VA - The Essential Phil Spector (2011)

Producer Phil Spector's famed and innovative Wall of Sound recording techniques, which consisted of massed instruments, close-quarter ensemble recording, symphonic structure, and, above all, good songs (most of which Spector wrote or co-wrote) sung by vital artists, influenced, in one way or another, every pop producer who followed him. This two-disc set collects Spector's most essential and enduring productions, including classics like the Crystals' “Da Doo Ron Ron,” the Ronettes' marvelous “Be My Baby,” the emotionally epic “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers, and the majestic “River Deep, Mountain High” by Ike & Tina Turner, among others, making this indeed the essential Phil Spector. The cornerstones are all here.~The Essential Phil Spector Review by Steve Leggett