a couple of really great mixed and terribly mixed albums?
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Posted on May 31, 2005 05:00 am
mikedevilsfan
Member Since: May 26, 2005
If you had to name a few albums that were mixed really well and really bad what would they be?
I read in Home recording for dummies that So by Peter Gabriel was mixed really well. I hadn't heard it in a while so I gave it a listen. Sure enough it's an awesome mix. Very clean.
Michael
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May 31, 2005 06:01 am Terribly mixed albums? "Free Yourself" by Hype............ Im so sorry!!!! I have polluted the world with Diamonds polished into turds. lol
I like Madonna's "Dont tell Me", mostly cause of the producing, but also the mix. And all of the presidents of the unites states of america albums.
C_S
shepherdsampatron saint of quality footwearMember
Since: May 30, 2002
May 31, 2005 09:26 am I won't say it's poorly mixed but my copy of Floyd's "the final cut" on CD is so horribly quiet.
It is easily half the volume of anything else in my collection. Anybody else here have it? Same problem or is mine a flawed copy?
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
May 31, 2005 11:05 am One of my very first threads here at HRC was a similar topic.
Best mixed: "Hail to the Theif" by Radiohead. It's absolutely sparkling clean and clear, and there is so much going on at any 1 given point in the album, but it never sounds muddy.
Worst mixed: there was a band in the early 90s called Dangerous Toys. They were a bunch of greasy druggies that were on the MTV charts at the same time as all of the hair metal bands. Their 2nd album "Hellacious Acres" was the absolute worst spectacle of mixing ever. It was all distorted, and the mids and highs were all out of whack. Absolutely horrible!
May 31, 2005 11:32 am i second the Radiohead for some of the best mixing i've ever heard, the phrase "music to my ears" comes to mind.
i think metallicas black album is on of my personal faves for overall sound....BEAUTIFUL production on that one. Pantera's far beyond driven is up there, but in a more raw way.
primus pork soda has this nice woodie earthy character that is AWSOME. damn fine mixing on that one. tool aenima is mixed (and mastered) extremely well too.
as for worst....early 'punk style' beastie boys is horrid (mixing wise)....tool's undertow has this glassy thin 'new age of digital' sound that drives me nuts as does white zombies la sexersisto. anything from the 60's....lots of fuzz, noise, distortion on that stuff, course the did the best they could.....
HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
May 31, 2005 12:55 pm Here's a couple...
Best : Pink Floyds "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn"
Incredible use of space, and weird noises... perfectly ballanced .
Worst : Black Sabbaths "Volume 4"
Great heroin-fueld album, with a mix that sounds much like *** .
jmailjimmie neutronMember
Since: Feb 14, 2005
May 31, 2005 05:53 pm Say, shepherdsam, your PF "the final cut" on CD has some dynamics left in it. They didn't compress and limit it to mono-level at -1.5dB. Listen to Rush "All The World's A Stage" live album, and it's "quiet" compared to other stuff from the last few years.
I concur with Hue on Black Sabbath Vol 4. Some really good stuff that "someone didn't know what they were doing" to it. Compare some of it with "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", and they're worlds apart in quality of production.
May 31, 2005 06:00 pm It's really pretty easy to tell when Tony Iommi took over production roles with Black Sabbath...
May 31, 2005 07:38 pm Daddy, I have to respectfully disagree with you on the black album. While my attitude about Metallica's production is probably colored by my interpretation of the biggest disaster in the history of music; I think the drums on this album is horrible. I know you are fan of Bob Rock, but the sloshy dyno beat laden, 8th note triplets sold in the 80's let's keep the gravy train rolling was more than a disapointment from the 'And Justice' era. Talk about a great drum sound (for speed metal anyway).
Lars has been mediocre since. He will never be a groove player, and why Bob Rock didn't at least get him some new Hi hats is beyond me. The "simple" = best theory is so evident as a continuation of the Bon Jovi days.
But I do agree that the rest of the album -Guitars, vocals are pretty nice. Although the bass seems a little buried.
God Metallica turned out to be a disapointment.
Sorry, i am showing my age. God is it weird that Metallica and old age are starting to be quated together?
Michael
GeoffSM7b the Chuck Noris of Mic'sContributor
Since: Jun 20, 2002
May 31, 2005 08:28 pm there are so many goods and bads I'd say NIN fragile is one of my reference CD's and Metalica ST anger is well....bad.
May 31, 2005 08:32 pm Geoff, what excactly is bad about ST? I haven't heard it, but what don't you like about the mix?
Michael
GeoffSM7b the Chuck Noris of Mic'sContributor
Since: Jun 20, 2002
May 31, 2005 08:40 pm the snare drum is horribly mixed i can't fully listen to a full track , i dig the guys but i don't like how the CD was mixed , that's just one thing about it.
May 31, 2005 08:54 pm I see. Well the drums have been a disaster since the black album IMHO.
Michael
May 31, 2005 08:59 pm hey speaking of bad sounding sanre drums-
Listen to STP it sounds like 100 pounds of slush puppy garbage.
Like a card board box.
M
af_analogcrazy canuckMember
Since: Nov 25, 2004
Jun 01, 2005 04:45 pm I definately concur with Metallica's St Anger being one of the worst mixed albums ever...in fact, may as well get the award for worst engineered and produced as well. I stopped listening to them when the black album came out but St Anger? What were they thinking?
As for great sounding records...I am surprised nobody has mentioned "Blood Sugar Sex Magic". I am not a big Chilli Peppers fan but that album sounds stellar!
If anyone here listens to Clutch, they have some very unique sounding records...I am a huge fan of their latest effort "Blast Tyrant"...wicked sounds.
Great Thread, keep it going!
Jun 01, 2005 04:53 pm Quote:
I definately concur with Metallica's St Anger being one of the worst mixed albums ever.
I am not a meticallica fan by any means, but honestly, I was embarressed for them when I heard that album.
Jun 01, 2005 05:29 pm Goin' way back for this one, but listen to "Darling Be Home Soon" by the Lovin' Spoonful. You can hardly hear the vocals.
Jun 01, 2005 05:37 pm OK, may I stick ma neck on the line and suggest the mixin on the last Green Day album and the sounds recorded are indeed superb, political ranting aside.
Drums SMACK nicely, geetars are good and vox are...well..ahem..Green Day!
Aye, a very well produced album for my money.
Coco.
Jun 01, 2005 05:38 pm Worst..hmmm, I dunno man - there's a lot I dont like and if I dont like it, I dont register it in the heid!!!
So, production could be good but alas, crap music puts me off.
That said, there is some real poor music I HAVE heard thats had good production..I'll think of one for ye tho
Coco
af_analogcrazy canuckMember
Since: Nov 25, 2004
Jun 01, 2005 05:44 pm I saw an interview with Metallicrap when ST Anger came out and the interviewer asked Metallicrap why they intentionally made a "horrible sounding record"...Metallicrap flipped out and ranted that this was their best production yet...??? I think they are just a few sandwiches short of a picnic these days.
Good call Coco, I think every Green Day album sounded quite good.
Another one of my favourite sounding records.... "Grace" by Mr. Jeff Buckley, but then again it was engineered and mixed by Andy Wallace, can't go wrong with that dude.
Jun 01, 2005 05:58 pm Another well mixed, well produced stomping rockin album would be Never Mind The Bollocks by the Sex Pistols - IMHO.
For the time it was done, technology used etc and advancements, it still stands up today as a kickass production.
Coco.
HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
Jun 01, 2005 07:24 pm heh I have that record, Coco ! In BLUE vinal ! I don't own a record player anymore, so I haven't heard it in years... I should get it put to disk .
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jun 01, 2005 07:45 pm af_analog, great call on Grace. That album is as close to perfection as they come!
af_analogcrazy canuckMember
Since: Nov 25, 2004
Jun 01, 2005 07:51 pm Ya Tadpui, definately one of my all time favourites...
ATChrisMusical PhilanthropistMember
Since: Nov 11, 2004
Jun 01, 2005 09:48 pm Here'e a few of my favorites
ATChrisMusical PhilanthropistMember
Since: Nov 11, 2004
Jun 01, 2005 09:49 pm Blind Melon - Soup(Andy Wallace)
Sepultura - Chaos AD (Andy Wallace)
The Black Crowes - Amorica(Jack Joseph Puig)
Jun 01, 2005 11:30 pm Sgt. Peppers has an interesting 4 track mix. God help you if youonly have one speaker, but it's kind of cool to be able to listen to parts independently.
The bass sounds unbelievable for example. I think Paul McCartney is the most under-rated bass player of all time.
I listed to St. Anger-- you guys are right it sounds like garbage.
M
Jun 01, 2005 11:57 pm Chaos AD rocked!!! althought roots was deffinately a big change, i liked it for what it was aswell....oOOoo speakin' of thick dirty mixes how 'bout Great Southern Trendkill???!!!
it took me a year to get used to the sound, and now i think it's one of the most BRUTAL mixes out there...that album does not let up!
\m/
Jun 01, 2005 11:59 pm oh and Ministry's "Psalm 69" is one of the biggest auditory experiances i've ever heard. crank that up on some big speakers and step back 15 feet!!!
af_analogcrazy canuckMember
Since: Nov 25, 2004
Jun 02, 2005 09:55 am "Masters of Reality" have some great mixes...especially that album they did with Ginger Baker.
Can you still buy their albums in the USA? I can't find them anywhere in Canada anymore.
rlbestMember
Since: Jul 09, 2005
Jul 09, 2005 11:44 pm Just had to barge in here and say I disagree about St Anger. I haven't heard the new album in full, just the St Anger single, and I thought it sounded pretty cool. I loved the sharp, punching sound on the snare.
Jul 10, 2005 03:20 am Someone mentioned Amorica by the Black Crowes...good call.
I'd also like to nominate The Southern Harmony and Music Companion by the Crowes as well...the different elements, particularly the lead guitar parts, literally try to leap out and strangle you. And that's a good thing! I can't remember if it was JJ Puig or George Drakoulis that produced that one, but it alternates well between clean and earthy.
Others that come immediately to mind for good production:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco
John Wesley Harding by Bob Dylan
Aja by Steely Dan
As for the not-so-good stuff...um...how about the entire post-1993 Aerosmith catalog? All of it is clear-sounding, but it's so slick that I can't hardly listen to it.
Jul 10, 2005 01:24 pm i love these threads.
oh my god, WHD, i never used those adjectives to describe pork soda before, but by god, youre right! thats what grabs me about that album. "woody and earthy"--nothing else ive ever heard has been like that. it just sounds real and immediate. i realize now that when i put on 'my name is mud,' im reacting more to the mixing and mastering than i am to the song (the song is also great).
tool aenima, i agree there too. those 'tiny' little sounds at the record's opening get into your head. metallic clinking and then that smashed little riff...
i always have to mention soundgarden's superunknown. spacy, and something of that earthy quality that pork soda has. what is that? its something in the mids...
i think ministry's the mind is a terrible thing to taste is also interesting masteringwise.
im a fan of the mastering on pearl jam's ten. there's 90's style reverb in there on everything, the guitar is raw and colorful as hell, and the snare is personable. plus a fretless bass just adds something. i think its an album with its own character.
Jul 12, 2005 01:40 am I pretty much like anything mixed by Tom Lord Agle or Elliot Shriener...
Everytime I've liked an albums mix sound, I look on the back and it seems they are mixed by Tom.
Jul 12, 2005 02:23 am danzig I is good.
that album is 'isolated.' it gives it an intimate vibe, for a metal record. its somehow 'quiet.'
jues used to make fun of me (what happened to him?) for thinking that at the drive in's 'relationship of command' was a well-mixed album, because it is so noisy. but that's the genius of it!
SirrusPrince of Cat EarsMember
Since: Jun 17, 2004
Jul 12, 2005 09:29 am First, to offer what little insight I have as to St. Anger... If I remember right, half of that abrasive drum sound was Lars absentmindedly forgetting to turn the snares on. Evidently, he decided it sounded "better." If I had to be honest, his hearing must have been gone from playing along with "I'm madly in anger with you" for 12 hours.
As for good mixes, I think you can't go wrong with "Angel Dust" by Faith No More. That was Andy Wallace (Again, if I'm not mistaken, they moved to Matt Wallace for the next album...hmm...).
If you want BAD though, listen to most Norwegian Black Metal. Interesting music, interesting subculture...mixes that were spawned under a bed...or in the woods in the case of one album I heard.
Jul 12, 2005 09:33 am Quote:
If I remember right, half of that abrasive drum sound was Lars absentmindedly forgetting to turn the snares on. Evidently, he decided it sounded "better."
Read: "I'm rich, I'm lazy, and people worship me as a drumming god, I don't wanna play it again, and you can't make me, so neener, neener"
:-D
shepherdsampatron saint of quality footwearMember
Since: May 30, 2002
Jul 12, 2005 10:10 am I know a lot of people love the "Black album" but personally, I haven't liked anything Metallica had done since parting ways with Flemming Rasmussen.
Jul 12, 2005 10:13 am The Black album is the only Metallica album I liked...they finally got decent production from a decent producer, then got an ego trip and fired him, everything before and after that album, per production quality, has sucked...but nothing has sucked like St. Anger sucks...thats the suckiest bit of sucking that ever sucked.
SirrusPrince of Cat EarsMember
Since: Jun 17, 2004
Jul 12, 2005 10:56 am I don't know - you watch "Some Kind of Monster," their little documentary of a "rock band" (likely trying to appeal to the "we're just people" line of thought) and you get a more human impression of the guys, but you also can't help but feel that the only people who were involved with that band who were musicians are largely dead or in other bands now (ie. Jason Newstead, Dave Mustaine, Cliff Burton).
You do end up feeling for Kirk though - he's definitely having a hard time getting everyone into music what with everyone else getting all "love on your brother, I just got back from expensive therapy" on him. Not that therapy can't be bad or that he didn't get a little New-Agey at points either...but he's probably the only career musician left in that band of the "original" membership.
Jul 12, 2005 12:00 pm Quote:
So by Peter Gabriel was mixed really well
can't say i've heard that one (that i know of) but i remember always liking Peter Gabriel's songs that i heard growing up, they were very stimulating to me.
Quote:
I like Madonna's "Dont tell Me", mostly cause of the producing, but also the mix.
i've always resptected the musicians and producers Madonna has worked with, in the late 90's she was very comfortable letting people experament with her ahem material. §;o)
Quote:
my copy of Floyd's "the final cut" on CD is so horribly quiet
ya prolly got one of the earlier mastered versions and in the late 80's to the early 90's you had some pretty *digital* sounding masters commin' out. that said, it's that "louder is better" thinking that has got is in a *digital* rut with RMS levels pounding our gear, speakers and eardrums, at -8 and even -6db's is pretty damn obsurd and renders the phrase "music to my ears" obscure, it's ok to turn it up and try to remember to turn it back down before you stop the cd, and it might not sound as bad as you think. *end quasirant*
yeah, i bet there's prolly been a "Ditaly Remastered" version that has been released...
Quote:
i realize now that when i put on 'my name is mud,' im reacting more to the mixing and mastering than i am to the song
dude i've been slowly realizing it as i was learning to conciously look at a mix objectively. i cought my self getting into the song i was mixing and was rockin' with it, then i realized i had 'gotten too close' to the song, and therefore couldn't judge accurately on what it needed next.
this leaded to using more adjectives to desctrbe sound, which lead me to realize i like 'loud food' meaning bursting with too much flavor and seasonings and spices. hehe
since then i've really been able to enjoy just about all music either for A: the song or B: the mix and even sometimes C: the mastering. or any combination thereof. is veddy good deal §=o)
and speaking of mastering!
Quote:
im a fan of the mastering on pearl jam's ten.
althought i've never checked, i am convinced this is one of the "analog at it's best" rock album....if ya check on most cd's, it'll usually have three letters in some combination of A's and D's. the A is for analog and the D for digital....so a cd that has "ADD" was tracked Analog, mixed Digital, and mastered Digital....it's usually stamped on the back cover or directly on the cd.
[quote]danzig I is good.
that album is 'isolated.' it gives it an intimate vibe, for a metal record. its somehow 'quiet.[/quote]
i think this was one of your neat "smaller budget rock albums from the 80's" i can just see the tracking engineer "ok i need to get every track in a dead room and record it dry and dead"
or perhaps it's Glen who liked that sound, i donno, but the Danzig albums ALWAYS have that character, he HATES reverb.
and as for Metallica, i hafta admit, the Black Album was 'the beginning of the end' but as for mixing on the black album, and this falls into the 'forget why you hate them' step back and listen to the mix objectively, the sonic signature of it is stunningly beautiful.
i quit listening to Metallica when Load came out. i studied that band as a budding muician, and cliff burton is the reason i picked up a bass. bash them for what you will, but they did it all themselves. and are in my book, one of the top rock bands of all time, if only they had the sense of Sinefeld, and 'quit while were at our best' things would be alot different.
wow lol my first reply of the morining!
cheers everyone!
wyd
shepherdsampatron saint of quality footwearMember
Since: May 30, 2002
Jul 12, 2005 01:49 pm In regards to my copy of "The final cut", I can understand the importance of dynamics but I can crank the volume to the maximum on my stereo and I can't even hear it if I leave the room for a second.
Not bits and pieces mind you, the whole thing.
Jul 13, 2005 02:27 am db i thought you hated the black album. maybe i assumed that because i connected your hatred of post-appetite GNR with metallica. i dunno. but way to go, man! black album is the only one i like, too.
TallChapAnswer:On a good day, lipstick.Member
Since: Jun 24, 2004
Jul 13, 2005 01:56 pm $0.02
Good:
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
Turbulent Indigo and/or Night Ride Home - Joni Mitchell
Spilt Milk - Jellyfish
In Keeping the Secrets of Silent Earth - Coheed and Cambria
Hogyssey - Spacehog
Surfacing - Sarah McLauchlin
Back in Black - AC/DC
Unleashed in the East - Judas Priest
Songs From The Big Chair - Tears For Fears
Dream Of The Blue Turtles - Sting
Big Lad In The Windmill - It Bites
Bad:
Volume 4 - Black Sabbath (I agree with you...)
Live at the Cavern - Paul McCartney (Ian Paice on the drums, apparently)
Anything by Joy Division
20th Century Boy - Marc Bolan (great album, sucky mixing)
Alive II - Kiss (Mud, anyone?)
Heart - Heart (what a mess!)
Anything by Lenny Kravitz (mixing? Don't make me laugh)
Innagaddadavida - Iron Butterfly (***)
Phenomenon - UFO
af_analogcrazy canuckMember
Since: Nov 25, 2004
Jul 13, 2005 02:47 pm I gotta disagree with Lenny Kravitz falling into the "Bad" catagory...I haven't really liked any of his work since he left his "old school" analog ways but his old stuff was recorded and mixed quite well to my ears.
Jul 13, 2005 11:05 pm whats the benefit of ADD?
af_analogcrazy canuckMember
Since: Nov 25, 2004
Jul 14, 2005 08:21 am ADD would mean that they tracked on an analog tape machine. This would allow them to capture hotter signals in the beggining. This is because you can push your level beyond 0 dB, and instead of clipping (digital) you get warm harmonic distortion which is generally pleasing to the ears. So, even though it would get mixed digital and mastered digital, the initial signals would be hotter and most likely produce a better, warmer mix. This is the theory.
Jul 14, 2005 09:59 am good:
Mastodon - Remissions
Norma Jean - Bless the martyr kill the child
Meshuggah - None ep
Sepultura - Chaos A.D.
Incubus - everything
Red hot chilli peppers - everything
Life of agaony - River runs red
High on fire - Blessed black wings
not good:
Sick of it all - Blood, sweat, no tears
Cro mags - Age of quarrel
Incantation - mortal throne of nazarene
most iron maiden cd's
Jul 14, 2005 10:02 am Hmmm, I rather like Iron Maiden's sound...some of the old stuff sounds nasty, but starting with Piece of Mind I thought their production quality improved a lot.
