Film directors have always been lionised by their industry and by fans who made household names of Ford, Hitchcock and Spielberg. Record producers, on the other hand, have by-and-large laboured in near-anonymity outside the music business and the most devoted of fans (Bert Berns was certainly a household name in MY household). ACE has thoughtfully remedied that situation with its Producers series, spotlighting the studio output of 13 (thus far) visionaries who lived to bring the sounds in their heads to the grooves of the 45.

Each of these auteurs relentlessly pursued his aural ideals, always with an eye on that ever-elusive next hit. Phil Spector, Jack Nitzsche, Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy clearly had the magic touch, and Kim Fowley and Gary Paxton managed to grab a couple of brass rings. It’s confounding that such singular geniuses as James Brown, Sly Stone and Brian Wilson were largely unable to duplicate their mega-success with the artists they produced, but each one of these CDs offers a fascinating jaunt into the oeuvre of a titan of pop music. It goes without saying that each set is accompanied by a booklet crammed with rare photos and essays, but I’ll say it anyway.

When Tom Donahue and Bob Mitchell hired 20 year-old Sylvester Stewart to run their Autumn Records in 1963, they gave him the run of the studio. On “Precious Stone”, we’re privileged to eavesdrop as the future powerhouse Sly Stone learns the ropes, cutting demos and singles in a variety of conventional pop, rock and soul styles and pretty much nailing it every time. Working with cohort and future hitmaker Billy Preston, Family Stone siblings Freddie and Rose, Autumn’s premiere artist Bobby Freeman and gospel-fuelled girl group Gloria Scott & the Tonettes, Sly mastered the studio and also cut a slew of songs singing in his own inimitably quirky style. More than half of the tracks here have never been released and present a unique view of the pre-fame Sly as he swims, jerks and Temptation walks his way to an artistic vision that would soon light up the world. “Listen To The Voices” highlights the end of Autumn with a couple of great tracks by the Beau Brummels; then we find ourselves in the delivery room as the Family Stone is born. Demo versions of eventual Sly classics! More cuts with Billy Preston! Never-heard recordings by Freddie and the Stone Souls, precursors to the Family Stone. There are even a few relatively successful and rarely anthologised radio hits by Little Sister and Abaco Dream. A veritable banquet for Sly Stone fans!

The Godfather of Soul ruled the soul/r&b roost in the 60s with an infinite string of hits and a stage show so hot it defied belief. His inexplicable lack of success producing hits for the members of his revue wasn’t for lack of trying and certainly wasn’t due to inferiority of material, as this soul-drenched compendium aptly proves. Scorching sides by Famous Flames Bobby Byrd and James Crawford languished on the shelves, as did Brown’s productions for the Revue’s featured female singers like Anna King, Vicki Anderson, the Jewels, Yvonne Fair, Tammy Montgomery (who went on to fame as the doomed princess of Motown, Tammi Terrell) and Elsie Mae, who, as TV Mama, served as the Revue’s morbidly obese sight gag. Of particular note are Brown’s noble mid-60s effort to update the sound of his 50s cohorts the Five Royales, and the blisteringly funky gospel workout ‘That’s The Spirit’ by Rev Willingham and the Swanee Quintet. Throw in some storming instrumentals and you’ve got a vivid snapshot of the show that rocked the house at the Apollo. To paraphrase a great man, this CD has soul and it’s superbad!

A sharp left turn from the pop and soul sounds featured on the other CDs in the Producers series, and a broad jump in eras. We’re talking punk rock here, and if that’s your thing (or if you’ve always been a wee bit curious), then this collection will feel like an old, familiar safety-pin through the eyebrow. Martin Hannett (his nom-de-punk was Martin Zero) was at the helm for sessions with seminal punk outfits such as the Buzzcocks, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and the ill-fated Joy Divison, as well as their offshoot, New Order. His UK superhit ‘Jilted John’ is here, but US listeners will be most familiar with ‘Pretty In Pink’ by the Psychedelic Furs. Of particular note is a track Hannett produced on the Velvet Underground’s femme fatale Nico. ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ serves as a fitting epitaph for the tragic German Warhol superstar as well as for Hannett, who lived fast, died young and left an impressive body of work.

Talk about your Hollywood Babylon! Noted eccentric Kim Fowley began his career in partnership with Gary Paxton, yielding the 1960 #1 ‘Alley Oop’ before going their separate ways. If Paxton toiled on the fringes of the Hollywood music world, Fowley set his sights on the fringes of the fringe. Several artists (the Innocents, Sky Saxon, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Paxton-led Hollywood Argyles) crop on both Fowley’s and Paxton’s collections, but Fowley also cast his net as far as the UK with offerings from the Belfast Gypsies, Soft Machine and an early collaboration with Cat Stevens. Treasures herein include smash hits from B Bumble & the Stingers and the Rivingtons and a lovely late-in-life Gene Vincent cut. What kind of artistic madman could unleash the lilting ‘Popsicles and Icicles’ and follow it with ‘Satan’s Holiday?’ Kim Fowley, that’s who. And those are merely the tip of the iceberg.

“Hollywood Maverick” is a most fitting appellation for this journey around the margins of the early-60s LA music scene. After hitting paydirt as half of Skip & Flip (the insanely catchy 1959 smash ‘It Was I’ is included here), Gary Paxton moved behind the board and churned out an astonishing array of singles, capturing lightning in a bottle with two novelty classics, ‘Alley Oop’ and ‘Monster Mash’. Paxton’s output includes harmony opuses from the Paradons and the Innocents, rocking instrumentals, dance craze knockoffs and more novelties than you can shake a stick at. Particularly noteworthy are early efforts by Paul Revere & the Raiders and the Seeds’ Sky Saxon (an indescribable 1962 doo wop that clearly didn’t threaten Johnny Maestro or Dion) and a last-gasp trip to Beach Boys territory by the venerable Four Freshmen. The CD closes with the original version of the standard ‘Jesus Is Just Alright’ by the Art Reynolds Singers, who counted Thelma Houston among their ranks. Paxton then, in 1966, decamped for Bakersfield, California where he pioneered the country-rock sound. And, by the way, the accompanying essay detailing Paxton’s life and career fairly screams for screenplay treatment.

Growing up in New York City in the 1960s, Dennis spent his youth attending shows at the Apollo, the Paramount, the Brooklyn Fox and the Fillmore East. In the 80s, he managed Arlene Smith, the Dixie Cups and the comeback of the original Toys. He has interviewed many singers for Goldmine Magazine and wrote scripts for kids TV shows, including Doug, PB&J Otter and Stanley. He has also served as a backup singer for dozens of artists, including LaVern Baker, Little Eva, Jimmy Clanton, Dee Dee Sharp, Lou Christie, Sam the Sham, Freddie Scott, Ben E King, Frankie Ford and Maxine Brown. His favourite hobby is partying with various members of classic girl groups and visting British CD compilers.