4 Classic Arena Rock Albums Produced by the Late Roy Thomas Baker

When a popular artist passes away, we generally take stock of their career and think about their past catalog. In the case of Roy Thomas Baker, he served as a producer and not an artist. But his catalog is as imposing as anybody’s.

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Baker, who passed away on April 12 of this year at age 78, produced a wide range of artists during a career that spanned six decades. The Brit hit his highest notes during the heart of the arena rock era with the four albums below.

‘A Night At The Opera’ by Queen (1975)

Roy Thomas Baker was just making the switch from engineer to label head/producer when he met Queen at the start of their journey. He shepherded them through their meteoric rise during their first four albums. Remember that this was an outfit that wasn’t given any chance to succeed when they started, so unorthodox was their approach compared to others on the scene. With A Night At The Opera, Baker’s relationship with Queen peaked. He deserves a lot of the credit for making all those multi-tracked vocals sound so rich and coherent. And Baker was on board every step of the way as they proceeded with “Bohemian Rhapsody”, a wondrous technical achievement as well as an emotional powerhouse of a song.

‘The Cars’ by The Cars (1978)

As was the case with Queen, Wood was there right at the beginning of this quintet’s recording career. But unlike Queen, who tended to split the artistic duties among all four members, The Cars came with Ric Ocasek as the mastermind. Wood found a way to let Ocasek deliver his vision while also getting the best possible sound from their records. That debut album stands the test of time, as can be gleaned by how many of the tracks are staples of classic rock playlists. Baker’s fondness for walled vocals can be found throughout the record. (Check out how the closing track “All Mixed Up” soars in this regard.) And he helped Ocasek’s aesthetic of every instrument in its right place reach the masses.

‘Infinity’ by Journey (1978)

Roy Thomas Baker had plenty of experience working with a dynamic lead singer from his time with Queen and Freddie Mercury. In the case of Journey, he started working with them at the exact moment that Steve Perry came aboard. At the time, Journey was still clinging to elements of their progressive rock era. Baker honored that approach on songs like “Wheel In The Sky” and “Winds Of March”. But Journey was also starting to branch out into more accessible sounds. “Lights” and “Feeling That Way” open the album and point to the mega-selling direction that they’d take in the 80s. By that time, Baker was no longer in their picture. But he made enough of an impact that they made that transition quite smoothly.

‘Head Games’ by Foreigner (1979)

Foreigner combined elements of the bands with whom Roy Thomas Baker had made his name. They also boasted a vocalist who could take it to the rafters in Lou Gramm. And, like Ric Ocasek did with The Cars, guitarist Mick Jones pretty much dictated the way the band was going to go in a musical sense. (Gramm would try to muscle into that territory somewhat in later years, causing some friction.) Head Games found the band in somewhat of a transitional period. But you could make the argument that, under Baker’s guidance, they never sounded quite so gritty and bluesy as they do here. Singles “Dirty White Boy” and the title track display a potency that speaks well to Baker’s ability to coax something special out of his clients.

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