith’s guitar would rub in your face. Jagger nodded his approval and smiled at me. I swooned. I never told Ramone that little secret. It was just between me and Mick.

This memory suffused me with a warm glow. My smile broadened, as I remembered how, after the EQ moment, Mick had seemed to take a liking to me. Or maybe he was just a sweet guy who was nice to all the assistant engineers. He’d come into the studio and walk straight to me, gently punch me a few times, rub my long, curly red hair and say, “How ya doin’ Gin-jah?”

With that, I ascended to a realm somewhere between heaven and nirvana. I’m straight, but if he would’ve asked, I would’ve said yes to spilling some beans all night long.

whatever you say

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alimente

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GasLightStreet
I'm curious as to why they were working on a mix for Brown Sugar when it was September of 1974...

Well, they were working on live tapes from Brussels 1973 and each and every show from 1972 and 1973 had Brown Sugar as the opening song...

Oh. Well obviously that wasn't, uh, talked about!

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shrinkysays
I Was There When Mick Mixed Bedspring Symphony

"Yeah I'm losing my edge..."

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with sssoul
A very sweet story - but can I ask what "in my mind's eye" means in this case?

LOL, that is exactly the phrase that spoiled my first read through. I thought it was fictional.

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alimente

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GasLightStreet
I'm curious as to why they were working on a mix for Brown Sugar when it was September of 1974...

Well, they were working on live tapes from Brussels 1973 and each and every show from 1972 and 1973 had Brown Sugar as the opening song...

And because the live set was to be aired on radio, of course.

In addition to this there were some sound issues with the recording of BS. Even after the mix it never sounded as good as the other songs, imo.

Very cool! I am in! I will order the book!

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DandelionPowderman

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alimente

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GasLightStreet
I'm curious as to why they were working on a mix for Brown Sugar when it was September of 1974...

Well, they were working on live tapes from Brussels 1973 and each and every show from 1972 and 1973 had Brown Sugar as the opening song...

And because the live set was to be aired on radio, of course.

In addition to this there were some sound issues with the recording of BS. Even after the mix it never sounded as good as the other songs, imo.

The best sounding version of the studio version I've ever heard is on the Virgin Records reissue of MADE IN THE SHADE.

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GasLightStreet

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DandelionPowderman

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alimente

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GasLightStreet
I'm curious as to why they were working on a mix for Brown Sugar when it was September of 1974...

Well, they were working on live tapes from Brussels 1973 and each and every show from 1972 and 1973 had Brown Sugar as the opening song...

And because the live set was to be aired on radio, of course.

In addition to this there were some sound issues with the recording of BS. Even after the mix it never sounded as good as the other songs, imo.

The best sounding version of the studio version I've ever heard is on the Virgin Records reissue of MADE IN THE SHADE.

I meant the Brussels live version - the one he mixed.

Haven't really noticed the Virgin Made In The Shade-sound. Will check it out when I get back from vacation.

Oh. I thought this might be another Pregnancy thread. Whew!

[Lovely story! Congratulations and thank you!]