10 notable albums produced by Tony Visconti

24 April 2024, 14:52

The legendary record producer turns 80 on 24th April 2024 - here are some of his greatest works and collaborations.

By Radio X

@RadioX

Anthony Edward Visconti was born in New York on 24th April 1944, where he pursued a career as a session musician, gradually moving into production. In 1968, he was invited to come to England to produce the jazz musician Georgie Fame, and from then on, Visconti was behind some of the most important records of the 1970s.

His work with Marc Bolan led to a lasting partnership with David Bowie, which stretched from the singer's self-titled 1969 album, through to his very last work, Blackstar, in 2016.

Here are some of Tony Visconti's greatest - and most interesting - production credits.

1. David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World (1970)

   

   Viscoti helped Bowie make the transition from earnest hippy folkie to glam rock icon on this ground-breaking album, which cranked up the guitars with help from the legendary Mick Ronson. Bowie would refine the formula on his Ziggy Stardust album.

   

   The Width of a Circle (2015 Remaster)

2. T. Rex - Electric Warrior (1971)

   

   One of Visconti's first productions on arriving in Britain was for Marc Bolan's acoustic duo Tyrannosaurus Rex and their debut album My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair... But Now They're Content To Wear Stars on Their Brows. As with Bowie, Visconti was instrumental in helping Bolan change from folk hippy to electric rock god and the 1971 album Electric Warrior spawned the hits Get It On and Jeepster, ushering the glam rock movement.

   

   Bang a Gong (Get It On) by T.Rex

3. Sparks - Indiscreet (1975)

   

   In amongst his productions for David Bowie, Visconti also found time to collaborate with the American brothers Russell and Ron Mael, who'd had a major UK hit in 1974 with This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us. For their fifth album - and their last with the UK backing musicians that had appeared on the albums Kimono My House and Propaganda - the Maels employed Visconti to realise some of their more elaborate ideas. The songs run from art rock (Happy Hunting Ground) to swing jazz (Looks Looks Looks), string quartets (Under The Table With Her) and even the sound of a marching band (Get In The Swing).

   

   Sparks • Get in the Swing • Promo 1975 / Complete Restoration

4. Iggy Pop - The Idiot (1977)

   

   When David Bowie threw off the distractions and temptatons of sleazy Los Angeles in the summer of 1976, he hooked up with his old friend Iggy Pop, whose own band The Stooges had crashed and burned spectacularly some years earlier. The pair decided to move to Berlin and work on a series of albums between them. The first to be recorded - but which actually was released after Bowie's Low - was The Idiot, and with Tony Visconti in the studio, the team teased a nuanced performance from the wild man of rock.

   

   Iggy pop-The Idiot-Funtime

5. David Bowie - "Heroes" (1977)

   

   It's a common misconception that Brian Eno produced Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy" - while Eno's influence on the trio of albums (Low, "Heroes" and Lodger) was considerable, it was actually Tony Visconti who manned the recording desk. His expertise came into play with Low's unqique drum sound and was never more in evidence on the reamrkable way that Visconti recorded Bowie's vocal on the title track of "Heroes".

   

   David Bowie - Heroes (Official Video)

6. The Stranglers - La Folie (1981)

   

   Once known for their lewd, crude take on punk, The Stranglers had been steadily expanding their psychedelic sound over the previous couple of years. Their image changed completely with the Visconti-mixed La Folie, which gave the world the delicate waltz Golden Brown. Produced by the band and engineer Steve Churchyard, Visconti mixed the tracks accordingly, giving the band their biggest hit.

   

   The Stranglers - Golden Brown (Restored Music Video)

7. The Seahorses - Do It Yourself (1997)

   

   In the Britpop era, Tony Visconti was rightly feted as a production genius and he helmed the only studio album from John Squire's post-Stone Roses group The Seahorses. Visconti applied his knowledge of recording fine rock guitarists to songs like Love Is The Law and Blinded By The Sun.

   

   The Seahorses - Love Is The Law

8. Manic Street Preachers - Lifeblood (2004)

   

   More beneficiaries of Tony Visconti's technical know-how were the Manics, who produced three tracks on their 2004 album Lifeblood: Emily, Solitude Sometimes Is and Cardiff Afterlife.

   

   Cardiff Afterlife

9. Morrissey - Ringleader of The Tormentors (2006)

   

   Moz was a huge admirier of Bowie, so it was no surprise that he worked on this album with Tony Visconti. Recorded in Rome, the record include the singles You Have Killed Me and The Youngest Was The Most Loved. Visconti called it one of the "best albums I have worked on", and the finished article featured a string arrangement from il maestro Ennio Morricone.

   

   The Youngest Was the Most Loved - Morrissey

10. David Bowie - Blackstar (2016)

    

    Visconti rejoined Bowie for 2013's surprise comeback The Next Day and was with the superstar for his final work. The album is obviously tainted by Bowie's death mere days after its appearance, but the songs bear witness to the pair's unique collaboration on tracks like Lazarus and I Can't Give Everything Away.

    

    David Bowie - Lazarus (Video)