Making Time: A Shel Talmy Production

Until now, Ace's acclaimed Producer series has more or less focused on the legends of the American music business. This latest instalment is no different, save for the arena. "Making Time: A Shel Talmy Production" celebrates the activities of a soft-spoken, myopic Chicagoan who walked right into the British music industry and, in his own low-key manner, turned it upside-down.

A contemporary of Phil Spector, Shel Talmy trained as an engineer in Hollywood, but when on holiday in the UK in 1962, he brazenly announced his availability as producer to Dick Rowe at Decca Records. Early hits with the Bachelors led to a reputation for handling the new wave of beat and mod outfits that erupted in the wake of the Beatles. British 1960s pop was guided by many different figures, yet amongst the production-line hitmakers like Mickie Most, or men associated with a particular act, such as George Martin, there were few like Talmy that had a reputation for a particular and identifiable sound, outside of perhaps Joe Meek. Based upon his supervision of the early Kinks and Who alone, Talmy firmly upped the ante within the polite environs of the UK charts.

Despite the forthright style with which he made his name, Talmy rose to the top of his chosen profession based on a proven ability to deliver with any number of acts, be they lightweight folk-pop, hip jazz-R&B or bone-crunching rock'n'roll. The roll-call of artists he worked with is remarkable not just for its divergence, but for the fact it is populated with so much that has retrospectively gained influence. His involvement might have only been early on when their potential was not yet fully realised (David Bowie, Roy Harper) or it constituted the stewardship of an established artist during a particular phase (Easybeats, Manfred Mann).