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Overproduced albums: C/D?

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stuff that been's processed the fuck out of. does it rule? I say nay! what say you, and name some albums!

the obvious pick for most overproduced album: OK Computer!
also: all spiritualized albums, particularly the last two

― King Kobra (King Kobra), Thursday, 17 July 2003 17:39 (twenty-three years ago)

There's no such thing as overproduction in my book. Technology once created must be used!

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 17 July 2003 17:45 (twenty-three years ago)

You may want to search for Echo & the Bunnymen's fifth album (sans title, somtimes referred to as 'the Grey Album'), as it may be an ordinary eighties album due to the overproduction but it still is the best of all the ordinary eighties albums!

You may also want to check out Blur's The Great Escape, as it has a couple of superb tracks on it.

However, both of the above examples are their artists' weakest releases.

― Tijn, Thursday, 17 July 2003 17:47 (twenty-three years ago)

i'm with t.t. i'm usually suspicious of this characterization. some things are poorly produced.

i guess one tentative example would be bob dylan's "time out of mind" but i'm in the minority there.

i think there are plenty of examples of albums which are a little over-ARRANGED i.e. the new pornographers.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 17 July 2003 17:55 (twenty-three years ago)

but i mean where does arranging begin and production end?

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 17 July 2003 17:56 (twenty-three years ago)

Can only be Suede - head music. Most horribly overproduced album evah!

― Robyn, Thursday, 17 July 2003 17:57 (twenty-three years ago)

is overproduction the mark of our time?

let's talk about over-production/polished production

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 17 July 2003 18:00 (twenty-three years ago)

One album that is produced/mixed/mastered with excruciating thoroughness for fabulous amazing results = Cornelius' Point, which is resolutely CLASSIC.

Meanwhile, in "nu-metal"...

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 17 July 2003 18:15 (twenty-three years ago)

good overproduction: Mitchell Froom's work on American Music Club's Mercury.

bad overproduction: Joe Chicarelli and a mess of other hollywood studio fucks "work" on American Music Club's San Francisco.

― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Thursday, 17 July 2003 18:19 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't like the stuff Ted Nicely had produced. It's heavily compressed, ultra-shiny, and sounds like shit!

― King Kobra (King Kobra), Thursday, 17 July 2003 18:36 (twenty-three years ago)

badly produced /= overproduced

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 17 July 2003 19:21 (twenty-three years ago)

''There's no such thing as overproduction in my book. Technology once created must be used!''

this is madness. what abt over-use of it.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 17 July 2003 19:23 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, I don't think you can say, as a rule, that they're classic OR dud. But I'll say, to echo some of the earlier threads on this, that Trevor Horn's best overproductions are genius. Propaganda and Grace Jones, in particular.

Also, here's to Jellyfish for the glorious overproduction that is Spilt Milk -- never has a record sounded so much like Queen and still shown impeccably good taste.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 17 July 2003 19:54 (twenty-three years ago)

Anything that is not Jandek is overproduced

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Thursday, 17 July 2003 19:59 (twenty-three years ago)

those Johnny Cash songs from the late 70's/early 80's, where you can hear what sounds like a chorus/flange pedal.

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Thursday, 17 July 2003 20:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Anything with that trademarked Godrich vaccuum-packing.

― Neil Willett (Neil Willett), Thursday, 17 July 2003 20:46 (twenty-three years ago)

seal: kiss from a rose. überproduced but - the phatness
tears for fears: the seeds of love - overproduced too, but the wackness

― Jay K (Jay K), Thursday, 17 July 2003 20:46 (twenty-three years ago)

does overproduced just mean a production that has a redundant or distracting "extra" element. if so the jordainaires on certain elvis tracks certainly qualify.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 17 July 2003 20:49 (twenty-three years ago)

yeah, the problem with the term overproduction is that it CAN'T be good. If something is heavily produced but works, it's not overproduced, it's just right. I would never consider "Kiss From A Rose" overproduced (and I TOTALLY would consider "Seeds Of Love" over produced).

Grandiosity is classic, though. Definitely.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 17 July 2003 21:04 (twenty-three years ago)

"the problem with the term overproduction is that it CAN'T be good. If something is heavily produced but works, it's not overproduced, it's just right."

anthony has taken the words right out of my mouth here. i like a slick production on some artists - but therefore this music isn't "overly produced" - it just maximises studio trickery/polish in a way that benefits the artist. craig david was the example i used on the thread linked above - something like "7 days" has to be as smooth as possible.

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Thursday, 17 July 2003 21:52 (twenty-three years ago)

Can't overproduced also mean the imposition of the producer's tastes/style/personality to the point where they overwhelm the natural strengths of the artist? In that sense, "overproduced" doesn't necessarily equal slick, just mismatched. Steve Albini comes to mind.

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Thursday, 17 July 2003 22:37 (twenty-three years ago)

Carved in Sand by the Mission.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 17 July 2003 22:38 (twenty-three years ago)

anthony kyle monday is SO OTM about AMC.

― derrick (derrick), Thursday, 17 July 2003 22:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh yeah man, REAL, AUTHENTIC music is lo-fi. No, hardkore lo-fi. In fact, the less you can hear, the better and more fuckin real it is. Shit, I once bought a casette tape with 90 minutes of barely audible clicks and pops, and I just sat back and basked in the utter REALness of it.

― David Allen, Thursday, 17 July 2003 22:57 (twenty-three years ago)

yeah that dreadful microphone-positioning personality is all over Steve Albini's recordings.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 17 July 2003 23:04 (twenty-three years ago)

i mean, OH MY GOD NATURAL SOUNDING DRUMS!! it's all gone horribly Albini!! whatever shall we do? someone call Nigel!

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 17 July 2003 23:05 (twenty-three years ago)

I was thinking Rid of Me, which I like plenty but I'd like more sans Albini.

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Thursday, 17 July 2003 23:50 (twenty-three years ago)

How about Hysteria by Def Leppard....Mutt really fucking goes ballistic on that one.

― Matt Helgeson (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 17 July 2003 23:54 (twenty-three years ago)

"The Present Lover"--Luomo. Sometimes success giving the opportunity for a producer access to "better" equipment yields failure.

― direct_program, Friday, 18 July 2003 01:58 (twenty-three years ago)

Robin Guthrie to Thread

― brg30 (brg30), Friday, 18 July 2003 02:25 (twenty-three years ago)

Robin Guthrie to hell

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Friday, 18 July 2003 02:25 (twenty-three years ago)

Dont make me come over there and whoop your ass with a copy of Victorialand.

― Mike Taylor (mjt), Friday, 18 July 2003 04:07 (twenty-three years ago)

not so much the CT records as his *other* production jobs (waves Lush album about)

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Friday, 18 July 2003 04:34 (twenty-three years ago)

Disagree with you on 'The Present Lover' thing dp. 'sides I don't think that Mr. Delay necessarily obtained 'better' equipment, he just used different techniques. In fact, house and probably most electronica is entirely overproduced by definition.

― damian_nz (damian_nz), Friday, 18 July 2003 05:11 (twenty-three years ago)


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