gommer
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Posts: 140
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Post by gommer on Apr 6, 2015 14:03:45 GMT
Yesterday, I was fascinated by watching the documentary 'Sound City'. This is a documentary film that paints the full story of a legendary sound recording studio. A documentary, passionately telling the rise and fall, rebirth and final decay of this studio. The uniqueness of this studio lays in the sound of drums and it's magnificent non-automated, full analog studio mixing panel. It was custom ordered and made by Rupert Neve. Grohl eventually buys this console and currently uses it in his Studio 606. Seeing this documentary, it was the second time that Grohl has inspired me to follow up. The first time was with his (postdating to Sound City) documentary series Sonic Highways. Anyways I've now been looking at wikipedia to learn which albums were recorded at Sound City studios because of the wonderful sound that emerges from those recordings. It's also interesting to learn Grohl's statements about how the limitations of analog recording lead to better musical performances (and of his adversion to how Pro Tools can enable any moron to make music). Some links: Rupert Neve wikiWiki about Grohl's documentarySound City studios wiki with list of recordingsTrailer of the documentary I'm now officially a fan of Dave Grohl, (not all Nirvana or Foo Fighters stuff). Hope I could inspire some folks here. Cheers, Marc
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Post by ronzo56 on Apr 7, 2015 9:12:27 GMT
Marc, I saw this as well. Fascinating. Sad as well that such a great place to record music is now gone. Let us know what you find out about the albums made there.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Apr 7, 2015 10:57:39 GMT
It seems to me that people who make recordings via something like Pro Tools ( which is used extensively now) no longer know how to listen and presume that a computer knows best. Kind of like an 'audiotron' where everything is automated and sounds 'shiny'.
You even find people who shove a mic anywhere they can to pick up sound in order to get it as loud as possible via compression onto a digital audio track and once they've basically filled up 48 tracks, they mix and compress all again!! So it's as loud as possible and so processed that the real guts of the recording are missing so that it has no real soul.
While I don't really like the 'nostalgics' who use the past as a method to make big bucks and pretend that everything was always better then, I wish that people thought more about some productions now and the 'idea' or 'motivation' behind the album and manipulate the sound in order to produce properly in sympathy with the 'message' being given out with the music. Too often, it's produced with one ideal in mind .... Make money by being the loudest on the radio to attract a young audience unaware of songs more than 3 or 4 minutes being written.
They want instant sound that's appealing in 20 seconds. Even that ghastly show ... 'The Voice' is just geared into vocal acrobatics in order to please the judges within 20 seconds. Shame that music is developing this way and actually being accepted and supported by young people.
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gommer
quite active
Posts: 140
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Post by gommer on Apr 7, 2015 20:13:21 GMT
I'm currently thoroughly enjoying Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Famous album with a clear 70's signature but nevertheless timeless and a pristine recording.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Apr 7, 2015 20:24:03 GMT
Black Sabbath Paranoid here at the moment. Clear Ozzy signature!!!
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Post by ronzo56 on Apr 8, 2015 8:43:33 GMT
Two of my favorite albums. Ian, I know what you mean. So much of the over mixed over compressed music has no feeling to it. A lot of it sounds almost like a computer wrote it, not a person. I have a school chum who is now a senior sound technician "roadie" for some of the latest big acts. He told me on some of the tours the backstage looks like a NASA mission control. All the processing equipment pre-recorded tracks pitch correction and mic delays so it all comes out of the speakers at the same time. He even told of an artist who is so off key at times without all this equipment they have to stop from giggling when they listen to the raw mic feed. Some have a light that comes on to tell them when to lip sync um...sing. Sad. Really just sold as a product like a new item at Burger King. Speaking of Fleetwood Mac. This past weekend "Landslide" from the Fleetwood Mac album came on the radio. Have heard it a hundred times at least, but I really listened to the song, the sound of her voice and the meaning she was giving to the lyrics. Almost found myself getting choked up. A great song will do that, no matter how many times you hear it. Then I pulled up to a stop light. A young man was listening to something, couldn't tell who or what the song was as it sounded like a hundred other new songs on the radio. Man, I am starting to sound like my father! Scary. Anyway it reminded me of when I was a young man back in the 70's when the song was new. I was lucky enough to see them on tour, and they were wonderful. No fancy processing, just excellent musicians giving it their best. Time to install another light switch upside down. Or is it right side up???
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Rabbit
Administrator
Posts: 7,087
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Post by Rabbit on Apr 8, 2015 10:45:55 GMT
For me, old music is like a photograph. For instance, when Paranoid came out, it brings back the memory of me sitting with a mate called Dave, listening to it for the first time on LP. We both loved it and he was desperate to show me his new turntable!!
Genesis 'Trick of the Tail' brings back a really different time to me.
Zep 1 brings back memories of an old girlfriend.
Cream.... An old bass player friend.
One Size Fits All brings back a meeting with Zappa that I had.
Dangerous brings back my chance meeting with Michael Jackson which was surreal.
Al Jolson singing Mammy brings back my Dad or Richard Tauber.
Julia's Inglesas my Mum.
It goes on, but to me, music is like a time capsule that brings back all kinds of things.
One really surprising one for me was 'Eleanor Rigby'. A girlfriend got rid of me and that was playing in the club at the time. I heard it on the radio and instantly thought of her!!
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Post by ronzo56 on Apr 8, 2015 14:06:12 GMT
How very true Ian, for me as well. For years and even today when I hear Fleetwood Mac's -Don't Stop (Thinking about tomorrow) - it reminds of the day my Grandfather passed. It was playing in the car as I was heading to University that day. It was raining and I can still smell the air and the inside of the car. Weird isn't it? Paul McCartney's - Sally G. - my first girlfriend in college. When she told me we should try seeing other people.
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