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I hope this doesn't sound like a foolish question but has anyone heard of an Engineer named Alan Douglas. He was the Engineer on Eric Claptons "From the Cradle" along with Producer Russ Titelman. This recording IMO is amazing and I have learned a lot just from listening to the details. It was recorded live at Olympic Studios, London with no overdubs or edits. It's a great combination of old and modern sounds with an intimate club feel to it.

The reason I'm asking this is I'm looking for more of his work to study and just enjoy. A google search turned up an article on some Hendrix remixes and a mention of some Duke Ellington recordings but that's about it. However in the photo of Douglas on the "From the Cradle" jacket he appears to be too young to have worked with Ellington so I don't even know if it's the right guy. Any information anyone could give me on albums he recorded I would greatly appreciate it. TIA

Comments

KurtFoster Wed, 02/09/2005 - 20:58

I found lots of stuff here ...

UMass Lowell SRT

Your guy isn't as young as you thought ...

A short bio @
http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,424731,00.html

Alan Douglas is one of the premiere producers of the rock era. His studio work began in the '60s, working on an album by the Big Three. His early '70s work with the Last Poets was really his first production experience with a major band. But as time went by and he gained more experience, and began to work on more high-profile albums. He really hit his stride toward the end of the decade, working with everyone from British punks the Jam to corporate shill Gene Simmons before the decade ended. Through the '80s and '90s he worked on many high-profile projects, including albums by Eric Clapton, Queen, Bill Laswell, and S Club 7. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide

and this from the now defunct BAM magazine ..

http://www.me.umn.edu/~kgeisler/ad.html

Once he got his first taste of the music industry in the late 50s by selling his debut pop production to Roulette Records, Douglas rose rapidly in the industry, thanks to his savvy, his musical knowledge, and his hustle. By 1962, he was heading United Artists' jazz line, and during the following decade, produced landmark sessions for Duke Ellington, EricDolphy, and John McLaughlin on UA and other labels. But the first time he heard Jimi Hendrix, he knew music was moving into a new realm and went with it.

Douglas also acted quickly the first time he saw the Last Poets, becoming their producer of their classic recordings. The Last Poets and This Is
Madness established the Harlem-based street poets who predated politically conscious hip-hop by over a decade. Since the Last Poets are touring behind
their Bill Laswell produced Holy Terror album at the moment, it's perhaps apt to start with them.

There's more, take a look ...

sirjohnweird Thu, 05/04/2017 - 02:49

Big_D, post: 129039, member: 19841 wrote: I hope this doesn't sound like a foolish question but has anyone heard of an Engineer named Alan Douglas. He was the Engineer on Eric Claptons "From the Cradle" along with Producer Russ Titelman. This recording IMO is amazing and I have learned alot just from listening to the details. It was recorded live at Olympic Studios, London with no overdubs or edits. It's a great combination of old and modern sounds with an intimate club feel to it.

The reason I'm asking this is I'm looking for more of his work to study and just enjoy. A google search turned up an article on some Hendrix remixes and a mention of some Duke Ellington recordings but that's about it. However in the photo of Douglas on the "From the Cradle" jacket he appears to be too young to have worked with Ellington so I don't even know if it's the right guy. Any information anyone could give me on albums he recorded I would greatly appreciate it. TIA

Hey Man,

Just wanted to say thanks for the kind things you said. I am the Alan Douglas that you were asking about.

AllMusic have conflated two different people with the same name. I was hoping that since the other guy is dead (RIP) that someone at AllMusic would figure it out but clearly they haven't. This is despite many emails to AllMusic over the years. Think they're all about advertising revenue and not accuracy. The people at Discogs figured it out. Why would a guy who was active in the 50's and producing Hendrix in the 60's be a tape-op (assistant or 2nd engineer) on a Gene Simmons record in the mid 70's? It simply doesn't stand up.

With regard to "From the Cradle" the time spent recording that album was some of the best moments of my life. Imagine getting to record Eric Clapton doing blues covers live, for several weeks. Life doesn't get much better than that.

As an aside. I engineered for Eddie Kramer one time and his first question on entering the room was;

"Is your name really Alan Douglas?"
"yes"
"You should change it. That guy's an a**hole"

Thanks again.

Alan Douglas