The If These Halls Could Talk: A Historical Tour through San Francisco Recording Studios (Book) [Paperback] Review

Heather Johnson's fascinating book is a history of a big part of my professional life!

I'm a Bay Area native, a violinist, working in the local concert halls, theater pits and recording studios for more than 35 years. But this book goes back even farther than that. My dad had a record store in Berkeley, and I vividly remember a trip to the old Circle Records pressing plant in SF; I couldn't have been more than seven, so it was around 1952. I hadn't thought of it in years, if not decades, until I came across reference to it in Johnson's book. That was just one of many fond recollections triggered by her research.

I worked in every studio (I think) covered in the book, at one time or another. It was really interesting to read interviews with many of the engineers I worked with, as well as to get a more comprehensive idea of the flow of the recording business over time, seeing how facilities changed hands, upgraded (and occasionally downgraded), etc.

A different kind of "trip down Memory Lane" than for many, I suppose, but this book sure invoked some nostalgia in this old fiddler! Any musician who's done serious studio work hereabouts would appreciate the effort Heather Johnson put into her book.

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Product Description:
If These Halls Could Talk: A Historical Tour Through San Francisco Recording Studios takes an in-depth look at San Francisco's colorful and diverse music and music recording history, covering both the recordings and recording studios that housed the jazz and blues of the '50s and psychedelic rock of the '60s, to the rock and funk of the '70s, punk and new wave of the '80s, and the alternative rock, R&B and hip-hop of the '90s through today.

Leading Bay Area artists, producers, engineers, and studio owners take readers on a guided tour through some of San Francisco's top recording studios, venturing behind the scenes of some of popular music's hottest albums. Readers will learn about the recording techniques, the magic, and often unusual experiences that went into a wide range of recordings, including works by Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Santana, the Pointer Sisters, Herbie Hancock, Journey, Huey Lewis and the News, Chris Isaak, Faith No More, Green Day, and many more.

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