Creative Spotlight: Bob Clearmountain

Producer-engineer and "Remix Guru"

Interviewed by Mel Lambert in May 2004
 

Bob Clearmountain is a specialist at doing something that borders on high art: Producing vivid, exciting mixes for a variety of musical genres. He has a unique ability to take basic tracks and sonic elements, and craft them into a vibrant whole. His creative mixing abilities have been called into play for such artists as Dada, Counting Crows, Soul Asylum, Paul Westerberg, Adam Cohen (Leonard's son), Rufus Wainwright, Lisa Loeb, John Fogerty, Bryan Adams (the remarkable "MTV Unplugged" and "18 Til I Die"), Tori Amos, Bon Jovi, Wet, Wet, Wet, The Rolling Stones ("Stripped," "Tattoo You" and "Still Life"), Bruce Springsteen ("Greatest Hits," Human Touch" and "Luck Town"), Willie Nelson, Roxy Music (the landmark "Avalon" and "Flesh and Blood"), Bryan Ferry ("Mamouna," "Taxi" and "Boys & Girls"), Huey Lewis & the News ("Picture This" and "Sports") plus Chic ("Chic," "C' est Chic," "Risque" and "Real People").
    Other mixing credits include The Rolling Stones' "Voodoo Lounge" pay-per-view cable show; "Woodstock '94" live pay-per-view; and Bruce Springsteen's "MTV Unplugged" video show/album. Production chores include Paul McCartney's "Tripping the Live Fantastic," The Who's "Join Together," Bryan Adams' "Into the Fire," "Reckless" and "Cuts Like a Knife," The Pretender's "Get Close" plus "Simple Mind's "Once Upon a Time."
    And this highly talented yet unassuming individual has picked an impressive number of industry awards during the years, including seven "TEC Awards" for "Best Recording Engineer" and "The Les Paul Award" from the readers of "Mix" magazine, plus two Grammy nominations.
 

How do you set up for a mix? Do producers mail you a tape?
First of all, I really discourage people from just sending me a multitrack tape. How do these legends get started? In fact, nowadays, I'll actually turn down a project if somebody doesn't show up [for the mix session]. Unless I work out something where I'm doing it through ISDN [data links], and [the producer or artist] can listen to the mix to give me some kind of feedback. Because, to me, a record mix should be a reflection of the artist. I'm not the artist, and so it is very presumptuous of me to think that I can mix something and actually have it be what they want.
   People do want me to put in my objectivity, though. But I just think that it should be even tempered with input from the person whose music it is. I would like them to tell me, depending on the music, how it should sound. If it's something like Bruce Springsteen, it is more a matter of: "Who is the character in the song I need to know about?" I have to understand what the person is saying; what he's getting at; what the problem is; what the conflict is.
   There's a lot of music that has nothing to do with that; it's just pop music and pretty obvious what it's about. But then, I want to know, arrangement-wise, what are the important elements in the [song]? What elements aren't so important? Are there elements that I shouldn't be using at all? Sometimes I'll bring up [instruments] that aren't supposed to be there anyway, just because lot of times [producers] discard [elements] that might be good. Often, I listen to everything. Especially if I've got the [tracks] up, and think that something is missing - I'll go searching around and see if there's any takes that they discarded.

So you like specific input from the producer or artist, regarding the way the tracks should sound?
Yes, I want the producer and artist to tell me as much as they can; give me some sort of direction. However they want to describe it, let them be as non-technical as possible. I don't want to hear: "The snare drum should have a 1.2-second reverb on it." That's why you're hiring me; that's what I do - come up with something new and fresh. And it's got nothing to do with technical [aspects]; it's an overall feel and mood that I give the mix.
   I don't think in terms of "Oh, this type of thing sounds good on a guitar." I do it by the environment; the vibe; the feel of the music. Sometimes, if it's somebody I haven't worked with before, I'll ask them what mixes of mine they were listening to that made them decide to hire me. I then have some direction. If they liked [my mixes with] Roxy Music, I'd think: "You want it to sound lush and warm." And if it's [my mixes for] Bryan Adams, then it's a different thing. Obviously, if it's Robbie Robertson, it will be something different again. That will get me a good idea of the direction the mix should take.

That creative input needs to be pretty focused?
I mix things that sound completely different. I want to know the basic [feel] they're looking for, instead of going down totally the wrong road and having them turn up and say: "What the [heck[ is that?" It has happened. In fact, one of my most memorable mixing experiences goes back to the Divinyls in the Eighties, when I mixed an album ["Desperate"] for them. (It was like their first or second record on Chrysalis.) I had just finished mixing Roxy Music - "Avalon," which was pretty "lush," rich sounding and wide. I was feeling pretty high and mighty about [that album]. {Laughs fondly at memory.] These guys were a punk band; very rough and kind of "small." And I'm mixing this [album] with lots of big delays and everything, and thinking it sounded pretty cool.
   The band came in and they just went: "That sucks." [Laughs.} They were very nice about it; "We need to talk," they said. "It's kind of the wrong direction. It should sound like this little 'spiky' ball, with jagged things coming out of it - kind of compact and annoying and rough." So, I went back, listened and thought: "What was I thinking about?" I just cleared it all out of my brain and started over. It was just so much better.
   You just can't get too high and mighty, and think that you always know what's needed. You have to examine the music and figure what the music wants. You cannot just say, "Okay, I'll take out Effect #36, because it always works for me - it may not be appropriate.

Have you ever turned down a project, because you cannot figure what it is all about?
I've thought that, but I've never actually turned down a mix. A couple of times I've said: "Look, you shouldn't waste your time mixing yet, [because} it's not right." Either the performances weren't very good, or maybe it needed a couple of things. Sometimes I'll just say: "Where's your guitar player? This needs a new solo." A couple of times I've said: "Look, go back and re-do these drums," or whatever. Not often, but once in a while.
   I remember when I worked with Laurie Anderson; she's so amazing yet the music is so beyond me. I thought: "Man, I'm just not good enough for this. There's no way I can possibly live up to what's on the tape; I don't even understand it." I was really upset. Laurie came in and saw the look on my face. I said to her: "You know, Laurie, I really don't know how to approach this."

What did she say?
She was amazing. "No, you've got something going there that's actually quite good," she said. "Just think of it this way . . ." She gave me a whole bunch of metaphors and gently pointed me in a direction. She pointed out a couple of things that were there and pulled it apart for me. Then I got it. It's a shame I never got to work with her again. Another real learning experience for me.

How do you approach the remixing process? What do you start with first?
Basically, I start with a rough mix. I put everything up and sort of haphazardly do it as though I'm mixing something live. Usually vocals are the loudest [element]. I mainly listen to the lyrics; if there's a lyric sheet I'll read that. I just get a good idea what the song and the vibe is about. Then I gradually go from there. As I hear stuff I might go: "Yeah, I can do something with this guitar sound." Make that a little better.
   Usually, I start with guitars, and then get around to drums and bass. But in a very haphazard way. Then I'll start to figure out what the arrangements got to be, and sometimes I'll put some cuts into the [automation] computer - it depends on what it is. If the arrangement is there and it doesn't need [material] taken out, I'll just work manually without the computer.
   I start around 10:30 am, and whoever is there [with the project] will come in and we'll talk about the project for a while. I get the tracks up and about 1 or 2 PM, I'll be sitting there with the tape in cycle mode. So I'll sit back and kind of fall asleep. [Laughs.] The tape is playing, and I'm listening to it. I just kind of go out [take a short nap], and then I'll gradually come around. Inevitably, what will happens is that I'll have a pretty good mix going first, with maybe even a pass in the computer. Then something will annoy me about what's going on - some sound like an acoustic guitar is too boomy and it's keeping me awake. So I'll just fix that, and then the vocal sound isn't quite right. Before I know it, I'm jumping around the room and everything is happening in the mix.
   The process doesn't go on for days; I usually have it together by 4 o'clock in the afternoon. A song a day. Then the artist or producer will come back, I'll play it for him and make some comments. And then we'll go upstairs and sit down to a nice meal. I will work on it for a couple of hours at night. They take copies and we'll finish it off in the morning.

Your Mix This! studio is well equipped. What do you have here?
I have two live echo chambers in my house. (It had a wine cellar in the basement and I turned that into two chambers, behind the machine room.) The [echo] room is about 20 feet by five feet by eight feet high. I split it into two, with a diagonal wall. There's Yamaha NS 10's and a couple of AKG C460 condenser mics in there. I just recently changed to Mackie [self-powered monitors]. They are a bit more hi-fi sounding and it makes [the mix] a bit richer sounding.
   I spend five days a week mixing, every day. It's usually a day a song. Sometimes we'll remix and touch up, and the remixes will come back perfectly because of the automation. I set all the outboard gear to unity gain so that there's no question about [I/O balances]. The SSL [Studio Computer on the room's SL-4000 G-Plus console] is very good at recalls. Some people have trouble because they don't set their outboard gear properly. But if you put tone through every piece of gear and set it all to unity gain, unless something's broken or you didn't write down something [correctly,] it comes back perfectly.

Are you ever concerned about somebody else mixing the tracks you have recorded?
No. It's tough for me to say anything, obviously, because of what I do. But there are projects I've produced and engineered where I've actually tried to get the record company to [pay] for a guy to come in and mix. So that I could sit back and be objective about it. One of the things I don't like about producing is that I have so much trouble mixing [tracks] I've produced. And I love to mix; that's my favorite part. I know lots of recording engineers that just don't want to know about mixing. They record - that's what their good at - and that's what they love. Getting good performances; a lot of creativity goes into recording. I know, because I get tapes that are all different things. It's really interesting to me to see how things are recorded.

What specific mixing project have you enjoyed most, in terms of shaping the album or single?
One of my favorites was Amy Mann's album, "Whatever" - her first solo album; it was an amazing piece of work. The songs are brilliant. She's an amazing writer. John Brion produced the album, and just did an incredible job. They used a lot of unconventional instruments. The Crowded House albums ["Together Alone," "Woodface" and "Temple of Low Men"] were wonderful. I mixed a Squeeze album called "Play" that I really enjoyed, and some of the Bryan Adams albums.

What about the film soundtracks you've mixed?
Yes. "Hope Floats" with producer Don Was. I guess it's a different challenge; we had to do film mixes in LCR surround - it was fun. The hard part about it was that there were a lot of different opinions. Every song on the record was a duet. Then you'd have the record companies, and the film company. It was a nightmare trying to get everybody to agree on what or how they wanted the thing. Poor Don Was; I thought he was going to pull out his dreadlocks. [Laughs.] I couldn't believe what he had to deal with on that record!

What about mixing in 5.1-channel surround?
I've done one for Bryan Adams - an "MTV Unplugged" show I got to record at The Manhattan Center [New York] last October. It was released as a video and an album. We mixed it in stereo and also in surround. I think they've just used the surround mix for some demonstration [purposes].

What creative opportunities does 5.1 offer?
Well, it's good and bad.

Problems with knowing what to assign to the center channel?
Yeah, that's right. Basically, I ended up mixing ["MTV Unplugged"] in quad. And we didn't have a sub-woofer at Bryan Adams' studio. The problem was that whenever I put anything in the center speaker, it seemed to sound fake. Like a "speaker" instead of sounding like a real environment; four speakers [left, right, left-surround and right-surround] sounded real to me. In fact, it sounded pretty amazing because of the way the audience was miked. Dave Hewett's crew [from the Remote Recording Services mobile recording truck] did an absolutely wonderful job. There were six audience mics: four mics above the audience, and two mics way up at the top of the hall. (The Hammerstein ballroom has got this really high dome and there were two mics way up high.)
   I put the four mics into the four speakers, and then the two high mics in left-front/left-rear and right-front/right-rear. It was incredibly realistic sounding because the ambiance was right - plus the band played in the round. They played facing each other in a circle. So I was able to mix just the way they were in the hall, as if you were standing right in the middle. It really worked; I hope they put out a DVD.
   Now I've learned that the center can actually come in handy if you just bleed in whatever your center information is.

Any band you've not worked with that would be an interesting project for you?
Yeah, I would loved to have mixed The Wallflowers. (By the way, I think Tom Lord-Algee did a great job on their album.) I don't know if I could have done any better, but I would just love to have mixed the album. I always wanted to do a Police album, but that's not going to happen. There's a band called The Offspring. After their first album I really would have loved to have worked with them. Their second album wasn't quite as good. I just did an album with a band called Dada on MCA Records, which was fantastic. (It still doesn't have a title.)

Have you ever worked with any Japanese producers?
Years ago I worked with a band called The Kai Band. The tracks were well recorded and the band were good musicians; they were looking for a rock-and-roll feel. Sometimes they sounded a little bit like Springsteen, and sometimes like Eric Clapton. I haven't worked over there in [Japanese] studios, but I did some seminars there a couple of years ago.

Are you a homebody?
Yes, I like to see my family. I traveled a lot in my career; I was always in London or Sidney or Canada or LA or New York. Throughout the last couple of years it's been nice being in one place. I have a lot of control in my mixing room [located close to the ocean in Los Angeles]. The room is 19 feet across and about 22 feet deep. It's almost a square. With an eight-foot ceiling.
   It was hard to make the room sound good, but my architect, Brett Thoeny from Boto Design, was just great. He was really good with the diffusion; he's a master. I don't have large monitors, just Yamaha NS-10Ms, of course, and KRK E7s, which I really love.

You also handle a range of live mixes. What is the main challenge?
The fact that I don't get a second chance is exactly what I enjoy about live mixes - the adrenaline rush! I usually find out what's coming off the stage, and the mic layout. I kind of help with the environment and mic placement. And then discuss with the front-of-house mixer what mics we're using. And it's really important to have a good guy on stage.
   With Woodstock '94, we used the Effanel truck, and this on-stage guy was unbelievable. He seemed to know intuitively what we needed to take care of. The test was the Bob Dylan set. Nobody knew what they were going to do - they had like 15 guitars set up on stage, and maybe three or four guitarists. Everything was plugged in, but we didn't have a set list.
   Our guy stood up there, and he said: "Okay, the guy on the acoustic 12-string is picking up the dobro now. And the guy on the Strat is picking up the Les Paul." He just rattled it off! And I was just, like: "Okay, I got the dobro. I got this, and I've got that." It was perfect every time. Of course, everything was going to tape. And we're mixing live to the world! It's just great when you have an experience like that.

"Live Aid" was pretty good too. But I had one bad experience doing a Princes' Trust show in London, when the video guys didn't trust that we were going to get [the recording]. So a [guy] from the video truck plugged an un-isolated feed out of the PA console, and caused a horrendous ground leak. When that happened it dragged down the PA console and so the PA guy unplugged our mic split thinking it was [our fault]. So we're sitting there [in the mobile truck], well into the second song, when we hear "click, click, click" and then all we heard were audience mics. And this woman from HBO [Home Box Office; the cable show's producer] is screaming at me, going: "What's wrong?" I went out and had a drink, and watched the show. [Laughs.]
   Luckily, it was two nights and we got it the second night.

Who would you like to have worked with?
Well, if Jimmy Hendrix would come back, or John Lennon. Yet I don't think I could have [mixed] "Electric Ladyland" any better. [Engineer Eddie Kramer] did an amazing job!.
   There is this new band called Fast Ball, and another band called The Urge. And Everclear, on Capitol records, which I actually mixed something for.

You look for content and involvement with all of your mixing projects?
Yes. Where they're saying either something new, or saying it with a twist. Or some way that no one has said it before. This new band, Fast Ball, are not particularly original; it's just that there's something actually quite reminiscent about them. It just makes you feel good.
   I like to enjoy what I do; I don't want to do records that aren't fun.

All digital images were kindly provided by Bob Clearmountain. Check out his website www.MixThis.com! 

©2025 Media&Marketing. All Rights Reserved. Last revised: 01.04.25