[Chris Tanz]

I ... uh ... like the parts where ... it gets ... you know ... louder?

You people all put me to shame. And thank you, Horrible Esthete, for the observations re Fully Completely.

Half the time I'm listening to the albums and I'll be like, "wow, I didn't realize there was a two-minute outro to Thugs; that was cool. I've had this album since 1994 and I never noticed it before. Gord stopped singing, but the rest of the band just kept on going. Nifty."

I guess I'm a lyric-man myself. But to each whatever floats his or her boat, I s'pose.

ct

[ontheverge]

welcome to the forum ontheverge. I like the production of IVL but would have to say that PP is the best.

Thanks; cool forum; I've been a Hip fan since the late 80s and have very much enjoyed their musical rollercoaster ride and hope to for quite a while longer, yet. Someone posted about the incredibly different prodution values enlisted on DFN and I must agree; I've never heard such a drum and cymbal sound before or since. At first it took me some getting used to. In fact the entire realm of the various percussion sounds on that record blow me away still, 10 years later. Anyway, cool forum.

[mdougla]

Holy Shinto! I can't believe everyone is against Fully Completely. I agree that it is a bad recording, however, "hands down" DAY FOR NIGHT is the WORST. Everytime I listen to it I end up plugging my nose and blowing in hope that the album will sound better. Unfortunatly this never happens. There is no midrange on this thing, Johnny's drums are lost is some parts, and it sounds like the person who mixed it got reverb happy with Gords vocals. They need to rerecord this album or have it remixed. (Not remastered) REMIXED!
Thanks
(END OF VENT)

[emperor penguin]

i would say that fire in the hole sounds horrible on DFN i hate that echoey effect they used, sounds so much better live.

[intothenight]

Fully Completely easily could have been one of the Hip's best albums. . but its production is horrible. . I can barely listen to it.

In Between Evolution and Road Apples win hands down I would say.

[kcpr3]

First off, I totally agree with conradjosepi... The distorted guitar in Gift Shop is incredible...

Back about 92 I started DJing raves.. Between the million raves that I have been to, and the million concerts that I've been to, (Big Sugar was the loudest ) I have lost some of my sensitivity to high frequencies.. I'm 28, so that scares me, who knows what I'll be like in 30 years!
Because of this, I tend to lean toward the mixes with the emphasis on clear, bright top end.. Here is my take on the production:

Up To Here : I like the mix.. A lot of energy. Good, clean vocals. Nice clean drums, no too much, just enough.. Maybe a little more volume on Sinclair would have been nice... I like the idea of the Left/Right guitars on NOIS...
Overall [8/10]

Road Apples : Not too bad, but I find it a little muddy in the midrange. The bass is a little lost to me.. Gord's vocals sound like they could have been a little higher.. I think that Fiddler's Green, Long Time Running, and Gems sound amazing.
Overall [7/10]

Fully Completely : Bad mix.. Overemphasis on top end, no midrange, lacks that punch. Bass is very low.. Courage is all about sibilance. It hurts to listen to the album sometimes, just because most of my favorite Hip songs are on this album. The exceptions are Locked In The Trunk Of A Car, and Wheat Kings..
Overall [5/10]

Day For Night : I like the use of stereo here. The drums on a few of the songs have a shift towards the left channel, it's almost as if the right was just an "effects" channel.. The clarity on scared is amazing. I like it.
Overall [8/10]

Trouble At The Henhouse : This album is a little more mellow sounding than the others.. There's nothing special about the sound, but nothing bad either.. I like the sound of Flamenco, and Put It Off..
Overall [7/10]

Phantom Power : I like the layering used in Escape, this album sounds like a little more time/money was sunk into the production. It's polished, I think it doesn't sound as "live" as it should.
Overall [7/10]

Music @ Work : Too much top end on MAW, but the rest sound good... I like the sound of this album, even though it's my least favorite Hip album.. I think that there is great energy, and even with the varying moods of the album, it complements each style.. Tiger the lion is kick-ass...
Overall [8/10]

In Violet Light : Overall good sound... I enjoy this one.. Nothing that stands out, good or bad.
Overall [8/10]

In Between Evolution : 5 Seconds into the album, when the bass kicks in, it seals the deal.. This is how I like the Hip to sound.. Bass heavy, lots of energy, live sounding, maybe a little muddy on the vocals, but it's forgivable. Imagine how Grace would sound with the kick from Gus? Gus makes the mirror in my car do gymnastics The fret strings on Copenhagen are great. The songs that are for release are cleaner sounding to me than the rest of the album. The bass guitar on Josephine is clear, and strong. Heart of the Melt is my favorite song, I love playing this one on guitar.. Almost a perfect album... This is the only album where I love every song.
Overall [10/10]

Ron.

BTW: I'm using a set of Mackie HR624 Active speakers to listen to the albums, they are flat response +- 1.5 dB from 52Hz to 20KHz

[Chris Tanz]

BTW: I'm using a set of Mackie HR624 Active speakers to listen to the albums, they are flat response +- 1.5 dB from 52Hz to 20KHz

see, maybe this is where I'm going wrong. I'm using the speakers that Ford put in my car.

ct

[sonofdad]

Lots of good responses and lots of "huh?".

seriously....for me its not whats good or bad but the differences in each album and the choices they and their various producers have made. Don Smith is one of my favorite producers and the first 2 albums are great sounding--echoing the american south and barbands. Just the sound the hip was looking for I think.

Fully completely was just that in production. They were hitting the big time and they went to England and Chris Tanger-whatever probably said you need a "big" sound, an "arena" sound. Johnny's drums boom and it's very professional.

This leads most obviously to DFN which is IMO their best collection of songs but their most absurdly recorded and mixed album. It sounds like a giant blanket was draped over the microphones. I much prefer the live versions of these songs than the studio.

Of the following albums, I enjoy the uneveness of PP and of course the great live production values displayed on IBE which is truly a return to greatness.

sonofad

[BlondeSolid]

Lots of good points being made here. Even though I'm new to the board and late to the thread, a few brief observations:

- I've never understood why "Fully Completely" is almost universally panned from a mix POV, personally I love it. But I know lots of folks who hate the sound, especially the snare. Different strokes and all that...
- IMHO, Don Smith is the man who always got the best sound out of the Hip. Clean, raw, urgent, yet still polished. Not overproduced. Perfect mixes. Compare "Something On" with "Poets" for example. Not saying there is anything wrong with Something On, it's just that Don took Poets to the next level.
- Henhouse has some of my favourite Hip songs, but to this day I am annoyed by its sound. Sounds like it was recorded underwater, but then again, the same criticism has been leveled at Exile on Main St.. Most annoying feature is the way Gord's "P"s on "Paradoxes" from "Springtime" pop right out of the speakers. No pop filter during recording? Bad oversight bordering on inexcusable. Cranking Henhouse leads to rumble, not clean bottom end, which is a shame, especially on a kick ass rocker like Springtime.
- Steven Drake et al did an excellent job on Music at Work
- Kaspar is good, but he's no Don Smith. Don was The Man for The Hip and I hope they get together again. Only "mistake" I can think of from Don (and it may not have been his decision anyway) is the intro guitar on "On the Verge" is no where near what it used to sound like live. Album version is completely emasculated compared to what used to come off the stage.

Just my $0.02

[sonofdad]

I'm glad to see the resurgence of this post on the board...and welcome to you BS. I've always pondered the sounds and production values that the Hip have chosen for each of their albums. I totally agree with you about Don Smith--check out Keith Richards solo albums which were all "recorded" by Don Smith and for my $ are totally awesome. He always emphasizes the snare and reinforces the groove.

sonofdad

[BlondeSolid]

I'm glad to see the resurgence of this post on the board...and welcome to you BS. I've always pondered the sounds and production values that the Hip have chosen for each of their albums. I totally agree with you about Don Smith--check out Keith Richards solo albums which were all "recorded" by Don Smith and for my $ are totally awesome. He always emphasizes the snare and reinforces the groove.

sonofdad

Thanks sonofdad.

I agree, Keith Richards' stuff is a great example of that clean, yet punchy Don Smith sound.

[BigRon]

Wow. As I was reading this post, I was getting what I wanted to say all prepared in my head, but after reading some of these posts I realize I am not even close to being the expert some of you guys are with the techno-babble. LOL.

I love the comment that Go®d made about RA being about 5 guys and a bottle of whiskey. Keep it simple. Plug in and jam!!! That's what we want to hear. And while you're too busy jamming to shave, grow a big fucking beard like Gord has in the liner notes, hahaha.

DFN was a real shock to me, especially after hearing FC about a thousand times the year before. That is their BLACK album. I remember being comfortable with being depressed after a year of constant playing of DFN. I do love the live versions of Grace and ND better though, because they are faster and heavier. I would love to hear a good live Thugs.

I thought Henhouse could have been recorded in a better way. The guitars are too quiet on most tracks and I can't really hear many real Riffs on that record. RA, now that record has 8-9 rocking riffs on it, same with PP.

PP also has an awesome sound overall. Loud drums (except on Something On, they could be heavier), and really great vocals. Gord sounds really smooth on tracks like Penquin, Thompson, and Vapor. PP is a very well made album.