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August 03, 2005
Ruminations On Old LPs- Part 2
I’ve been thinking a little more about the old LPs. What gives them their unique sound? Some would say it was as simple as the difference between analogue and digital recording. Indeed there are musicians and producers today who swear by analogue tape, believing that the end result sounds “warmer.” That may be so, but since I’m more of a musician than an audiophile, I don’t care to enter into that debate. However, I believe the differences go far deeper than the mere choice of recording medium.
As I’ve mentioned before, most recordings of the 50’s and 60’s were produced with all the musicians recording at once, so the arrangements, usually done by professional, highly trained arrangers, were prepared in advance. The players, who were the best of the day, were well-rounded musicians: they could read music, and they could play with technical precision and great feeling and depth of interpretation. They played what was on the page, adding their own personal touches but never overwhelming the recording.
Space, Air and Breath
The music had “space”. Words tend to fail when attempting to describe the sound. It “breathed,” there was “air” between the notes. The listener was transported to the very room where the musicians were playing. The expertise, musical interplay, and empathy among the players could be sensed. The rise and fall of a good arrangement could be felt. The emotions were stirred.
Layer by Layer
I say all this not in order to decry the recordings of today, as there are exceptions to this “rule,” but by and large, pop music recordings made after the 1970’s have a different feel and sound. Recording techniques evolved. Musicians could keep adding parts to the record. Arrangements were built up layer by layer. The drum machine, with its potential to sound “robotic,” often replaced (or at least crowded to the side) the drummer.
The results could sometimes be exhilarating, but many times the sound became “airless” and stifling. With the additive nature of the new recording process, the arrangements were often not worked out beforehand. The tracks were built from the drums up, and frequently the temptation to fill up all of the aural space with multi-layered guitars and synthesizers became irresistible to many bands and producers. The result was countless “over produced” songs.
Punch Me In Again
In addition, producers and musicians now possessed the ability to correct mistakes via “punching in” or, as it is often done today, “comping” (where several takes are done, and the best parts from each are “comped” together; a process that is exceedingly easy to do in computer-based recording) This tended to give many recordings a sound that seemed “too perfect.” The overuse of pitch correction software on vocals added another layer of polish, and often resulted in a less human sounding end product. (Don’t get me started on pitch correction!).
In our work at SCM, we constantly strive to produce “natural” sounding recordings (unless that’s not what the artist wants!) We try to resist the temptation to fill in every space with sound (unless we’re going for that Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” effect) and we use the modern tools at our disposal (pitch correction, digital editing, etc.) with restraint.
I’m hoping that fans of the artists we’ve recorded and produced will end up listening to the recordings years from now, and saying, “They just don’t record them like that anymore!”
Posted by leon at 02:02 PM | Comments (1)