Five Amazing Songs That Actually Sound Like Ass When You Think About It.
Don't get me wrong, man; I'm not sayin' they're not some of the best songs ever. I'm just saying it's amazing how poorly produced they are. Therein lies the whatever-lies-therein.
"Like A Rolling Stone"- Jesus. What a mess. Who th' crap produced and arranged this mess?
"London Calling"- This song and this whole album were apparently produced by 6-year-olds and recorded on a Speak 'n' Spell. One of my favorites.
"Is She Really Going Out With Him"- yeah, this doesn't really hit you until you hear it on the radio after a Steely Dan song or something. This is one cardboardy sounding album, my friends, this Look Sharp. It sounds like complete ass. The drums are distorted and horrible. This is one of the most horribly produced/mixed albums of all time. It is also one of my favorite albums of all time.
"Virginia Plain"- Roxy Music. Actually, this single is pretty good-sounding. It's that first Roxy Music album that sounds like it was recorded on a dictaphone. Yeesh. Hideous.
Anything Produced By Phil Spector except "The Boxer" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water"- Woah, dude! This is what soup would sound like. Ugh. Talk about right time, right place with this talentless psycho. What's worse than 45 overdubs too many? 45 overdubs too many IN MONO. Blugh. C'mon, guys- "Instant Karma"??? The Emperor's Ass is hangin' out here. I think the virtue of that production was speed. Watch "Imagine" to see Lennon giving this little Hitler a twentieth of his fucking due.
posted by Bobby Lightfoot at 17:32
6 Comments:
I'm still behind on my Roxy Music lessons. Agree with you on the rest.
The early 80s had a lot of crappy sounding albums, like they'd been recorded in the backyard in the cardboard box the new fridge came in. God, I love 'em.
Spector really whgeoed some o' them records.
I mostly agree with you about Spector, but I really like "You've Lost That Loving Feeling."
No, dude- you're right. I forgot about th' Righteous Bros. Probably missing a couple other good prod's (i.e. Th' Teddy Bears) but not generalizing just wouldn't be Lightfoot.
Wolfenstein- Yeah, ain't they great? Even Joe Jackson's superlative Night and Day which made a pianist outta me (heh) sounds like crud now. Even "Beat Crazy" which is an album of almost celestial innovation has some real corkers.
Back in the day, I used to work for A&M records. There was a story, part of the corporate mythos, about Supertramp. Their first two albums had done nothing, and they were working on what would become Crime of the Century.
Some beancounter was concerned about the amount of time and $$ they were going through. By and by, Herb Alpert asked to hear "what you've got so far."
He took one listen to the masters and said, "Give them whatever they need." That, of course, is because Herb was a musician, not a bookkeeper. And we all know the rest of the story. CotC was produced by Ken Scott, who (alas)went on to (over)produce post-Rio Duran Duran. But Simon is right; great songs rise above poor production (which I guess was Bobby's point to begin with).
"More Than Words", however, is shite, no matter how "nice" it sounds. (Sorry for the non-sequitur...I just loathe that song, and will bash it at any opportunity.)
udrib - what you do before you udrab
I actually like Spector's Ramones album. It may not really be a Ramones album but it's a lot of fun to listen to.
I don't know who sat in on dkizavv, though.
When I was a kid, I remember being aroused by the sound and the power of "Be My Baby." Of course, at that age, i was aroused by most everything.
Having Hal Blaine as his regular session drummer didn't hurt, either.
Less known was Spector's contribution to the ill-fated "Wall of Swerux" sound.
Post a Comment
<< Home