* En anglais uniquement
As an A&R man and frequent producer for Capitol rock, pop, and folk acts in the 1960s,
Nick Venet (sometimes spelled
Nik Venet) held an important position in the music industry during rock's most volatile decade.
Venet's productions were not characterized by an identifiably distinct or idiosyncratic sound, and he has sometimes been cast by histories as an establishment figure lagging slightly behind the innovations of the period. He produced several important acts while at Capitol, though, including significant records by
the Beach Boys, the first releases by
Linda Ronstadt (as a member of
the Stone Poneys), and some rather cultish and underground artists, such as
Fred Neil.
Venet had done some work at the Los Angeles jazz label World Pacific before being taken on by Capitol, where he was one of the few members of the artistic staff with a feel for what the expanding youth segment of the pop market might want. He had some pop success with
the Lettermen, but his first notable contribution to rock was his role in the early career of
the Beach Boys. The group had already done some recordings for a local independent label, and had a regional hit (and small national one) with "Surfin'," when
Venet heard some
Beach Boys demos in 1962. He quickly signed them, and was listed as producer on their first two albums,
Surfin' Safari and Surfin' U.S.A, which included their early hits "Surfin' Safari," "409," "Surfin' U.S.A.," and "Shut Down."
Historians and those on the scene at the time have subsequently claimed that
Brian Wilson was in fact primarily responsible for
the Beach Boys' production right from the start, and that
Venet's function was more accurately described as that of executive producer. One could also reason that it wouldn't take a genius to detect the potential of a group with as much obvious songwriting and vocal talent as
the Beach Boys. Still,
Venet's contribution shouldn't be underestimated. He signed them to one of the biggest labels in the world at a time when they were almost unknown, and if he indeed was only an executive producer of sorts, he knew enough to get out of the way and let
Brian Wilson handle things instead of mucking it up.
Wilson himself officially assumed the producer's duties with
the Beach Boys' third album,
Surfer Girl, in 1963.
Incidentally, noted producer
Shel Talmy (
the Kinks,
the Who) credits
Venet with helping him get a job with Decca in England in the early '60s. The American-born
Talmy, then a recording engineer in Los Angeles, was vacationing in Europe and visited
Dick Rowe of Decca. He played him acetates of discs
Venet had been involved with, by
the Beach Boys and
Lou Rawls, and (with
Venet's knowledge) claimed the work as his own. An impressed Decca hired
Talmy, and by the time they figured out the ruse,
Talmy had already produced hits, and everyone was happy to let the situation lie.
Venet kept a foot in the water of the surf/hot rod scene as a producer for
the Hondells, who had the most commercial success with hot rod songs than anyone save
the Beach Boys and
Jan & Dean. Still, much of his work with Capitol was of a pop rather than rock nature, including records by
the Lettermen,
Glen Campbell,
the Four Preps, and
Bobby Darin. Capitol did not record much notable American rock during the period (of course they had
the Beach Boys and American rights to
the Beatles, so they weren't too badly off), and they found themselves in danger of falling behind the times.
Venet seemed to be on the way to working with
the Mamas & the Papas when they first arrived in California, but they ended up going with
Lou Adler and Dunhill instead.
Slightly afterwards, however,
Venet did prove his merits as a producer of noteworthy folk-rock, both with cult singer/songwriter
Fred Neil and
the Stone Poneys,
Linda Ronstadt's first group. Judging from these discs,
Venet was skilled at helping craft recordings with spacious and rich sounds in which acoustic instruments were at the fore, but still able to blend harmoniously with some electric guitars and rhythm section. He should certainly be credited with having gotten anything out of
Neil, a notoriously mercurial singer/songwriter who would not record at all after the early '70s. The production on the discs by
Neil and
the Stone Poneys foreshadow the subdued folk-pop-rock sound that would be typical of California-recorded singer/songwriter albums of the '70s.
Venet also produced some notable efforts by artists who made
Neil seem like a star in comparison -- folk singer
Karen Dalton and Bay Area psychedelic band
Mad River, whose debut LP is one of the most eccentric California rock albums of the '60s. Like many of the producers of his generation, he became much less active after the '60s, although he did work on some albums by
John Stewart, the singer/songwriter who was formerly in
the Kingston Trio. ~ Richie Unterberger