tom dowd (quite possibly the greatest producer all time) was asked before he died, "how did you produce artists like ray charles, aretha franklin, eric clapton?" and his response was
"you dont produce a great artist. you just make sure the mics are on and they have enough coffee."
i agree with that to some extent (the humility there is the real remarkable thing) but then again a good production team (engineers included) can elevate the songs to new heights that some artists could never have dreamed of.
in short i think that good production is invaluable... but it definitely begins and ends with the quality of the artist
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theres a solitary man crying hold me
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