[sadohert]

Hope that helps a bit.

Definitely helps. I see the distinctions you're drawing. So, the "generally accepted" thought is that FC is bad from a mastering point of view? Versus production or mixing? Which is likely why Yer Favourites has remastered versions.

[Escape@Hand]

Well I'd have to go with DFN, I just love the way that album sounds. It's so dark and foreboding. Songs like Yawning or Snarling, or Titianci Terrarium just have such haunting vibe to them. I also love the acoustic guitar sound on Scared.

For the worst, I think I'd go with TATH. Crappy drum sounds throughout the album. Imagine had they not self-indulged and hired a real producer for that album, how much better it would have been.

[cygnus8595]

After listening to many samples from each album, I think the best recorded album is one I didn't even think of - In Violet Light. I've got The Darkest One playing now and I can hear the difference.

It sounds live without being as raw as IBE, but it has strong production where needed - the backing vocals are done well and are a little "bigger" (but not as big as WATS), the drums sound great, the guitars are layered well, Gord sounds phenomenal.

I also liked the production on Phantom Power and Day for Night. PP is very smooth and it seems like extra effort was put into it, which makes sense considering it was their last big effort to push into the American market. DFN is good because of its sparsity. It's not stripped-down like IBE, but there's little "flash" which really adds to the darkness of the album. There's a lot of space on this album.

I also agree that TATH is their worst, by far, which to me makes it even more impressive. It's so good that it can overcome crappy production to be my favorite Hip album.

[TG]

For me its Phantom Power, everything fits and everything blends, but at the same time everything being played can be picked up and heard. So it sounds great.

But also the overall musical direction on that album is fantastic. Its melodic, yet it rocks. (Escape is at Hand, Vapour Trails). It experiments with new sounds and styles but still sounds like "classic Hip".

[andy42g]

I have always loved the crisp production of IVL. Hugh Padham did a great job.
Mind you I may be biased coz I just love that album full stop.

The official live stuff should not be forgtotten in this discussion: Vault 4 is big, fat and raw. Love it.

[The Horrible Esthete]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Road Apples (or maybe I just missed it).

I always liked the way that was recorded. Guitars are in yer face!

[nautical]

DFN is definitely "darker" than the others, but I don't sense much difference in production in UTH, RA, PP, TATH, IVL, and IBE. I like that I can audibly pick out each of the instruments and follow them each along through the songs. FC is definitely the worst. Might have been their best album except for the fact it sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom stall (was Johnny using wet spaghetti instead of drumsticks?). IMO, WC and WATS have been a step in a different direction. Not as easy to pick out Paul, Rob, Gord and Johnny as there's so much else going on (strings, etc.).

[soulsinging]

FC is definitely the worst. Might have been their best album except for the fact it sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom stall (was Johnny using wet spaghetti instead of drumsticks?). IMO, WC and WATS have been a step in a different direction. Not as easy to pick out Paul, Rob, Gord and Johnny as there's so much else going on (strings, etc.).

Don't mean to have my first post ever in this place be kind of a bummer, but this is exactly the subject I joined up to ask about. I've been a huge Hip fan for over 10 years (even got most of my hs friends into them) and love their whole catalogue. However, FC sounds so bad it's ridiculous. Up to Here and Road Apples both are on the quiet side, but that's to be expected with an older album and even then they're not as bad as FC. I'm aware of the whole loudness wars/compression issue for listening on ipods, but even jumping from one of those early albums to FC the difference is astounding.

So I was wondering if any Hip albums have been remastered? I think the early ones I got on amazon say "original recording remastered", but I never heard anything about that and it does not apply to FC... the album that needs it most! The songs are among the strongest they've ever put together, and they sound phenomenal on Yer Favourites, but the album is such an underwhelming listen because of the weak production.

[cygnus8595]

It's funny how everyone rags on FC's production, but I think it sounds pretty good. I'll give it another spin this morning at work and focus on the production, but I never had a problem with it.

[Bookhead]

Here's my two cents on the matter, and I certainly don't pretend to be an expert on record production:

I love the sound of Day for Night. The production/mix has a murky quality that suits the feel, attitude and themes of the songs. To me, it's the closest they've come to Daniel Lanois-like atmospherics. (I'd love for them to work with Lanois, because the result would be fascinating).

Fully Completely is just a little too glossy and shiny for me. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the songs on it. The high quality of the songwriting and musicianship of the band make up for the overproduction. The album has a gloss pretty common with albums from the '80s and into the early '90s.

[screw_ball]

I dunno, I think that FC's production gives it a kind of surreal quality... Two-dimensional, but in an interesting way. I dig it.

[BakersBrew]

Cmon...Road Apples by a landslide. One of the greatest Canadian albums of all-time.

[cortezthekiller]

Cmon...Road Apples by a landslide. One of the greatest Canadian albums of all-time.

Well, I think DFN is the best album by the Hip, and it's not even close, IMO. I do agree that RA does sounds fantastic, though. Don Smith is a great producer, IMHO. A wise man once said, "The more you think, the more you stink" when discussing the producing of music, and I agree.

I would say that DFN and RA are two of the greatest albums of all time, not just two of the greatest Canadian albums.