This is precisely my problem with “modern” recordings. I miss the days (and sound) of actual “guys in a room.” This is always my preferred recordings. I think that’s part of the magic of so many of my beloved 60s records. Whether it’s Spector, The Beatles, or even Chips Moman, there’s something spectacular about a group of musicians playing together. The magic is even more spectacular when there’s some microphones recording the sounds being produced.
Don’t get me wrong, I like alot of new records. I love alot of new records, but no one records that way anymore.
Yeah but remember those depressing clips of XTC working in the studio. It’s easy to romanticize “everybody recording in a room at the same time,” but it fails as often as it succeeds. And these sessions you guys are breathing heavy about often used overdubs after the fact anyway.
There are lots of ways to make great music. That is only one of them.
Surely there are as many failures as successes, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with overdubs, especially when they involve human hands and knobs. The posting of this clip was not to suggest that there’s only one way of doing things, only to celebrate one way it can be done with fellow humans.
As I said, BigSteve, I have nothing against any recording technique so longs as it works. In addition to the XTC stuff, I could add that The Beatles recording Let It Be is pretty depressing, too. My own band doesn’t record that way because it’s just not practical. And, yes, I realize that there is always stuff added after the fact. But, I have to say that booking 15-20 guys at a time, like Brian Wilson did, is pretty awesome. He had a pretty good idea of what type of sound he wanted and what he needed to acheive that sound. One could argue that given those same caliber players and singers, one could acheive the same results, but my point is this: Why do it when you don’t have to? I know that these things were born out of necessity and that Brian didn’t have the luxury of Pro Tools and multitracks. I still marvel at the technique used in recording Sergeant Pepper’s.
For people that know what they’re doing, they are going to acheive the desired results by any means. If it means going into the latest and greatest digital studio and laying down 60,000 tracks, then so be it. In the end, it’s supposed to be about the song itself, right? And if that’s the case, there’s been a whole lot of crappy music recorded with guys in a room.
This is precisely my problem with “modern” recordings. I miss the days (and sound) of actual “guys in a room.” This is always my preferred recordings. I think that’s part of the magic of so many of my beloved 60s records. Whether it’s Spector, The Beatles, or even Chips Moman, there’s something spectacular about a group of musicians playing together. The magic is even more spectacular when there’s some microphones recording the sounds being produced.
Don’t get me wrong, I like alot of new records. I love alot of new records, but no one records that way anymore.
Thanks for the video, Mod.
TB
Glad you dug it, TB. I’m sure we’re not alone in finding clips like this akin to some smokin’ voyeur porn.
Yeah but remember those depressing clips of XTC working in the studio. It’s easy to romanticize “everybody recording in a room at the same time,” but it fails as often as it succeeds. And these sessions you guys are breathing heavy about often used overdubs after the fact anyway.
There are lots of ways to make great music. That is only one of them.
Surely there are as many failures as successes, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with overdubs, especially when they involve human hands and knobs. The posting of this clip was not to suggest that there’s only one way of doing things, only to celebrate one way it can be done with fellow humans.
As I said, BigSteve, I have nothing against any recording technique so longs as it works. In addition to the XTC stuff, I could add that The Beatles recording Let It Be is pretty depressing, too. My own band doesn’t record that way because it’s just not practical. And, yes, I realize that there is always stuff added after the fact. But, I have to say that booking 15-20 guys at a time, like Brian Wilson did, is pretty awesome. He had a pretty good idea of what type of sound he wanted and what he needed to acheive that sound. One could argue that given those same caliber players and singers, one could acheive the same results, but my point is this: Why do it when you don’t have to? I know that these things were born out of necessity and that Brian didn’t have the luxury of Pro Tools and multitracks. I still marvel at the technique used in recording Sergeant Pepper’s.
For people that know what they’re doing, they are going to acheive the desired results by any means. If it means going into the latest and greatest digital studio and laying down 60,000 tracks, then so be it. In the end, it’s supposed to be about the song itself, right? And if that’s the case, there’s been a whole lot of crappy music recorded with guys in a room.
TB
How F*#ken awesome was that!
That’s the way to play music.
All with an unlit cigarette!
Great clip.
C.
Great clip. Amen to that!