...they change producers more than any other artist i know..im not complaining because i love every disc..(although fully completly to me is wayyyyy too "over" produced..great tunes that could have sounded better on an album..)..don't know where i'm really goin with this...more of an observation than anything...i guess the beers are starting to go to my head as i enjoy the new album!!!
lots of artists (most artists) change producers regularly.
The Hip evolve and their production requirements change; hence the new producers.
At least that's how I see it.
opiated Wrote:...they change producers more than any other artist i know..im not complaining because i love every disc..(although fully completly to me is wayyyyy too "over" produced..great tunes that could have sounded better on an album..)..don't know where i'm really goin with this...more of an observation than anything...i guess the beers are starting to go to my head as i enjoy the new album!!!
Could you imagine how amazing Fully Completely would've sounded had someone like Adam Kasper produced it?? Those songs were meant to be recorded live.
Since we're talking producers, I'd love to see the Hip work with Daniel Lanois sometime in the future. They're certainly already familiar with each other. They toured together on ARA '93 and Lanois' protege Mark Howard produced Day for Night.
direwolf74 Wrote:opiated Wrote:...they change producers more than any other artist i know..im not complaining because i love every disc..(although fully completly to me is wayyyyy too "over" produced..great tunes that could have sounded better on an album..)..don't know where i'm really goin with this...more of an observation than anything...i guess the beers are starting to go to my head as i enjoy the new album!!!
Could you imagine how amazing Fully Completely would've sounded had someone like Adam Kasper produced it?? Those songs were meant to be recorded live.
Since we're talking producers, I'd love to see the Hip work with Daniel Lanois sometime in the future. They're certainly already familiar with each other. They toured together on ARA '93 and Lanois' protege Mark Howard produced Day for Night.
Try and make a mixed "greatest hits" CD using tracks from FC and it really jumps out at you just how over-produced it was; it's significantly quieter than RA or IBE tracks (for ex) if you don't mess with the levels...
It's funny you should mention the FC/Kasper connection - I'm finding myself thinking the exact same thing every time I hear an FC track these days; either Adam Kasper or Don Smith would have done wonders for that disc...I would love to see a "dirtier" remastered version at some point in the future (a la what the Skydiggers did with "Restless")...
M.
MikeS Wrote:Try and make a mixed "greatest hits" CD using tracks from FC and it really jumps out at you just how over-produced it was; it's significantly quieter than RA or IBE tracks (for ex) if you don't mess with the levels...
It's funny you should mention the FC/Kasper connection - I'm finding myself thinking the exact same thing every time I hear an FC track these days; either Adam Kasper or Don Smith would have done wonders for that disc...I would love to see a "dirtier" remastered version at some point in the future (a la what the Skydiggers did with "Restless")...
M.
Although all of the tracks on Fully Completely are among my favourites (time and place make them important); it isn't an album, as a result of the production, that I want to crank to 11.
It is lacking the sonic 'depth' of more recent efforts, and the rawness of Road Apples (and other previous efforts).
A remastered, remixed version of Fully Completely would become a star in my CD collection.
Fully Completely is the only album whose production I like. Everytime I hear of the band recording a new album I cross my fingers that it'll sound more like FC and less like...every other album. I had just assumed this was the common perception. Wow.
mmilberg Wrote:Fully Completely is the only album whose production I like. Everytime I hear of the band recording a new album I cross my fingers that it'll sound more like FC and less like...every other album. I had just assumed this was the common perception. Wow.
I'm not sure if my attitude towards FC is shared by most; but I stand by it.
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I wonder how many other Hipbasers know where Elginburg is? I used to live on Glenburnie Road! (Way back in 1980.)
Hey, I've always felt FC was poorly recorded. And I'm glad to see other people feel the same way! Reassures me I'm not crazy.
But what I DO think is crazy is wanting Daniel Lanois to produce the Hip!!! Talk about overproduction---no matter who he's producing, that guy makes every single track sound like a 'Daniel Lanois Song' ™. The last thing the Hip need is his suffocating production ethos IMHO.
Didn't Daniel Lanois direct one of the Hip's video's? Thugs?
Also, didn't Lanois turn down the Stones when they inquired about him as a producer?
He does strike me as a very "do it my way" type of producer. Just curious what people here think of his work with U2.
I've been switching back and forth between IVL and IBE over the past couple of days and both Hugh and Adam have their strengths and weaknesses. One of the things that nag me about IBE are the muddy vocals; I love the power and ferocity of the guitar but when I cant hear what Gordie is singing it annoys me. Anybody else share this?
MikeS Wrote:Try and make a mixed "greatest hits" CD using tracks from FC and it really jumps out at you just how over-produced it was; it's significantly quieter than RA or IBE tracks (for ex) if you don't mess with the levels...
Yeah, although I have to say, I couldn't have asked for a nicer version of Wheat Kings.
Steve
Killer Whale Tank Wrote:Hey, I've always felt FC was poorly recorded. And I'm glad to see other people feel the same way! Reassures me I'm not crazy.
But what I DO think is crazy is wanting Daniel Lanois to produce the Hip!!! Talk about overproduction---no matter who he's producing, that guy makes every single track sound like a 'Daniel Lanois Song' ™. The last thing the Hip need is his suffocating production ethos IMHO.
I suppose he does tend to over-produce with certain acts like U2, but have you ever listened to his solo stuff, or Bob Dylan's "Time Out of Mind"? 90% of the time he's all about minimalism, mood, and atmosphere, which isn't a bad thing by any means. Different artists require different recording techniques. U2 like their albums to sound big and glossy, so that's the way Lanois records them, but I think if he ever worked with the Hip, it would be much different. If you wanna know what a Daniel Lanois produced Hip album "might" sound like, go back and listen to Day for Night a few times. Lanois taught Mark Howard everything he knows.
Music At Work was recorded at Daniel Lanois's Kingsway Studio in New Orleans; I wonder if there was any input from him on that album?
IMO: DFN, IVL, IBE, M@W and PP are the hip's best sounding efforts from a production values stand point.
I'll be the first to admit that some of Lanois's work on U2 is brilliant. 'Achtung Baby' is on a short list of greatest all-time pop albums. But that's more the exception than the rule (e.g., in contrast, 'All That You Can't Lead Behind' is suffocatingly overblown). Even his work with Dylan...yes, 'Time Out of Mind' is a masterpiece, but it's noteworthy that Dylan has since grumbled in interviews about how he couldn't get the rhythms he wanted and how it turned out as 'that swampy, voodoo thing Lanois is so good at.' Everything Lanois touches becomes hyper-studio and oh-so-'Lanois.'
But that aside, I don't think his atmospherics are Hip-appropriate. I really believe the Hip are best as a live-off-the-floor kind of act---the very antithesis of Lanois's ethos. I think that IBE is their best produced record ever.