Eddy Offord Explained

Edward Offord is a retired English record producer and audio engineer who gained prominence in the 1970s for his work on albums by the progressive rock bands Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Yes.

Life and career

Offord studied physics at university, and landed a job as a trainee engineer at Advision Studios in London to fill in spare time. Not long into his time at the studio, he started work as an engineer.^[1] Offord would spend much of his career working at Advision Studios. Offord's early projects at Advision included two 1969 albums by Brian Auger and the Trinity, Definitely What!^[2] and Streetnoise.^[3]

Offord worked with Emerson, Lake & Palmer on their first four albums, released 1970 through 1972. ELP wrote a tribute to Offord with the song "Are You Ready, Eddy?", featured on their 1971 album Tarkus.^[4]

In 1970, Offord began his partnership with Yes. The partnership was fruitful but tumultuous; Offord remarked that producing Yes was like "trying to produce five producers."^[5] He suggested that the band record Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973) in the countryside to try and ease tensions that had grown within the group, but the compromise was to record at Morgan Studios with trees, plants, and model cows.^[6] Following Relayer (1974), Yes and Offord parted ways, with Yes guitarist Steve Howe stating that Offord had become unreliable on tours.^[5]

In the late 1970s, Offord relocated to the United States where he worked in Woodstock, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.^[7] In 1994, after working on Grassroots by 311, Offord announced his retirement from the music business. In 2011, he changed his mind when his stepson introduced him to The Midnight Moan, and went on to produce their debut album.^[7]

Some albums produced and/or engineered by Eddy Offord

• Albums with APOSTLES (produced mixed engineered).
  • APOSTLES, (CD) Self titled (1992)
• Albums with Brian Auger and the Trinity (as engineer)
  • Open (1968; includes vocalist Julie Driscoll)
  • Definitely What! (1969)
  • Streetnoise (1969; includes Driscoll)
• Albums with Emerson, Lake & Palmer (as engineer)
  • Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1970)
  • Tarkus (1971)
  • Pictures at an Exhibition (1971)
  • Trilogy (1972)
• Albums with Heads Hands and Feet
  • Heads Hands and Feet (1971) (engineer)
  • Tracks (1972) (engineer)
• Albums with Taste and Rory Gallagher
  • Taste (1969) (engineer)
  • On the Boards (1970) (engineer)
  • Rory Gallagher (1971) (engineer)
• Albums with Yes (as co-producer and engineer except where noted)
  • Time and a Word (1970) (engineer only)
  • The Yes Album (1971)
  • Fragile (1971)
  • Close to the Edge (1972)
  • Yessongs (1973)
  • Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973)
  • Relayer (1974)
  • Drama (1980) (co-producer only)
  • Union (1991) (two tracks only)
• Albums with Baker Gurvitz Army
  • Hearts on Fire (1976)
• Album with David Sancious & Tone (as co-producer and engineer)
  • True Stories (1978)
  • Just As I Thought (1979)
• Album with Rozetta Stone 1979 co-produced Philippe Saisse
  • Where's My Hero 1980
    • Guitars courtesy Polydor Records *Bruce Kulick (Blackjack)
• Album with Blackjack
  • Worlds Apart (1980)^[8]
    • Album with Andy Pratt Motives (1979)
• Album with Dixie Dregs (co-producer with Steve Morse)
  • Industry Standard (under the name The Dregs) (1982)
• Albums with Pallas
  • The Sentinel (1984)
• Album with Art in America
  • Art in America (Sony/Pavillion 1983)
• Album with Jay Aaron (as co-engineer & co-producer with Jay Aaron)
  • Jay Aaron Inside/Out (Warner Bros. 1990)
• Albums with 311
  • Music (1993)
  • Grassroots (1994)
• Albums with Opus (as producer)
  • Opus (1987)
• Album with National Head Band
  • Albert 1 (1971)
• Album with Tinsley Ellis
  • Storm Warning (1994)
  • Hell or High Water (2002)
• Albums with Utopia (engineer on 2 cuts)
  • Ra (1977)

Notes and References

1. News: Ready, Eddie? An Interview with Eddie Offord. Mark. Plummer. Melody Maker. 12 February 1972. 5 December 2018. Rock's Backpages. subscription.
2. Liner notes to the North American edition of Definitely What!, Atco Records, catalog no. SD 33-273.
3. Liner notes to the North American edition of Streetnoise, Atco Records, catalog no. SD 2-701.
4. Web site: Couture . François . Are You Ready Eddy? by Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Track Info . 6 November 2023 . AllMusic.
5. Book: Stump, Paul . The Music's All that Matters: A History of Progressive Rock . 1997 . Quartet Books Limited . 0 7043 8036 6 . 215.
6. Web site: Conversation with Eddy Offord. Tim. Morse. 2002 . Notes from the Edge. 22 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20061009003541/http://www.nfte.org/interviews/EO234.html. 9 October 2006. dead.
7. Web site: Prog-rock production legend Eddy Offord looks back on his career. Joe. Bosso. 3 February 2013. Music Radar. 22 August 2018.
8. Web site: Eddy Offord Credits . . . September 9, 2018 .