Tim McPhate | KissFAQ
In a KissFAQ exclusive, award-winning producer/engineer Jeff Glixman gives his first-ever in-depth interview about his involvement on Paul Stanley’s 1978 solo album. Below are excerpts from his interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate:
KissFAQ: Jeff, let’s rewind to summer 1978. What are your recollections of coming onboard for Paul Stanley’s solo album
Jeff Glixman: Well, they’re pretty clear. We had some huge success with Kansas with our album in fall 1977, “Point Of Know Return.” The band had done a big tour and a lot of things had gone on and they wanted to take a break for a little bit. So we all decided, “Let’s take a little break and go to Hawaii and take a few months off.” I returned from Hawaii and my attorney called me and said, “Paul Stanley is in the midst of an album. I know you’ve got another album coming up, but there’s a little window of opportunity, would you like to work on it?” I was thinking, “Vacation or work with Paul Stanley? I’m going with Paul.”
KF: You came onboard for the album’s sessions in Los Angeles. Do you recall being at the Village Recorder?
JG: I remember working at the Village. We worked at the Record Plant too.
KF: Legend has it that Paul visited a studio in the valley and decided it wasn’t up to par. Does that ring a bell
JG: He might have taken a look at Sound City, I don’t know. I had produced out of Sound City, which was funky to look at but an awesome-sounding studio. As you know, Dave Grohl just completed a documentary film about Sound City and the history of that place. It was a funky place but a really good studio. I just remember the studios being tossed around but I didn’t handle the bookings.
KF: When you were brought onboard, was it with the understanding you were going to produce the entire album?
JG: (pauses) Originally, I didn’t have the time to produce the entire project. I had a time constraint because I had another record coming up that I had to get to that had a hard start date. As I said, I had planned to take some vacation time. It was my understanding that we’d certainly work on all the tracks — that there were certain things that either needed to be recut or worked on or that we’d recut parts of, or whatever. And I never intended to get to the mix unless we went really fast.
KF: As you alluded to, the first four tracks on the album were recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York, prior to your involvement: “Tonight You Belong To Me,” “Move On,” “Ain’t Quite Right,” and “Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me?” Paul has stated that the recordings in New York were designed to be demos and that they originally were going to be recut. Do you remember giving these tracks another go in Los Angeles?