Rodger Bain (born 1945) is a British

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, known for producing albums by heavy metal bands such as

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

Budgie Budgie may refer to: Arts * Budgie (album), ''Budgie'' (album), the debut album by the Welsh heavy metal band Budgie * Budgie (band), a Welsh heavy metal band from Cardiff * Budgie (musician) (born 1957), English drummer * Budgie (TV series), ''Bu ...

and

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

in the 1970s. He is mainly associated as the staff producer at

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Uni ...

in the early to mid 1970s.

Career

He was the producer of

's first three albums,

's first two albums,

's first album, ''

Rocka Rolla ''Rocka Rolla'' is the debut studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 6 September 1974 by Gull Records. It was produced by Rodger Bain, who had made a name for himself as the producer of Black Sabbath's first three ...

'', and Wild Turkey's debut album ''Battle Hymn''. Bain dominated the production of Priest's first album and made decisions that the band did not agree with, such as leaving fan favourites such as "Tyrant", "Genocide", and "The Ripper", off the album. He also cut the song "Caviar and Meths" from a 10-minute song down to a two-minute instrumental. He also produced the Judas Priest album ''

Hero, Hero Hero, Hero is a compilation album of early Judas Priest recordings, released in between '' British Steel'' (1980) and '' Point of Entry'' (1981) by Gull Records. It consists of all ten tracks from the ''Rocka Rolla ''Rocka Rolla'' is th ...

'' (an album not authorised by the band who, in their split with Gull Records, had had to concede the original recordings of their first albums to them, although they retained the rights to the songs), which contained remixed versions of the tracks on ''

''. Both of these Judas Priest albums received a great deal of criticism. On Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album, Bain played the Jew's harp on the track "Sleeping Village". In the ''Last Supper'' DVD, Black Sabbath bassist

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

describes Bain positively, and claims that he let them record their first album live which was, and still is, an uncommon method of recording, when other producers had refused. This is also how he is said to have produced other albums he worked on. Bain subsequently went on to work with

Barclay James Harvest Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Oldham, in September 1966 by bassist/vocalist Les Holroyd (b. 1948), guitarist/vocalist John Lees (b. 1947), drummer/percussionist Mel Pritchard (1948–2004), a ...

, producing their first two albums for

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, ''

Everyone Is Everybody Else ''Everyone Is Everybody Else'' is the fifth studio album by British Rock Band Barclay James Harvest released in June 1974. This was their first album for the Polydor label after they had parted company with EMI. The album was produced by Rodge ...

'' (1974) and ''Barclay James Harvest Live''. Although he reportedly did not get on with the band, the albums are highly regarded.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

noted that Bain seemingly left the music industry in the mid-1970s. However in 1981, Bain briefly returned and formed his own record label called Blue Chip/Cygnet Records and signed bands such as

The Kicks ''The Kicks'' is an American teen sitcom created by Alex Morgan and David Babcock. Babcock also serves as executive producer alongside James Frey. The pilot premiered on Amazon Prime Video on June 26, 2015. Synopsis Twelve-year-old soccer player ...

, releasing their single "If Looks Could Kill" in 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bain, Rodger 1945 births Living people British record producers