Adventures in Modern Recording cover art

Adventures in Modern Recording

From ABC to ZTT

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Adventures in Modern Recording

By: Trevor Horn
Narrated by: Trevor Horn
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About this listen

A Telegraph Book of the Year

As a renowned recording-studio maven, Trevor Horn has been dubbed 'the man who invented the '80s'.

His production work since the glory days of ZTT represents a veritable 'who's who' of intelligent modern pop, including the likes of ABC, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Pet Shop Boys, Seal, Simple Minds, Grace Jones and Yes - among many others.

This book is Trevor's story in his own words, as told through the prism of twenty-three of his most important songs - from the ones that inspired him to the ones that defined him.

This play-by-play memoir transports listeners into the heart of the studio to witness the making of some of music's most memorable moments, from the Buggles' ground-breaking 'Video Killed the Radio Star' to Band Aid's perennial 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', via hits such as 'Relax', 'Poison Arrow', 'Owner of a Lonely Heart' and 'Crazy'.

Offering unrivalled access to the dark arts of the producer's world and the even darker arts of the music business itself, prepare for some adventures in modern recording...

©2022 Trevor Horn (P)2022 Bonnier Books UK Business Aspects Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity Business Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking

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All stars
Most relevant  
‘Produced by Trevor Horn’ records have soundtracked the lives of so many of my vintage (fifty-nine…) so I was interested to hear the back story. You get a lot more. Trevor is a good writer but an even better narrator and his soft, North East burr makes it easy to imagine buying him a pint and asking: “So what was it like making the ‘Lexicon of Love’ and then letting him genially chunter on…

Understanding the finer details of recording technology and the mystical (to me) points about musical construction (bars, semitones, chords, beats-per-minute) is necessary to get the most out of the book and will make it required reading for musicians and home-recording artists. For the rest of us, it’s an engaging glimpse of how painstaking and exacting the craft of a record producer is and how it’s a craft entirely without rules: what works in one situation doesn’t work anywhere else.

What makes the book strong and ultimately relevant is Trevor conveys it’s ultimately about being fair, decent and doing the best job you can. By the end, I was just glad I can just listen to the final versions of his work as the process - being cooped up for months on end, starved of daylight and sleep - sounds like hell.

I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would

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I absolutely loved the talented Mr Horn, talking about all those wonderful tracks of the 80s and beyond. From The Buggles to Dollar, it was all great. I grew up with all these tunes. The beginning of Buffalo Gals, a Zulu war cry , my goodness .who knew!! .the effort and creativity that went into all the songs. Truly amazing. This is a wonderful book, made even better by his narration. I was lucky enough to see Trevor Horn Reimagines the 80s live, and it was goosebump inducing for me . They say your teenage years are your most memorable when it comes to music, and I was lucky enough to grow up in the " ZTT" era. If you did too, dive in .

Ladies and Gentlemen....Mr Trevor Horn

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A thoroughly enjoyable story of a fascinating life.

I’ve adored every one of Mr Horn’s musical productions and his book hasn’t broken that record.

I’m sure there are more than enough stories for another one.

Gutted when it ended!

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I’ve always been a big fan of Trevor and some of the bands he has worked with, so I was expecting to enjoy this. It actually exceeded expectations, giving me the sort of trivia I’d longed for - want to know who was sampled for the “dum dum” noises on The Art of Noise records? It’s all there. Listeners who aren’t as anal about music as I, may find it tiring, but for me it was just right. The book is almost entirely focused on music, but as someone who makes music, I get that.

Produced by Trevor Horn this isn’t…just another modern audiobook recording with the “recorded in a cupboard” sound that is prevalent these days. (Anyone remember when audiobooks had production values? Stephen Moore’s readings of The Hitchhiker’s Guide?) But I wasn’t expecting that really. Looking forward to a 12” remix by Trevor… :)

Get The Horn

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A brilliant insight,could have listened to another 6hours,bet there's more stories to tell, highly recommend this book for music fans.

National Treasure Trevor

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Trevor Horn described a world I know little about but have always been fascinated by. He’s been behind and created some landmark recordings. Even if you don’t especially like his music (and I do!) it’s an interesting listen. Definitely a pioneer. Agree with others he comes across as a warm and passionate man. Tragic about his wife Jill who clearly has been a very key part of this story and his life. Recommended.

Great story

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Bit dry at the start but really gets going once you’re in the studio

10/10 highly recommended

Great

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Really enjoyed this one, some great stories from a fantastic producer. Although Trevor hasn't got the most exciting voice he's warm and funny. My one complaint is where, in the story about recording Downtown Train with Rod Stewart, Trevor repeatedly mentions being phoned by Lester Bangs, which can't be right as Bangs had died about 6 years prior to that song being recorded. Still, other than this, a great listen.

Brilliant and interesting

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Trevor Horn is actually as good a story teller as he is a music producer. This is about his professional life and not too much about his private life, which is great as he has so many stories to tell and nearly 9 hours of them still left me wanting to hear more. The sign of a great audiobook.

A true pop music pioneer.

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As an amateur songwriter and producer I couldn't get enough of this. I would have enjoyed a deeper dive on some of the technical aspects but understand that it's not everybody's cuppa. The book is a great insight into Trevor Horn's work and his narration is excellent. Highly recommended especially if you have an interest in making or recording music.

Outstanding

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