Stylus scribe Nick Southall lists 10 albums which he considers to have bad production values since 1997. Southall has a bit of beef with compression and overproduction as he detailed in an article a few months back entitled “Imperfect Sound Forever”. The list starts with Oasis’ – Be Here Now and takes in The Flaming Lips’ At War With the Mystics, Arcade Fire’s – Funeral, Bloc Party’s debut, Kid A and Massive Attack’s recent Best of amongst others.
On Be Here Now –
The OTT overdubbing that took place on this record took loudness, density, compression, and ugliness to a level that had previously been rightfully unimagined.
I haven’t heard Be Here Now in quite a while but I remember the production being the most interesting about it. It was a mindfuck of an album with hundreds of guitar parts on each track to make up for the cacophony of steaming shit the songs were. And it’s always interesting listening to the sound of a man with a limited musical range trying to hide it beneath layers of studio gloss.
At War with the Mystics –
Flips records have been loud as hell since The Soft Bulletin, but At War With the Mystics is beyond the pale—so much so that digital clipping and distortion seem to be used as an instrument within the mix.
Southall used this album as an example in his Imperfect Sound article, and it still rings true for me – despite liking/loving some of the songs on it (The end of “The Sound of Failure / It’s Dark, is it always this Dark” is fantastic) I rarely listen to the thing.
He makes an interesting discovery on Massive Attack’s Collected
Take your CD of Mezzanine and take your CD of Collected, and play “Angel” back-to-back from one to the other. Notice how on the original album that ominous bass fades in from nothing; sense how deep it goes; see how sharp the rimshot is; feel the air around the bass drum and the shock of the guitars entering. But from this year’s beautifully-packaged Best Of, surreptitiously remastered, the bass is jarringly there from the get go, all width and no depth; the rimshot is flabby and indistinct; and there’s no sense of air or space.
Scary. However there are a few choices which I find a bit baffling. Having Funeral and Kid A on the list for example. Funeral is one of those albums that at first listen sounds really distant and archaic in terms of production but once you get into it, you find a warmth and range that you can really enjoy. Similar Kid A’s production only adds to its appeal and takes the listener fully into the sensorial world it occupies. It’s still a really interesting article regardless for the reason that it gets us questioning the role of (over)production in the way in which we absorb and enjoy our favourite records.
What do you think? What are some of your worst sounding records?
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
Nice description of Funeral. The production on Fionn Regan’s Hotel Room EP always bothered me, I don’t know why – the songs with a full band sometimes lose their personality, whereas the solo tracks benefit. I’ve recently learned I’m not great at producing though, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.
Nice description of Funeral. The production on Fionn Regan’s Hotel Room EP always bothered me, I don’t know why – the songs with a full band sometimes lose their personality, whereas the solo tracks benefit. I’ve recently learned I’m not great at producing though, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.
I think Coldplay’s X&Y is one of the most awful production jobs I’ve heard in the last few years. Sasha Frere Jones described it perfectly in the New Yorker a while ago: “The album sounds like it’s been filled up with some magical expanding foam that enlarges a vessel beyond its capacity. It’s an odd production—almost impressive in how gaseous it makes them.”
Also, Low’s The Great Destroyer – I dunno what went wrong with that one, but it sounded horrid from start to finish, as if they’d recorded the whole thing in a bedsit using Garageband and a cheap Shure microphone.
I think Coldplay’s X&Y is one of the most awful production jobs I’ve heard in the last few years. Sasha Frere Jones described it perfectly in the New Yorker a while ago: “The album sounds like it’s been filled up with some magical expanding foam that enlarges a vessel beyond its capacity. It’s an odd production—almost impressive in how gaseous it makes them.”
Also, Low’s The Great Destroyer – I dunno what went wrong with that one, but it sounded horrid from start to finish, as if they’d recorded the whole thing in a bedsit using Garageband and a cheap Shure microphone.
That probably explains my disengagement with X & Y when I heard it as I don’t dislike Coldplay by default, but something about the production left me cold.
Nice quote to throw in by the way
That probably explains my disengagement with X & Y when I heard it as I don’t dislike Coldplay by default, but something about the production left me cold.
Nice quote to throw in by the way
Oh God, so many. Will have a think and report back. Are you going to Juana Molina tonight?
Oh God, so many. Will have a think and report back. Are you going to Juana Molina tonight?
I am, presuming you’re going i’ll say hello
I am, presuming you’re going i’ll say hello
I am indeed. But what’ll you do if my Electric Picnic doppelganger is there?
If you know what Steve looks like, he’ll be probably hanging around beside me.
I am indeed. But what’ll you do if my Electric Picnic doppelganger is there?
If you know what Steve looks like, he’ll be probably hanging around beside me.
Ahh.. well I’ve seen you on TV twice last week so I should recognise you.
Ahh.. well I’ve seen you on TV twice last week so I should recognise you.
Oh my. I’m getting common.
See you later. S
Oh my. I’m getting common.
See you later. S
Has anybody checked out the iron and wine albums? first one “creek that drank the cradle” sounds cheap, but fuckin brilliant. presume he got some money off that and recorded “our endless numbered days”, whose production is a lot slicker but doesn’t appeal to me half as much. (Go on? I will!) anywho, there’s me two bob for what little it’s worth.
Has anybody checked out the iron and wine albums? first one “creek that drank the cradle” sounds cheap, but fuckin brilliant. presume he got some money off that and recorded “our endless numbered days”, whose production is a lot slicker but doesn’t appeal to me half as much. (Go on? I will!) anywho, there’s me two bob for what little it’s worth.
Mike,
‘Our Endless Numbered Days’ came first.
I think it also requires more listening, though I do prefer ‘The Creek…
‘Sodom, South Georgia’ is a pretty good tune.
Mike,
‘Our Endless Numbered Days’ came first.
I think it also requires more listening, though I do prefer ‘The Creek…
‘Sodom, South Georgia’ is a pretty good tune.
That’s it Mike, you’re off my Top 8 Friends. Proper pants up, you are
That’s it Mike, you’re off my Top 8 Friends. Proper pants up, you are
well, i guess i may go and kill myself. as i suspected would happen, the cool bastards have found me out for the phoney i am.
well, i guess i may go and kill myself. as i suspected would happen, the cool bastards have found me out for the phoney i am.
We already knew. We just didn’t want to tell anyone till now.
We already knew. We just didn’t want to tell anyone till now.
well this’ll further reinforce your conclusions
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Iron+And+Wine
well this’ll further reinforce your conclusions
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Iron+And+Wine
There were monsters in that place, aye, and we were them…
There were monsters in that place, aye, and we were them…