Legendary Producer CHRIS TSANGARIDES Talks About Working With JUDAS PRIEST, ANVIL

Greece's Rockpages web magazine conducted an exclusive interview with legendary rock producer Chris Tsangarides (JUDAS PRIEST, THIN LIZZY, GARY MOORE, ANVIL) when he was recently in Greece for a seminar. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Rockpages.gr: How much would you say that a producer interferes in an album?

Chris Tsangarides: Well, I've done everything from composing the song to saying, "That song is actually fine," so it all depends on what situation we are in. Sometimes I don't have to say anything, because it's as perfect as I like. Sometimes it's like, "Maybe we should re-write the chorus or the verse, or whatever," but I am blessed I am allowed to say anything I like, because that's the whole point — you don't hire someone like myself and not take the advice.

Rockpages.gr: When someone approaches you to hire you to work on their record, do you have criteria according to which you might turn down an offer?

Chris Tsangarides: Yes… But my criteria is "Is it good?" It doesn't matter what style of music it is. Is it good? Can I bring something to this? And, I've got such an ego that I always think I can! You have to have a certain amount of confidence, and knowledge to know that, "Yes, I can do this record, I know what I'm doing," and as I get on in my career, and on my years of experience it becomes a bit easier, because experience has told you before. So, I've come to a point in my life now when I am mixing something I don't very often second-guess myself or have battles in my head about what I'm doing. If I like what I've done, then it's done. I don't pontificate, I don't do fifteen different versions… this is the version. Because that was how I was taught. We only ever did THE mix back in the day, and that's when there were no computers, none of that, and fifty people around the desk… "At this point, guitar player, press that button, when we get to the chorus, you press this one" … 'cause there were so many things you wanted to do, and that was the only way to do it. But, you all felt, "Yeah, that's the right take, this is the mix," and you went with it. Today the biggest problem with all the new technology is there are so many choices. You can keep anything you've recorded, you can change anything anytime, and it's kind of lost that spark of, "Yeah, we've recorded the song!" Because the song can change so radically now, you could record one thing, and finish with something else, just using the technology you have. And I think that kind of loses it a bit these days, because I just used to [go] like that (snaps his fingers) "Yeah! That's the one," and we're all happy, and we go away with it, and most of the records I've done were like that…

Rockpages.gr: Which would you say that are the most important albums you made in your career?

Chris Tsangarides: Well, the first one I made, "Back On The Streets" (GARY MOORE),that was important because it set me on my way, and the next thing was ANVIL's album "Metal On Metal" in 1982, I think it was, because it became the template for the likes of METALLICA, ANTHRAX and SLAYER, the speed metal thing, that we didn't know it was speed metal; it was just what they did and I would recorded it and people happened to like that. Then, it would be THIN LIZZY's "Thunder And Lightning" for its sonic properties, if you like. It became the benchmark for European heavy bands to sort of try and emulate that sort of tonality. And then I suppose it's been on to "Painkiller" by JUDAS PRIEST, which set up a whole new benchmark of how fast, heavy speed metal should be; it was kind of pivotal. Then the other ones for me were the record I did with CONCRETE BLONDE, and the records with TRAGICALLY HIP, huge-selling alternative products, if you like. They sold more copies than the metal records, which is surprising. They are completely different to that, but it was very good for me because it means I have a career; I can either do rock, metal, or indie, whatever you wanna call it.

Rockpages.gr: Working and making a living… which decade would you say it was easier for you? The '70s, '80s, '90s, or the '00s, and why?

Chris Tsangarides: I guess it would have been, for making the sort of types of money that everyone thinks a producer makes, the end of the '80s, '90s for me. Because I had great successes in the U.S. where the marketplace is that much bigger, and therefore the royalty stream was that much bigger as well. It's also where you build a reputation and they are willing to pay you well enough for someone of a certain stature in the business. It used to take longer to make records then, for some reason, and I could only do three a year maximum. Nowadays, since I had my little studio in four years we've made over 35 albums! I don't know how I would have done that if the things were like they used to be in the '70s, '80s, '90s, or whatever… I think it's a whole new ballgame the way finances work these days.

Read the entire interview from Rockpages. You can also watch the chat below.