Bob Schwartz

I listen to music on speakers or earbuds. Occasionally on a four-speaker tablet. Rarely on a phone speaker.

When Phil Spector created his “wall of sound” recordings in the 1960s, they were intended to be played by AM stations broadcasting to transistor or car radios. The definition of lo-fi. He believed that the right kind of layered big production could overcome these limitations. He is legendary for that music.

These days, it is the limitations of Spector’s productions that show up on high-tech equipment. And yet…

To simulate what it was like to hear the records on a tiny radio speaker, I played the tracks on a phone speaker. Do you know what? The sound is rough around the edges. But what Spector wanted was to give a new generation of pop music listeners an experience they never had before. It works. Try it. Turn it up.

© 2024 by Bob Schwartz