Eddie Kramer

Eddie Kramer (born 1941 in Cape Town, South Africa) is an audio engineer and producer who has worked with Led Zeppelin, Triumph, Kiss (and solo Ace Frehley), Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Peter Frampton, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, Anthrax, Carly Simon, LOUDNESS and Robin Trower.

Career

1960s

Eddie Kramer was born in South Africa, and as a child studied classical piano, cello and violin. He attended the prestigious South African College of Music to learn classical piano, but formed an interest in jazz. He moved to England at 19, where he recorded local jazz groups in a home studio and installed hi-fi equipment as a hobby. In 1964 he joined Pye Studios, recording artists including Sammy Davis Jr., Petula Clark and The Kinks.

In 1965 Kramer established KPS Studios and was later employed by Regent Sound to oversee construction of a new four-track studio.

He joined Olympic Sound Studios in London, where he engineered albums for acts including Traffic, Small Faces, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, for whom Kramer engineered every album from "Are You Experienced" to "The Cry of Love". After Hendrix's death he co-produced "War Heroes", "Rainbow Bridge" and "Hendrix in the West".

In 1968 Kramer moved to New York to work at the Record Plant, engineering Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland" LP and also worked with Vanilla Fudge, Joe Cocker and NRBQ. Working independently from 1969, Kramer engineered "Led Zeppelin II" – the first of five albums he engineered for the band.

Kramer added his own touch to "Whole Lotta Love" from "Led Zeppelin II". He said, "At one point there was bleed-through of a previously recorded vocal in the recording of 'Whole Lotta Love.' It was the middle part where Robert [Plant] screams 'Wo-man. You need it.' Since we couldn't re-record at that point, I just threw some echo on it to see how it would sound and Jimmy [Page] said 'Great! Just leave it.'" [http://www.kramerarchives.com/bio.html Biography at Eddie Kramer website] ]

In mid-1969 Kramer was hired to record the Woodstock Festival for both the album and the movie. The project was arduous, as he recalled: ] "I arrived as dawn and was struck by the sight of the sun rising over what appeared to be the stage. The show was scheduled to start by lunch time. That panic pretty much set the tone for the entire concert. All of us in the crew had Vitamin B shots, so that we would be able to stay up for three days. The whole thing was recorded under the most primitive of conditions, but we got it done."

Kramer subsequently recorded live albums by Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, John Mayall, The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, David Bowie and Derek and the Dominos.

1970s

Kramer was director of engineering at Electric Lady Studios from 1970-1974, producing the posthumous Hendrix records, as well as albums by Carly Simon, Sha Na Na and Peter Frampton. While there he engineered albums for artists as diverse as Dionne Warwick and David Bowie.

In 1975 he left Electric Lady Studios to produce Kiss' "Alive!", which began a long time association with the band. His engineering work included Led Zeppelin's "The Song Remains the Same" and Peter Frampton's "Frampton Comes Alive!".

1980s onward

Kramer produced Fastway, Anthrax and Twisted Sister, as well as country and classical acts including the Kentucky Headhunters and guitarist John Williams.

Kramer produced the Hendrix tribute album, "Stone Free", featuring The Cure, Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy, raising $750,000 for the United Negro College Fund as musical scholarships to Berklee College of Music, the Juilliard School of Music and The Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Kramer produced and engineered Buddy Guy's "Slippin' In" (1995), which received a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Record and a W.C. Handy Blues Foundation Album of the Year award. "Buddy Guy and The Saturday Nite Live Band with G.E. Smith," was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award.

He also produced "In From the Storm" (1995), a compilation of Hendrix tracks featuring: Sting, Steve Vai and Carlos Santana with the London Metropolitan Orchestra.

Other projects

Kramer has produced an instructional video, "Adventures in Modern Recording", which features an interview with guitarist Les Paul. He has co-authored a Hendrix biography, "", with John McDermott. He is also compiling a photographic book, "From the Other Side of the Glass", which features his photographs and recollections about the artists he worked with in the 60's and 70's.

Production credits

Selected production credits:cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kjfuxqr5ldhe~T4|title=allmusic - Eddie Kramer, Credits|accessdate=2008-10-02|publisher=AllMusic.com]

* 1971: Carly Simon – "Carly Simon"
* 1971: Jimi Hendrix – "Cry of Love"
* 1972: NRBQ – "Scraps"
* 1973: NRBQ – "Workshop"
* 1973: Stories – "About Us"
* 1974: Spooky Tooth – "Mirror"
* 1975: Kiss – "Alive!"
* 1976: Kiss – "Rock and Roll Over"
* 1976: Mott the Hoople – "Shouting and Pointing"
* 1977: April Wine – "Live at the El Mocambo"
* 1977: Kiss – "Alive II"
* 1977: Brownsville Station – "Brownsville Station"
* 1977: Kiss – "Love Gun"
* 1978: Ace Frehley – "Kiss - Ace Frehley"
* 1981: Michael Stanley – "North Coast"
* 1982: Peter Frampton – "The Art of Control"
* 1983: Fastway – "Fastway"
* 1984: Triumph – "Thunder_Seven"
* 1983: NRBQ – "Tapdancin’ Bats"
* 1985: Icon – "Night Of The Crime"
* 1986: Pretty Maids – "Future World"
* 1987: Anthrax – "Among the Living"
* 1987: Ace Frehley – "Frehley's Comet"
* 1987: LOUDNESS - "Hurricane Eyes"
* 1987: Fastway – "Trick or Treat"
* 1989: Ace Frehley – "Trouble Walkin'"
* 1990: Robin Trower – "In the Line of Fire"
* 1993: Kiss – "Alive III"
* 1994: Buddy Guy – "Slippin’ In"
* 1995: John McLaughlin – "Promise"
* 1996: Carl Perkins – "Go Cat Go!"
* 1996: Buddy Guy – "Live: The Real Deal"
* 1998: Brian May – "Another World"
* 2007: Lez Zeppelin – "Lez Zeppelin"
* 2006: Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Stadium Arcadium"

Engineering credits

Selected engineering credits:
* 1967: Jimi Hendrix – "Are You Experienced"
* 1967: Jimi Hendrix – ""
* 1967: Traffic – "Mr. Fantasy"
* 1968: Jimi Hendrix – "Electric Ladyland"
* 1968: Graham Gouldman – "The Graham Gouldman Thing"
* 1968: Family – "Music in a Doll's House"
* 1968: Blue Cheer – "Outsideinside"
* 1968: Traffic – "Traffic"
* 1969: John Mayall – "Empty Rooms"
* 1969: Led Zeppelin – "Led Zeppelin II"
* 1969: The Nice – "Nice"
* 1969: John Mayall – "The Turning Point"
* 1970: Jimi Hendrix – "Band of Gypsys"
* 1970: The Nice – "Five Bridges"
* 1970: Led Zeppelin – "Led Zeppelin III"
* 1971: Curtis Mayfield – "Curtis/Live!"
* 1971: John Sebastian – "Four of Us"
* 1971: Humble Pie – "Performance Rockin' the Fillmore"
* 1972: John Mayall – "Jazz Blues Fusion"
* 1972: Led Zeppelin - "How the West Was Won (Led Zeppelin album)"
* 1973: Peter Frampton – "Frampton's Camel"
* 1973: Led Zeppelin – "Houses of the Holy"
* 1973: Derek and the Dominos – "In Concert"
* 1975: Led Zeppelin – "Physical Graffiti"
* 1976: Peter Frampton – "Frampton Comes Alive!"
* 1982: Led Zeppelin – "Coda"
* 1991: The Power Trio From Hell - American Man
* 2006: Hangface - "Freakshow"
* 2007: Shery – "Continuamente (in album El Amor es un Fantasma)"
* 2007: Francesco Sondelli – "Disordinary"
* 2007: Lez Zeppelin – "Lez Zeppelin"

References