Brendan O'Brien (record producer)

Brendan O'Brien (born June 23, 1960) is a record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician.^[1] He has worked with such artists as Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Bruce Springsteen, Mastodon, AC/DC, Incubus, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Train, Audioslave, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Kansas, The Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Soundgarden, The Offspring, Korn, The Fray, Gaslight Anthem, The Killers, and My Chemical Romance.^[2][3]

His career blossomed as a young guitarist with a local Atlanta band by the name of "Pranks" signed by then Century Artists Management. The management company had the best of Atlanta and the region in those days including the likes of "Mother's Finest" "Ezra Pound" and a dozen other "super-regional" acts. His studio career was propelled by the success of the first Black Crowes album, Shake Your Money Maker, on which he played guitar and bass and engineered.

In the mid 1990s, O'Brien became vice president of Epic Records and the Epic imprint 57 Records.^[1] He also played a Hammond organ for Bob Dylan's appearance on MTV Unplugged. In 1995 he joined Pearl Jam and Neil Young on keyboard for the Mirror Ball tour across Europe.^[4]

In 2002, he won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album for his work on Bruce Springsteen's The Rising.^[5] In 2009, he was awarded the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.^[6] To date, fourteen of the albums O'Brien has produced have reached No. 1 in the U.S. on the Billboard 200 chart.

Recordings

• 1984/85 Call of The Wild -The Swinging Richards (engineer)
• 1988: In the Spirit of Things – Kansas (engineer)
• 1989: Truth in a Structured Form – Atlanta Rhythm Section (background vocals, guitar, co-writer^[7])
• 1990: Shake Your Money Maker – The Black Crowes (engineer, "a potpourri of instruments")
• 1990: Danzig II: Lucifuge – Danzig (engineer)
• 1991: Dice Rules – Andrew Dice Clay (engineer, mixing)
• 1991: Blood Sugar Sex Magik – Red Hot Chili Peppers (engineer, mixing, organ, Mellotron, marimba)
• 1992: Jackyl – Jackyl (producer, engineer, mixing)
• 1992: The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion – The Black Crowes (engineer)
• 1992: Hollywood Town Hall – The Jayhawks (engineer, mixing)
• 1992: Core – Stone Temple Pilots (producer)
• 1993: Wandering Spirit – Mick Jagger (guitar)
• 1993: Get a Grip – Aerosmith (mixing)
• 1993: 14 Songs – Paul Westerberg (mixing)
• 1993: Vs. – Pearl Jam (producer, mixing)
• 1994: Dogman – King's X (producer, mixing, keyboards, percussion)
• 1994: Superunknown – Soundgarden (mixing)
• 1994: Purple – Stone Temple Pilots (producer, engineer, mixing)
• 1994: Vitalogy – Pearl Jam (producer, engineer, mixing, organ on "Betterman")
• 1995: 100% Fun – Matthew Sweet (producer, mixing, guitar, piano, electric harp, harpsichord, Clavinet, Mellotron)
• 1995: MTV Unplugged – Bob Dylan (Hammond organ)
• 1995: Mirror Ball – Neil Young (producer, mixing, piano, guitar, background vocals)
• 1996: Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop – Stone Temple Pilots (producer, hand clapping, Clavinet, organ, piano, percussion, tambourine)
• 1996: Eventually – Paul Westerberg (producer, guitar, keyboards)
• 1996: Evil Empire – Rage Against the Machine (producer)
• 1996: No Code – Pearl Jam (producer, mixing, piano)
• 1997: Blue Sky on Mars – Matthew Sweet (producer, mixing, piano)
• 1997: Interiors – Brad (mixing, keyboards, guitar)
• 1998: Yield – Pearl Jam (producer, mixing)
• 1998: Follow the Leader – Korn (mixing)
• 1998: Fallout – The Mayfield Four (mixing)
• 1999: Significant Other – Limp Bizkit (mixing)
• 1999: No. 4 – Stone Temple Pilots (producer, mixing, piano, keyboards, percussion, background vocals)
• 1999: The Battle of Los Angeles – Rage Against the Machine (producer, mixing)
• 1999: Issues – Korn (producer, mixing)
• 2000: Binaural – Pearl Jam (mixing)
• 2000: Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water – Limp Bizkit (mixing)
• 2000: No Name Face – Lifehouse (mixing)
• 2000: Conspiracy of One – The Offspring (producer)
• 2000: Renegades – Rage Against the Machine (producer, "The Ghost of Tom Joad")
• 2001: Spiritual Machines – Our Lady Peace (mixing)
• 2001: Drops of Jupiter – Train (producer, mixing, keyboards)
• 2001: Shangri-La Dee Da – Stone Temple Pilots (producer, mixing, keyboards, percussion)
• 2002: Lovehatetragedy – Papa Roach (producer, mixing)
• 2002: The Rising – Bruce Springsteen (producer, mixing, Glockenspiel, hurdy-gurdy, orchestral bells)
• 2002: Stanley Climbfall – Lifehouse (mixing)
• 2002: Riot Act – Pearl Jam (mixing)
• 2002: Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo – Aimee Mann (producer)
• 2003: The Thorns – The Thorns (producer, mixing, guitar, keyboards, bass, percussion, Marxophone, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica)
• 2003: My Private Nation – Train (producer, mixing, guitar, organ, piano, keyboards, percussion, Marxophone, background vocals)
• 2003: Vulture Street – Powderfinger (mixing)
• 2003: Results May Vary – Limp Bizkit (mixing)
• 2003: Splinter – The Offspring (producer, mixing, piano)
• 2004: Wire – Third Day (mixing)
• 2004: A Crow Left of the Murder... – Incubus (producer, mixing)
• 2004: Welcome to the North – The Music (producer, mixing)
• 2004: Alive at Red Rocks – Incubus (producer, mixing)
• 2005: All the Stars and Boulevards – Augustana (producer)
• 2005: Devils & Dust – Bruce Springsteen (producer, mixing, bass, sitar, tamboura, hurdy-gurdy, sarangi)
• 2005: Out of Exile – Audioslave (mixing)
• 2005: Rebel, Sweetheart – The Wallflowers (producer, mixing, guitar, background vocals)
• 2005: Shine – Trey Anastasio (producer, mixing, co-writer, drums, bass, keyboards, background vocals)
• 2006: For Me, It's You – Train (producer, mixing)
• 2006: Misplaced – Moshav (mixing)
• 2006: Revelations – Audioslave (producer)
• 2006: Light Grenades – Incubus (producer)
• 2007: Nighttiming – Coconut Records (mixing)
• 2007: One Man Revolution – The Nightwatchman (producer, onstrumentation)
• 2007: Libertad – Velvet Revolver (producer, mixing)
• 2007: Magic – Bruce Springsteen (producer, mixing)
• 2008: From First to Last From First to Last Mixing
• 2008: The Sun and the Moon – The Bravery (producer, mixing)
• 2008: The Fabled City – The Nightwatchman (producer, instrumentation)
• 2008: Black Ice – AC/DC (producer)
• 2009: Working on a Dream – Bruce Springsteen (producer, mixing)
• 2009: Ten Redux – Pearl Jam (mixing)
• 2009: Killswitch Engage – Killswitch Engage (co-producer)
• 2009: Crack the Skye – Mastodon (producer, mixing)
• 2009: Billy Talent III – Billy Talent (producer, mixing, piano, Mellotron)
• 2009: Backspacer – Pearl Jam (producer, mixing)
• 2010: Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place – Anberlin (producer, mixing)
• 2010: Flamingo – Brandon Flowers (producer, mixing, Timpani, bass, guitars, Tubular Bells, Tambourine, Shaker, background vocals)
• 2011: Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray – Seether (producer, mixing)
• 2011: If Not Now, When? – Incubus (producer, mixing)
• 2011: The Ending Is Just the Beginning Repeating – The Living End (mixing)
• 2011: Scars & Stories – The Fray (producer, mixing)
• 2012: Miracle – Third Day (producer, mixing)
• 2012: Handwritten – The Gaslight Anthem (producer, mixing)
• 2012: Battle Born – The Killers
• 2012–2013: Conventional Weapons – My Chemical Romance
• 2013: Sons of the Sea – Sons of the Sea (writer, producer)
• 2013: Lightning Bolt – Pearl Jam (producer)
• 2014: Isolate and Medicate – Seether (producer)
• 2014: Rock or Bust – AC/DC (producer, background vocals)
• 2014: We Will Reign - The Last Internationale (producer)
• 2015: Holding All the Roses - Blackberry Smoke (producer)
• 2015: Higher Truth - Chris Cornell (producer)
• 2016: Victorious - Wolfmother (producer)

References

External links

• Allmusic entry