THE PRODUCERS – The Producers ’81 / You Make The Heat ’82 [Two LP’s on 1 CD remastered], MP3+FLAC

After the post of THE PRODUCERS third album, many asked for the band’s 2 previous LP’s on Portrait / CBS Records: 1981’s self-titled ‘The Producers‘, and ‘You Make The Heat‘ (1982). Sony Music Special Products reissued both LP’s on 1 CD, remastered.

Somewhere between Rick Springfield and The Tubes, THE PRODUCERS had a typically Californian if not pre-Miami Vice look. Their sound however combined the best of mainstream new wave and rock (Cheap Trick, The Tubes, The Cars, etc.) to create a fresh rhythmic sound that was right in the sweet spot between pop and a traditional rock based sound. Especially the band’s second album ‘You Make the Heat’ was a contemporary collection of musical styles of the early ’80s.
Both albums were produced by Tom Werman (Dokken, Twisted Sister) who gave the band a crisp punchy power-pop attack.

Looking back, it would be all too easy to mistaken new wave pop-rock music as a purely English thing. After all, some of the biggest names in the genre came from across the pond. America actually has a rich new wave tradition that evolved out of the New York punk scene.
It actually predates the second wave of the British Invasion that was in full swing by the mid-’80s. Bands like The Knack and The Cars brought technology inspired music to the mainstream early on in The States before anyone knew who Duran Duran was.

The Cars would ride the wave to pop like everyone else as former edgy bands went top 40. While The Producers were getting airplay from their second album You Make The Heat, the leading edge of new wave was already making the transition to mainstream pop.
As an extension of the rich and under hyped legacy of American new wave, THE PRODUCERS were typical of a small crop of bands (mostly from the West Coast) who personified the quirkiness of new wave but with within the muscular rhythmic framework of power pop and various forms of arena rock.

It was a distinctly Americanized interpretation of the genre with slightly brighter themes set to slick rock styled production. At some point the aftermath of the punk explosion sent a wedge through the music world, giving birth to edgy experimental music from bands like The Talking Heads and The B-52s.
On the other side of the wedge were transitional veterans like The Cars and by extension bands like THE PRODUCERS. The early ’80s was still a time when American new wave bands were making the transition to a more electronic sound. THE PRODUCERS did this while holding on to a traditional guitar based model.

As one of the bands to personify this small and short-lived movement, THE PRODUCERS popularity came and went almost as quickly as the genre’s transition. The band’s flame burned brightly for only a few years peaking in ’82-’83 with the release of their second hit single “She Shelia” from the surprisingly good ”You Make The Heat”.

Their 1981 self titled album “The Producers” is a n American pop-rock early ’80s gem. The LP includes the song “What She Does To Me” which peaked at #61 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July of 1981. The album also includes the song “What’s He Got”, a staple on MTV in their early days. The record is also chock full of ’80s treasures like “Certain Kind Of Girl”, “Who Do You Think You Are”, and “I Love Lucy”
THE PRODUCERS headlined MTV’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve broadcast back in 1982.

”You Make The Heat” is more sophisticated in arrangements. Combinations of slap bass funk (“Back to Basics”) and danceable power pop/rock (“Operation”) coexisted with more traditional straight forward songs. Led by guitarist Van Temple, THE PRODUCERS lead vocalist may not have been the most distinctive, but his voice worked well with the high energy, upbeat nature of You Make the Heat’s 9 tracks.
The wonderful melody and rhythm of the album reached a highpoint on “She Shelia”, the albums only real hit. Reaching the top 50, the single got heavy airplay on MTV and was an early example of how the popularity of new media may not have always aligned with traditional chart/radio airplay systems.
The popularity of that single got them on the touring circuit with Cheap Trick (a fitting match) and The Motels in 1983.

Bubblegum pop became the norm for nearly all of what was left of new wave. Artists like Rick Springfield would hold down the middle ground between rock and the “new” pop as THE PRODUCERS faded into obscurity. In the process Springfield become the poster boy for new wave influenced power pop, while bands like THE PRODUCERS were all but forgotten.
Highly Recommended

The Producers:
01 – What’s He Got?
02 – I Love Lucy
03 – Who Do You Think You Are?
04 – Life Of Crime
05 – Certain Kinda Girl
06 – You Go Your Way
07 – What She Does To Me
08 – Body Language
09 – Sensations
10 – Here’s To You
11 – Boys Say When/Girls Say Why
12 – The End
You Make The Heat:
13 – Back To Basics
14 – She Sheila
15 – Operation
16 – Dear John
17 – Breakaway
18 – You Make The Heat
19 – Merry-Go-Round
20 – Chinatown
21 – Domino

Vocals, Guitar – Van Temple
Vocals, Bass – Kyle Henderson
Drums, Vocals – Bryan Holmes
Keyboards, Vocals – Wayne Famous
Percussion – Paulinho Da Costa

MP3 FLAC