Al Schmitt

GaryAlan

Well-Known Member

Al Schmitt, Grammy winning engineer and producer, dead at 91​

Al Schmitt, Legendary Recording Engineer, Dies at 91​


 
Wow! That’s a shock. He looked the picture of health at the Carpenters 50th event and way younger than his years. Another huge loss to the music industry.
 
Sorry to hear this - what a dream job he had!

Does anyone know if he or any of the other Carpenter recording engineers ever wrote a book or long article about their recording sessions? One of my biggest regrets about the Cs is that they never videotaped their sessions - what a treasure trove of entertainment and info that would have been!
 
We were very fortunate to have him participate in the panel discussion two years ago. His comments and insights were appreciated by all the attendees at the 50th Anniversary Event.

FYI - For those of you who don't know, it was co-moderator of the Forum, Chris May, who reached out to Al and made him aware of the panel discussion. So thank you again, Chris, for your support and involvement.
 
We were blessed to have Al Schmitt be the mixing engineer for the Carpenters' RPO project. This person had seen everything in the world of audio engineering from recording direct to 78rpm in the late 1940s to working with digital technology. He won more Grammys for his work than any other audio engineer and most of that was from the 1990s onward. Some of his most notable work includes Steeley Dan "Aja", George Benson "Breezin", and Toto IV.

It was a real treat to see him on the panel at the 50th Anniversary event.

RIP Mr. Schmitt.
 
This person had seen everything in the world of audio engineering from recording direct to 78rpm in the late 1940s to working with digital technology.

However the technology of music production develops in the future, nobody will ever hold a candle to those who were lucky enough to be there on the most crucial chapters of its journey from the 1940s to the modern day. Everything they saw, did and influenced shaped everything that came after - and will continue to do so. I don’t believe music will ever take such leaps and bounds in its evolution as we have seen during the latter half of the 20th century. Al Schmitt had a front seat on that journey. What a lucky guy.
 
He and Richard did some amazing work on the SACD/5.1 Surround sound mix version of The Singles 1969-1981.
Karen front and center with the music surrounding you. Exquisite. I listened to it constantly after it was released in 2004.
I only wished that Richard had included Solitaire, as it would sounded exceptional!
I'm going to revisit it right now....
 
I only wished that Richard had included Solitaire, as it would sounded exceptional [on SACD]!
I'm going to revisit it right now....

Couldn't agree with you more, Ericzs! Solitaire would sound fantastic in surround sound.

Also, the complex arrangement of "All You Get From Love Is A Love Song" would be well-suited to the surround format.
 
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