Posts Tagged ‘Lost Tracks’

By Joe Klein

Earlier this week, New Media Creative associate Brett Bumeter and I teamed up to write and post a cool blog story about the release of new recordings of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. A friend of mine for over three decades, recording engineer Russ Terrana, was recently asked to mix a collection of newly-discovered, never-before-heard tracks that were unearthed from the vaults of Motown Records over the summer. It turned out to be the first story to be blogged about the project and we ended up with an unplanned breaking news story online!

Russ was the chief recording engineer for Motown from 1966 until the closing of Motown’s Hollywood studios in 1988. During his two-decade tenure at the label, Russ mixed and recorded a large percentage of Motown’s hit records, In fact, he mixed 89 number one records, more than any other recording engineer in history. Throw in over 300 additional charted hit singles and many more hundreds of tracks from hit albums, and my old friend truly ranks as a music business legend!

Near the end of August, Russ was asked by HARRY WEINGER, a senior executive in charge of A&R at Univesal Music Enterprises, the division of the Universal Music Group that oversees the creation and marketing of Motown’s catalog product, to mix the collection of vintage tracks. They are early recordings of the Jackson 5, featuring an energetic, pre-teen Michael Jackson performing lead vocals, as he did on all the early Jackson 5 hits. The songs have never-before been released to the public, and, apparently had sat buried deep in the Motown vaults, unnoticed for decades. Weinger had eleven songs contained on the old analog multi-track masters converted to digital audio and sent to Russ the week before Labor Day.

(***UPDATED ON OCTOBER 26, 2009*** UME’s Harry Weinger contacted me with a clarification of facts in this post. it was actually early this year that the additional masters were first found, as UME, already in the midst of the year-long 50th anniversary celebration of Motown Records, was preparing for the 40th anniversary of the Jackson 5 this fall. Of course, the untimely passing of Michael put the newly-discovered J5 tracks into a “bigger spotlight,” according to Weinger. We appreciate this updated information!)

Russ went to work on the process of mixing the tracks just before the holiday weekend, working in a digital recording and mixing facility in Scots Valley, California called ROCKER STUDIOS, located not far from Russ’ home in Santa Cruz. The state-of-the-art facility is owned by Rick Vierra, a local sound engineer Russ has been friends with for several years. According to Russ, the mixes are proceeding smoothly. Using a high-end, top-of-the-line ProTools digital audio system, a vast array of software “plug-ins” in and some very cool vintage “outboard gear” (visible in the picture to the left behind Russ), Russ says he’s getting some really great mixes. Many of the tracks sound, he says, are sounding as pure and pristine as if they had been recorded last week!

Russ is hoping to have all eleven songs completed over the next few weeks, in time for a fall release now being planned by UME. This “new” Jackson 5 album is the first to be released from the legendary group in decades and, as such, has a historical significance unlike any other yet-to-discovered treasures of later-day recordings of MJ or his brothers that may have been recorded in the seventies, eighties or nineties. The package is yet to be named, and should be available in mid-November, just in time for the holiday buying season.

With the sudden and unexpected passing of the King Of Pop at the beginning of the summer, anticipation of and interest in the project is expected to be at a very high level. This could very well turn into new ‘”Motown Gold” and most definitely marks a new chapter in the recorded music of the fabled Jackson family.

I’ll be posting more stories about the project, the sound mixing process (then and now), and Russ himself, who is the subject of a recently completed and yet-to-be-titled book about his accomplishments and storied career as a major influence in the recording of pop music of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

I couldn’t be more excited and thrilled for my old friend and cohort Russ Terrana, who, to this day, is still not widely known for all his major accomplishments. As I sit and pen this posting, I’m grinning “ear-to-ear” (audio reference) with pride over the fact that this modest and gifted genius of recorded music and sound should now be getting the attention and recognition he so truly deserves! Stand by for more stories that will be posted here in the days and weeks to come!