Where the production ruins an otherwise fine song

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Was listening to The First Cut, and had to skip the "God Only Knows" cover, as usual. Really muddy production, too much going on, ever heard of right and left speakers?, etc. In short: headache.

Other examples?

― babyalive (babyalive), Monday, 18 October 2004 01:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I occasionally feel this way about stuff I hear on the Adult Alternative and Americana stations. Gillian Welch's stuff to a certain extent also though the production is not a heinous crime.

Also pretty much anything good that was made in the 80s is in this category for me.

― Hurting (Hurting), Monday, 18 October 2004 01:45 (twenty-one years ago)

hmmm pretty much all of Misfits Earth AD. I don't mind cheap, lo-fi production but when it gets in the way of an album's intent it can ruin it.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 18 October 2004 02:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" would be so much better without that incessant one-note piano banging throughout. I honestly never realized how tuneful that song is until I heard Henry Kaiser's 1990 cover version.

Captain Beefheart's "Flash Gordon's Ape": Cool rock tune in the right channel, 347-or so noisy saxophone tracks in the left makes for a barely listenable travesty of a recording, even worse than anything on the much-maligned Strictly Personal, and the stupidest (mis)use of stereophonic sound since the Velvets' "The Gift".

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 18 October 2004 07:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Oasis to thread, more specificly "Some Might Say" and most of the "Definitely Maybe" album

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 18 October 2004 09:15 (twenty-one years ago)

The Replacements' entire "Tim" album.

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Monday, 18 October 2004 10:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Also, The Stone Roses' debut would have been even better had it not been for that typical 80s indie production with big drums and way too much reverb.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 18 October 2004 11:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Although it's a part of their overall sound (or was), I feel this way about The Exploding Hearts' album Guitar Romantic. Can't listen to more than a few songs.

― cdwill, Monday, 18 October 2004 19:53 (twenty-one years ago)

The drums only come through one channel in the re-recording of The Pin Group's "Ambivalence" on their 1982 EP The Pin Group Go To Town...actually, all of their songs had pretty shoddy production values (save for their Eleven Years After single, which was nicely lo-fi), but that song's the only one of theirs that unnerves me.

I also think the production on Gang of Four's otherwise wonderful "To Hell With Poverty" morphs it into something akin to a cutting but clinical arena-rock stomp. I wonder if any live versions of that song are available...I'm sure it would see an improvement in sound.

― Ian Moraine (Eastern Mantra), Monday, 18 October 2004 23:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Several great songs on The Clash's debut album to thread btw.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 18 October 2004 23:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Much of Metallica's "...And Justice For All".

― Wooden (Wooden), Monday, 18 October 2004 23:07 (twenty-one years ago)

early Black Sabbath

― billstevejim, Tuesday, 19 October 2004 02:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't actually heard Kaiser's version (I want to now) but the idea that he made a Jimi Hendrix song seem more tuneful than the original sounds hilarious. Weirdly I don't even remember any piano from that song.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 05:58 (twenty-one years ago)

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