Steve Albini - mErKeRy

Z

zhao

there are no accidents
funny I was listening to "songs about fucking" this morning on the way to work. don't ask I was in a weird mood
 
B

Buick6

too punk to drunk
didn't he have some legendary article on the 'biz' about 12 years ago, and he indiscreetly used the band Helmet as an example?

Albini's sound has dated. His biggest contribution to engineering, besides the loud-soft-loud dynamic, is the fact he saved the world from the gated 80s drum sound. But it's back bigger than ever these days!!!
 
B

Buick6

too punk to drunk
..and another thing..Didn't Mr.Albini completely DESTROY his rep as a biatchin' 'rock' engineer when he did that Plant\Page experiment? He hasn't been too chi-chi as an engineer since then !! :mad:
 
hint

hint

party record with a siren
Buick6 said:
didn't he have some legendary article on the 'biz' about 12 years ago, and he indiscreetly used the band Helmet as an example?
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The Problem With Music


Albini's sound has dated. His biggest contribution to engineering, besides the loud-soft-loud dynamic, is the fact he saved the world from the gated 80s drum sound. But it's back bigger than ever these days!!!
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This is a ridiculous thing to say.

Albini didn't invent the loud-soft-loud dynamic... it's always been there. He became popular with many of the bands who played like that in the 90s because his methods are well suited to that kind of arrangement - i.e. he puts it to tape much more effectively than many engineers.


Didn't Mr.Albini completely DESTROY his rep as a biatchin' 'rock' engineer when he did that Plant\Page experiment? He hasn't been too chi-chi as an engineer since then !
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He's done about 200 albums since then. Those albums by Low, Nina Nastasia, The Breeders, Mogwai, Don Caballero etc... you think they're badly engineered?
 
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bassnation

the abyss
hint said:
This is a ridiculous thing to say.

Albini didn't invent the loud-soft-loud dynamic... it's always been there. He became popular with many of the bands who played like that in the 90s because his methods are well suited to that kind of arrangement - i.e. he puts it to tape much more effectively than many engineers.
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agreed, i think hes a great engineer. hes one of those producers who brings their own style and art to a bands sound.

i've got wedding present "sea monsters" which he produced - fantastic album.
 
L

LRJP!

(Between Blank & Boring)
hint said:
He's done about 200 albums since then. Those albums by Low, Nina Nastasia, The Breeders, Mogwai, Don Caballero etc... you think they're badly engineered?
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<i>The Blackened Air</i> really stands up for me - An astounding record which sounds absolutely fantastic. Each instrument is placed immaculately. The Quiet parts are so hushed and gentle, the Loud tracks so abrasive and brutal. Ideal for winter listening, and essential i reckon.
 
G

Gabba Flamenco Crossover

High Sierra Skullfuck
hint said:
This is a ridiculous thing to say...
He's done about 200 albums since then. Those albums by Low, Nina Nastasia, The Breeders, Mogwai, Don Caballero etc... you think they're badly engineered?
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I dont have a lot of stuff by him but that Low album (Secret Name) is immense.
 
A

atomly

atomiq one
He's done so many amazing things. All of his work with The Jesus Lizard, his bands, The Wedding Present, Will Oldham, etc... And I just glanced at his discography. Look at some of these:

The Pixies - Surfer Rosa (1988)
The Breeders - Pod (1990)
Whitehouse - Thank Your Lucky Stars (1990)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (1992)
Helmet - Meantime (1992)
Jawbreaker - 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (1993)
PJ Harvey - Rid of Me (1993)
Low - Transmission (1996)
Guided by Voices - Under the Bushes Under the Stars (1996)
 
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Buick6

too punk to drunk
Once again y'all miss my point. Since that Page/Plant attempt he's become pretty anonymous, and his trademark 'sound' has become imminently devalued.

He's gone from 90s' auteur to 00s hack.
 
hint

hint

party record with a siren
Buick6 said:
Once again y'all miss my point. Since that Page/Plant attempt he's become pretty anonymous, and his trademark 'sound' has become imminently devalued.

He's gone from 90s' auteur to 00s hack.
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No - you're missing the point.

Have you read his comments in the thread I posted at the top?

He is the exact opposite of an "auteur".
He doesn't have a "sound".

You say he's become "pretty anonymous"... I say it's just become unfashionable to drop his name or get it credited on your album. If that's the criteria by which you judge whether or not someone has value, then I guess you really don't get it.
 
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Diggedy Derek

Stray Dog
I dont have a lot of stuff by him but that Low album (Secret Name) is immense
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Agreed, that album is quite incredible.

I admire Albini immensly, as much for his business acumen (get the bucks from Page and Plant and use it to carry on working with indie bands) as his "sound".

I think the question of whether he has a "sound" is interesting. Surely it's more or less impossible NOT to have a sound? Even if the object is to get the record to sound as much like the live band as possible, the sense of space a recording has is still an aesthetic decision isn't it. There's no objective answer to how a band sounds, is there.

I think comparing him with Rudy Van Gelder is instructive. Van Gelder's aim was to get a good balance between all the elements, so you could hear everything- but isn't the warm bass, the tinkling cymbals "his sound", more or less? What I'm saying is, he definitely added something to the music somehow.
 
hint

hint

party record with a siren
Yes, to a certain extent, there are sonic fingerprints which can be found on many of his recordings, particularly those which were recorded at his studio - Electrical. The rooms are the same, some of the microphones and techniques might be the same.

BUT the distinction here is that Albini is not a room, or a microphone. If you decide to go and record your band at Electrical, you will leave with a recording of your band playing in Electrical - this is the theory I suppose.

His rule is: pay me my hourly rate and I'll record you. So I think it's not correct to see his decision to work with Page and Plant as anything more than agreeing to do whatever he was asked to do by a paying client. I presume that he did not charge them any more than his usual rate.

What I find most interesting is the way in which he goes against the grain when it comes to the established relationship between the band and the producer / engineer. This is why I posted the link at the top, because it's something I've been thinking about a lot.

He points out that it's too often accepted that a band should be put into a studio with a producer and have their songs rearranged, the instrumentation changed etc. He's right to ask what gives producers the right to interfere like this.

Albini said:
I have seen producery behavior be destructive. I have never listened to a record and thought, "that could use a little more producing." I have witnessed greatness that required no external input. I have an innate suspicion of someone telling an artist what his art ought to be like. I have an in-built respect for the art of my clients and the clients themselves.

I don't think it is possible for me to assume that I am mistaken on all of the above, and a few hit records being made by bands with producers won't change my mind. How many flops have these producers produced-up anyway? Don't those flops prove me right? No, they don't, but they indicate that producing is not the answer. Don't play the results. Play the process.

I have no quibble with a band inviting someone into their fold as a co-operating partner. I think such instances of true collaboration are probably pretty rare, and recording folks who pretend their "How about some tambourine?" constitutes "collaboration" are mistaken.

I know many of my peers do more than that, going so far as to re-structure songs, write parts, sing and play guitar, etc. for bands that hire them. Two things strike me as ridiculous about this:

1) If he's so good at all this stuff, why doesn't he just make a record and be famous?

2) If a band is so dissatisfied with their music that they need all this stuff on it to be content, what the hell did they start with, and why did anyone think it was worth recording? "Boy, this material sure is clumsy and weak. Fantastic! Let's get into the studio right away so we can get rid of it and record something else!"
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Woebot

Woebot

Well-known member
did anyone hear the sons of the desert record he made? that was very much a personal project of his and it was totally stunning.

also i know robert plant was a big black fan from day one and for albini to engineer for him and page, well it makes total sense doesn't it? theres lots of crossover here between the zep and the noiseniks. john paul jones worked with diamanda galas and the butthole surfers after all! it's not as though working on nirvana's "in utero" was exactly a uncommercial move- much less so than deciding to help out two ageing dudes....
 
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