Red Mosquito

I liked Backspacer and Mind Your Manners. I give the CREDIT to the band though, not BOB.

I just came across a quote from Brendan O'Brien about Springsteen's Devils and Dust, where he said that Bruce originally envisioned a moodier, sparser and more Nebraska-esque record....and that he shooed him away from it by saying something like "Yeah, you can do a record like that, and it won't really connect with a lot of people....or you can make a record that people will connect with."

All I could think was "Bruce worked with Brendan, and Bruce listened to him, so we thought maybe we should start listening to him, too."

Brendan O'Brien needs to stop killing everything he touches.

cutuphalfdead wrote:Brendan O'Brien needs to stop killing everything he touches.

for real.

McParadigm wrote:I just came across a quote from Brendan O'Brien about Springsteen's Devils and Dust, where he said that Bruce originally envisioned a moodier, sparser and more Nebraska-esque record....and that he shooed him away from it by saying something like "Yeah, you can do a record like that, and it won't really connect with a lot of people....or you can make a record that people will connect with."

All I could think was "Bruce worked with Brendan, and Bruce listened to him, so we thought maybe we should start listening to him, too."

The album would have been way more powerful if it were more nebraska'ish

Fuck BOB

His studio location nearly killed Jeff.

Well he wasn't rah rah about LB so maybe the band shrugged him off this time.

Regardless, my expectations are still very tempered.

McParadigm wrote:I just came across a quote from Brendan O'Brien about Springsteen's Devils and Dust, where he said that Bruce originally envisioned a moodier, sparser and more Nebraska-esque record....and that he shooed him away from it by saying something like "Yeah, you can do a record like that, and it won't really connect with a lot of people....or you can make a record that people will connect with."

All I could think was "Bruce worked with Brendan, and Bruce listened to him, so we thought maybe we should start listening to him, too."

WTF does "it won't really connect with a lot of people" mean? Which people?

evenslow wrote:His studio location nearly killed Jeff.

harmless wrote:

McParadigm wrote:I just came across a quote from Brendan O'Brien about Springsteen's Devils and Dust, where he said that Bruce originally envisioned a moodier, sparser and more Nebraska-esque record....and that he shooed him away from it by saying something like "Yeah, you can do a record like that, and it won't really connect with a lot of people....or you can make a record that people will connect with."

All I could think was "Bruce worked with Brendan, and Bruce listened to him, so we thought maybe we should start listening to him, too."

WTF does "it won't really connect with a lot of people" mean? Which people?

Those people.

Thejambi wrote:

harmless wrote:

McParadigm wrote:I just came across a quote from Brendan O'Brien about Springsteen's Devils and Dust, where he said that Bruce originally envisioned a moodier, sparser and more Nebraska-esque record....and that he shooed him away from it by saying something like "Yeah, you can do a record like that, and it won't really connect with a lot of people....or you can make a record that people will connect with."

All I could think was "Bruce worked with Brendan, and Bruce listened to him, so we thought maybe we should start listening to him, too."

WTF does "it won't really connect with a lot of people" mean? Which people?

Those people.

harmless wrote:

McParadigm wrote:I just came across a quote from Brendan O'Brien about Springsteen's Devils and Dust, where he said that Bruce originally envisioned a moodier, sparser and more Nebraska-esque record....and that he shooed him away from it by saying something like "Yeah, you can do a record like that, and it won't really connect with a lot of people....or you can make a record that people will connect with."

All I could think was "Bruce worked with Brendan, and Bruce listened to him, so we thought maybe we should start listening to him, too."

WTF does "it won't really connect with a lot of people" mean? Which people?

And why the hell would Bruce care it that point in his career?

All I want is for the mastering to be done by anyone other than Bob Ludwig. BoB and Ludwig together equal over compressed flat shit. (see backspacer and magic etc.) both are fine by themselves but together they seem to squash it all to buggery.

Would people like Backspacer more if the production were different?
It goes deeper than that though. That little clip from the BS session on the Pj20 DVD seems to suggest he was taking the traditional role of producer and plying it to the extreme, telling them how the songs should be played.
He's recorded 3 of my favourite sounding Pj records but I do wish Backspacer hadn't had the air of the room squeezed out of it. It is too polished and it suits certain sings but not all of them.

McParadigm wrote:I just came across a quote from Brendan O'Brien about Springsteen's Devils and Dust, where he said that Bruce originally envisioned a moodier, sparser and more Nebraska-esque record....and that he shooed him away from it by saying something like "Yeah, you can do a record like that, and it won't really connect with a lot of people....or you can make a record that people will connect with."

All I could think was "Bruce worked with Brendan, and Bruce listened to him, so we thought maybe we should start listening to him, too."

Brendan was probably a good producer for Pearl Jam in the 90's because they knew exactly what they wanted, and what they wanted tended to skew away from the mainstream. His presence helped save Betterman, and probably helped keep those records from being even less inviting than they were. He was new to producing when Pearl Jam grabbed him, and they could pretty much run him over.

But in the era between 98 (Yield) and 2002 (Rising), he established himself as someone who could make radio friendly tracks where each instrument sounded great and clear (though the Rising title track should have made people sweat). He became more influential in the process (especially for artists who weren't worrying about production or felt they needed fresh insights), and that sucks. He's a great soft touch, and a shitty person to have as a guide.

He always puts "how will this sound to the casual listener hearing it for the first time on the radio" ahead of "how will this sound to people at home on their fourteenth listen, with nice systems and/or headphones?"

And yeah....how Ludwig is still allowed near a console anywhere is a mystery to audio engineers everywhere.

If they just cannot help making Lightning Bolt into a pop record, I'm just hoping that a little darkness and thought helps to offset that and make something interesting. I've never felt that 'pop' was a dealbreaker, but with this band? I'm just not sure they're the kind of band with the imagination to make an interesting pop record. Chances are they'll just make rock songs and produce them like Pop songs after the fact. That's the One Direction towards Bon Jovi town.

McParadigm wrote:Brendan was probably a good producer for Pearl Jam in the 90's because they knew exactly what they wanted, and what they wanted tended to skew away from the mainstream. His presence helped save Betterman, and probably helped keep those records from being even less inviting than they were. He was new to producing when Pearl Jam grabbed him, and they could pretty much run him over.

But in the era between 98 (Yield) and 2002 (Rising), he established himself as someone who could make radio friendly tracks where each instrument sounded great and clear (though the Rising title track should have made people sweat). He became more influential in the process (especially for artists who weren't worrying about production or felt they needed fresh insights), and that sucks. He's a great soft touch, and a shitty person to have as a guide.

He always puts "how will this sound to the casual listener hearing it for the first time on the radio" ahead of "how will this sound to people at home on their fourteenth listen, with nice systems and/or headphones?"

And yeah....how Ludwig is still allowed near a console anywhere is a mystery to audio engineers everywhere.

Most plausible.

I agree. What I don't get is why they seemed to pretty suddenly stop knowing 'exactly what they wanted'. Riot Act began to show cracks in their creative security, I suppose, but to all intents and purposes the record was full of purpose. What happened that now, they've gone from that purposefulness and passion to just letting BO'B do what he wants? Can this happen so quickly, and why? Maybe it's not been quick, and it just seems that way because their albums are so far apart now.

evenslow wrote:His studio location nearly killed Jeff.

Post of the year.