For me, i had the opportunity to borrow so many records, that it is almost difficult to remember which came first and in which order they followed.
I do recall spending the night at a chum's pad, in an orange grove in Strathmore, California, back around 1978 or 1979, and listening to Hotel California over and over on headphones. It was like being handed a treasure map.
All the nuances and reverb just fascinated me. I also recall the phrase, " Don't Worry, Nothing Will Be OK" etched into the run-off groove of the album. It was just this amazing experience.
The album that really just blew my mind was Def Leppard's Pyromania. The rhythm guitar tone was so crisp. The use of delay, reverb and panning was mesmerizing. The production was just fantastic and it made me want to be a producer.
A bunch of us kids were hanging out at a girl's house on Silvervale Street in Visalia, California, and she was playing this album over the stereo system that was built into the walls of the house.
I remember them talking about the guitar players and that sort of thing, as they passed around the jacket, and i remember waiting my turn to find out who the producer was.
I still love that Pete Willis rhythm guitar tone and i still zone out and listen to Pyromania to this day, but i think that, very early on, being a producer was really high on my list...
