The third disc is largely a portrait of the mid-to-late 60s. Highlights come hard and fast: “Be My Baby,” “Then He Kissed Me,” “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry.” Heartbreak has never sounded so wonderful. As with most chronological box sets, Back To Mono’s middle portions (in this case, the end of Disc 1 through the beginning of Disc 3) are its best. The results aren’t always perfect - his cloying early work will make you cringe - but hearing Spector’s artistic evolution makes his peaks all the more dizzying. Many musicians, including a young Bruce Springsteen, were listening.īack To Mono, an out-of-print, spectacular box set, does its best to encapsulate Spector’s glory years. The Ronettes, The Crystals, and Darlene Love became icons of adolescent melodrama, all to the strains of baritone saxophones, glockenspiels, and strings.

Under his watch - in concert and competition with The Beatles, of course - teenage pop became a serious art form. His ear for arrangement was impeccable, and he used this ability to revolutionize pop music. That word gets thrown around a lot in music criticism, but Spector’s cultural influence can’t be overstated. Crazy motherfucker.īut Phil Spector is also an artistic genius. He appeared in court sporting a classy suit and the most amazing afro you’ll ever see. Then, of course, there’s the recent trial in which he was indicted for killing actress Lana Clarkson. Stories abound about the producer’s temper, from abusing then-wife Ronnie Spector (of The Ronettes) to pulling a gun on John Lennon during the ex-Beatles' Rock ‘n’ Roll sessions. Let’s get this out of he way: Phil Spector is a crazy motherfucker.

Tina turner the very best of zippyshare