The production of Backspacer isn't bad at all. Just the songs are baddurdencommatyler wrote:I mean, I don't know. I'm no expert or anything. But I think the production of LB is better than Backspacer and S/T. At least, it sounds way better to my ears.
Goodness, no. Any problem with Backspacer is down to the writing. The only issue with the production is the compression, and I don't get the impression most people really know what that does to the sound of a record, anyway.durdencommatyler wrote:I mean, I don't know. I'm no expert or anything. But I think the production of LB is better than Backspacer
klehtun wrote:
wtf
McParadigm wrote:Goodness, no. Any problem with Backspacer is down to the writing. The only issue with the production is the compression, and I don't get the impression most people really know what that does to the sound of a record, anyway.durdencommatyler wrote:I mean, I don't know. I'm no expert or anything. But I think the production of LB is better than Backspacer
Backspacer is a light production touch on the mixing board end, with not a lot of processing on the vocals or instruments. The drum overheads are used really well, the guitars sound full without becoming unreadably messy, and it just generally sounds like a band playing in a room. There's some light mic bleed on a few songs, suggesting that in general that's exactly what it was. And, yeah, there are a lot of overdubs, but there are also some qualities to the low end that had some debate going as to whether or not it was recorded in analog.
Lightning Bolt has much less compression, but there's just a brutal and really cold approach to the processing...something that requires a bit more isolation in the recording phase.
I could really end up with one of my stupidly long posts here, so I'll just point out two examples of what I mean:
1. The first ten seconds of Getaway alone already reveals a really shitty choice that was made at some point. You've got drums and, at one point, two guitars crunching it up in there...but there's no low end to be found. Literally all of the low has been scooped out of those instruments, there and through a LOT of the record. You can really hear it at the start of the verse, when the bass and Ed come in together and suddenly the pool feels like it's about 15 feet deeper. The drums and guitars never really have any power or energy on this record, because Brendan has gotten into this thing where he murders everything else to try and "sell" the singer. And so he's just working harder than ever to give Ed as much of the canvas as possible, at a time when the resonance and beauty of his voice is collapsing and when giving him that space is just accenting the warble and goating. Even if you like Ed's voice right now, the point is that this weird decision was made to steal from everyone else to support him, and it's unnecessary (compare the "need" to scoop low end away from guitars and drums here to the sonics of Push Me Pull Me, for example). You can hear it during those moments when there are dynamic shifts, too...like when the band goes big early on in the title track, and everything pushes forward but it doesn't really feel "epic" or explosive the way you get the impression it should. you can't fuck with the low end that much and not lose the inherent power of moments like that. You just fucking kill them.
2. Fucking flange on the acoustic guitar on Swallowed Whole. Fucking flange. Nice effect for the right circumstances (there's a sustained electric in the chorus that it sounds great on), but on a quickly strummed acoustic? Goddamn, no. And anyway, why would you want the most focused-on (and organic) sonic addition to a song about nature to sound so unnatural? It certainly doesn't make the guitar sound better...it already sounds brittle and cardboardy, because you robbed it of so much in order to protect Ed (or maybe because your ears are going, I dunno). It just makes it sound like just that guitar was copied over from a really shittily encoded mp3, and then pasted into the song.
Welp. Stupidly long. There you go.
im not much of an audio guy, but i know how i like something to hear. to me LB was was over produced. it just seems to lack grit in the recordings. for example lightning bolt as a song - is actually fuking awesome. the studio version of it, actually suks as a recording. the only that keeps me listening (without trying to sound cliche) is the journey that the lyrics take you on.Goodness, no. Any problem with Backspacer is down to the writing. The only issue with the production is the compression, and I don't get the impression most people really know what that does to the sound of a record, anyway.
Backspacer is a light production touch on the mixing board end, with not a lot of processing on the vocals or instruments. The drum overheads are used really well, the guitars sound full without becoming unreadably messy, and it just generally sounds like a band playing in a room. There's some light mic bleed on a few songs, suggesting that in general that's exactly what it was. And, yeah, there are a lot of overdubs, but there are also some qualities to the low end that had some debate going as to whether or not it was recorded in analog.
Lightning Bolt has much less compression, but there's just a brutal and really cold approach to the processing...something that requires a bit more isolation in the recording phase.
I could really end up with one of my stupidly long posts here, so I'll just point out two examples of what I mean:
1. The first ten seconds of Getaway alone already reveals a really shitty choice that was made at some point. You've got drums and, at one point, two guitars crunching it up in there...but there's no low end to be found. Literally all of the low has been scooped out of those instruments, there and through a LOT of the record. You can really hear it at the start of the verse, when the bass and Ed come in together and suddenly the pool feels like it's about 15 feet deeper. The drums and guitars never really have any power or energy on this record, because Brendan has gotten into this thing where he murders everything else to try and "sell" the singer. And so he's just working harder than ever to give Ed as much of the canvas as possible, at a time when the resonance and beauty of his voice is collapsing and when giving him that space is just accenting the warble and goating. Even if you like Ed's voice right now, the point is that this weird decision was made to steal from everyone else to support him, and it's unnecessary (compare the "need" to scoop low end away from guitars and drums here to the sonics of Push Me Pull Me, for example). You can hear it during those moments when there are dynamic shifts, too...like when the band goes big early on in the title track, and everything pushes forward but it doesn't really feel "epic" or explosive the way you get the impression it should. you can't fuck with the low end that much and not lose the inherent power of moments like that. You just fucking kill them.
2. Fucking flange on the acoustic guitar on Swallowed Whole. Fucking flange. Nice effect for the right circumstances (there's a sustained electric in the chorus that it sounds great on), but on a quickly strummed acoustic? Goddamn, no. And anyway, why would you want the most focused-on (and organic) sonic addition to a song about nature to sound so unnatural? It certainly doesn't make the guitar sound better...it already sounds brittle and cardboardy, because you robbed it of so much in order to protect Ed (or maybe because your ears are going, I dunno). It just makes it sound like just that guitar was copied over from a really shittily encoded mp3, and then pasted into the song.
Welp. Stupidly long. There you go.
The vocals don't have much of a low end either. I've posted about this before. I checked how the vocals sound on Backspacer and LB compared to Ed's solo material from the same period (all produced by Adam Kaspar) because of this. The vocals on ITW, US and Better Days all have more of a low end (even lower-mid i think) even if slightly less so on US (different mic used?) compared to LB especially where the vocals often sound unnaturally thin. Even compared to his speaking voice the Kaspar produced vocals are closer tonally than B'OB's.McParadigm wrote:You've got drums and, at one point, two guitars crunching it up in there...but there's no low end to be found. Literally all of the low has been scooped out of those instruments, there and through a LOT of the record. You can really hear it at the start of the verse, when the bass and Ed come in together and suddenly the pool feels like it's about 15 feet deeper.
fuk. yes.Birds in Hell wrote:
What a band.
It's rare that something is this unapologetically ridiculous, and yet fails to find a home in RM's ongoing chattermatters department.klehtun wrote:
This.McParadigm wrote:2. Fucking flange on the acoustic guitar on Swallowed Whole. Fucking flange. Nice effect for the right circumstances (there's a sustained electric in the chorus that it sounds great on), but on a quickly strummed acoustic?
While a Western guitar motif lost on the swings drum bass fusion, get your own thoughts into the subconscious often forgotten. "Pendulum" is a sweeping soul from the ballast.
