S&D: Martin Hannet productions

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... and perhaps some favourite 'moments': here are three of mine

- the way the pattering drum riff in JD's atmosphere occasionally slips into the other speaker

- the way the highest note in the final guitar motif in JD's New Dawn Fades is recorded so that you can hear exactly the same note an octave lower and a faintly lower volume behind it

- the way Spiral Scratch sounds as if it was recorded in a bathtub on a handhled cassette recorder, and the sleeve notes spell out '1st take no overdub' etc as if existing in some anti-Tubular Bells world where retentive types salivate over under-production.

Any more for any more? Happy Mondays? Others?

― jon (jon), Wednesday, 13 November 2002 15:09 (twenty-three years ago)

happy mondays bummed DEFINITELY!!!!

also johhn cooper clarke's snap crackle & bop (especially a distant relation)...sometimes this sounds like a proto-bummed

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 13 November 2002 15:11 (twenty-three years ago)

lots but 'ufo' by esg for that guitar sound and 'decades' y jd for just holding together but doing it so beautifully.

― stirmonster, Wednesday, 13 November 2002 15:36 (twenty-three years ago)

He did the early (c. '85) Stone Roses recordings (pre-S/T, released later as the Garage Flower LP), which are decent, and sound little like the Roses on their official albums. His skeletal production works quite well on certain songs like "So Young" and "Heart of the Staves," both of which I urge you to check out, particularly the former.

― Manny Parsons (Rahul Kamath), Wednesday, 13 November 2002 17:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Movement. Closer. Jilted John (really!). World of Twist - She's a Rainbow. The Buzzcocks stuff he did is excellent and has a similar thin, filtered sound to the amazing Pauline Murray Album.

I like ACR's To Each... although many don't. I really DON'T rate 'Bummed' - I don't think it works at all. For the definitive early Mondays production go for the Barney Sumner produced 'Freaky Dancin'/'The Egg' which is miles better. Another clunker is bad drum sound on OMD's 'Electricity' which is much better on the Dindisc version.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 13 November 2002 17:23 (twenty-three years ago)

The Correct Use of Soap sounds sparse, full and bright with a great rhythm section sound. And the female backing vocals on Sweetheart Contract are amazing.

― dan (dan), Wednesday, 13 November 2002 17:38 (twenty-three years ago)

i don't really like world of twist's "she's a rainbow", although it works when you play it to a full dancefloor.
i'm for the ESG songs he produced. haunting stuff.

― joan vich (joan vich), Wednesday, 13 November 2002 17:44 (twenty-three years ago)

John Cooper Clarke - Snap Crackle [&] Bop !!!!!!!!!!!!!

― Paul (scifisoul), Wednesday, 13 November 2002 19:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Destroy: quite a few of the earlier Hannett-by-numbers production on records by the Factory also-rans like The Names, Tunnelvision, Section 25 etc. I like the sound but it was all a bit Nigel Godrich at this point..

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Wednesday, 13 November 2002 22:58 (twenty-three years ago)

"cranked up really high"!

― unknown or illegal user (doorag), Thursday, 14 November 2002 04:22 (twenty-three years ago)

What are you on about Jim? Section 25 - also rans? Sorry, but no - a tremendous band, with a different approach and sound on virtually every record. IIRC, the only Hannett production was the debut, Always Now.

It was all a bit Nigel Godrich at this point - you mean what? An identikit sound or something. If so, I think you're wrong - MH had a huge range of ideas.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 14 November 2002 07:31 (twenty-three years ago)

To be honest I was basing my opinion on one or two 7" singles by each of the bands I mentioned so it's probably a given that I was overgeneralising - Section 25 were a band that sounded very interesting to me but I was very put off by the FACBN single with the flowers on the sleeve (Je Veux Ton Amour?) - it sounded like MH had pressed the "Joy Division" button and he was done.

Certainly I don't think MH generally had an identikit sound - and maybe my perception of some of the early Factory singles sounding too samey was more the fault of the bands than MH.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 14 November 2002 22:01 (twenty-three years ago)

I'd agree that the Martin Hannett-produced Section 25 isn't very appealing (and is very Joy Division-y, but since when was that not a great thing?), but any criticism rankles due to the greatness of "From the Hip" onwards... the live album is particularly amazing.

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Friday, 15 November 2002 01:58 (twenty-three years ago)

the names were pretty good too. although hannet didn't produce their best songs.

― keith (keithmcl), Friday, 15 November 2002 03:33 (twenty-three years ago)

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