jude77
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So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
Hi Guys:
The other day I was listening to the radio and heard "Stay a Little Longer" by the Brothers Osborne. I couldn't help but think that song had it all: great tune, great story, great playing, great arranging, great recording and mixing. It seemed to be almost a class in how to create good recordings. So are there any other songs that you think serve as good examples of "how it should be done"?
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Beepster
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 18:03:45
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I've said it before but as far as "production values" the job Butch Vig did on Nirvana's Nevermind is one of my absolute favorites.
I seriously don't think they would have become the phenomena they were without his hands on the board.
Most of the doods around here are big into Steely Dan though. Never really paid them much mind before but the constant praise of their mixes around here is getting it in my thick noodle to go through their catalog at some point to see if I can learn something.
Haven't gotten around to it yet. Not even sure which album to start with.
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Leadfoot
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 18:19:21
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I felt that Diary Of A Madman was well written, well recorded, and well mixed by Max Norman. Edit- I meant the album, not just the song.
post edited by Leadfoot - 2015/12/29 18:34:00
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Leadfoot
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 18:20:27
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The first couple Boston albums are also standouts for me.
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bitman
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 18:39:52
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1st Boston Album
Lila McAnn's first effort especially the opening track - drums are GREAT and the guitar , Out of this world.
Mostly everything out of Nashville in the 90s was great.
I could Babylon - so I won't.
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BobF
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 18:46:28
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A single tune that comes to mind for me is "Lost For Words" from Floyd's Division Bell album. It's full range, dynamic, includes SFX ... another Floyd example being "Yet Another Movie" from A Momentary Lapse Of Reason
For a live recording it's hard to beat Harry Chapin's "30,000 Pounds of Bananas"
From further back, I think "Take A Pebble" and especially "Lucky Man" from ELP's first album are pretty outstanding examples. I've used "Lucky Man" to test speaker systems for ages.
There are tons really. I could build quite a list from my full listening history.
Bob -- Angels are crying because truth has died ...Illegitimi non carborundum --Studio One Pro / i7-6700@3.80GHZ, 32GB Win 10 Pro x64 Roland FA06, LX61+, Fishman Tripleplay, FaderPort, US-16x08 + ARC2.5/Event PS8s Waves Gold/IKM Max/Nomad Factory IS3/K11U
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emeraldsoul
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 19:19:24
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☄ Helpfulby tagruvto 2015/12/29 20:03:21
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emeraldsoul
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 19:20:38
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oh, I forgot Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" holy cow that must be on the list!
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daryl1968
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 19:49:22
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for production and ear candy, the Thomas Dolby's Aliens ate my buick album.
for mix/engineering, Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty
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yorolpal
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 20:34:46
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Gee Daryl...great minds think alike...Thomas Dolby's Aliens Ate My Buick mixed by Bill Botrell is my number one mix standard followed closely by Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly" mixed by Roger Nichols.
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daryl1968
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 20:52:26
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yorolpal
Gee Daryl...great minds think alike...Thomas Dolby's Aliens Ate My Buick mixed by Bill Botrell is my number one mix standard followed closely by Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly" mixed by Roger Nichols.
Love Nightfly Myolpal very subtle and groovy
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bitflipper
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 21:16:56
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My newest contemporary reference is Hand.Cannot.Erase. by Steven Wilson.
For acoustic music, I like New Favorite by Alison Krauss & Union Station.
For classic R&B/Soul done to modern standards, it's Soul by Seal.
For clean pop (I don't know what else to call the genre), I do like Donald Fagan's Nightfly. Also Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits.
Dark Side of the Moon remains the gold standard for classic rock. The first Heart album is another good one.
 All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. My Stuff
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sharke
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 21:24:46
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Yes anything by Steely Dan sounds sublime.
I really like the sound of Talking Heads in the early 80's, specifically Remain In Light and Speaking In Tongues (not the remasters though). Tracks like "Born Under Punches" and "This Must Be The Place" have a wonderfully crisp, open sound to them. "Stop Making Sense" is perhaps one of the most well recorded live albums in existence, I love it.
Also Joe Jackson's "Body And Soul" is a great one, full of dynamics (you have to really crank up that volume). It has the single "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)" on it, fantastic sounding track on a good system.
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sharke
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 21:29:54
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FWIW I remember reading an interview in an audiophile magazine with this guy who had the most amazing hi-fi setup in his basement. He said that he considers the greatest recordings ever made to be the BBC's orchestral stuff from the 1950's, especially the Last Night Of The Proms.
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Rimshot
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 21:31:34
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Hey guys,
YouTube links to your suggestions would be awesome. Try to pick the HD versions.
I would love to review these.
Great thread!
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Rimshot
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 21:52:04
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craigb
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 22:24:20
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In addition to a few already posted (some more than once), I'll add Steely Dan's Aja.
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
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kakku
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/29 23:27:49
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jamesg1213
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 00:19:04
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Peter Gabriel's 'Up', the track 'I Grieve' is a standout for me, in the way it builds from almost nothing. Yes, pretty much anything by Steely Dan but 'Aja' and 'Two Against Nature' are particularly sublime recordings. Trevor Horn's production on ABC's 'Lexicon of Love' and most of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's tracks. Mark Knopfler's 'Privateering' is a great sounding record too. A few years back I bought a CD called 'Monjour' by a couple of guys who used to frequent this forum, it's a stunning piece of work; http://music.anawatyrussell.com/
post edited by jamesg1213 - 2015/12/30 00:40:54
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bapu
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 00:40:57
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TBH for the firt 50 years of my life it was the (dash the production as I only listened on cheap phonographs).
Now that I'm into learning about production all of the above (that I've heard) are certainly on the list.
The one thing that I rarely do is use a ref track when mixing. Mostly I just decide my mixes are produced fair enough when I can play them in the car and then switch to SiriusXM and not hear a DRAMATIC difference; and if I do it's usually my fault (DUH!).
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Susan G
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 03:05:43
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"Thriller" -- I think the whole album was wonderfully produced and still sounds great after all these years.
"If I Could Change the World" (Clapton/Babyface) is a great-sounding recording.
-Susan
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Glyn Barnes
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 03:58:55
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I second Bitflippers nomination of Steven Wilson's Hand.Cannot.Erase. My current favourite album Essence by Panic Room shows what can be done by a small band on a budget. South Side of the Sky by Yes. New World by the Strawbs. Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. The Man in the Bowler Hat by Stackridge, one of George Martin's finest. While I am not a Michael Jackson fan Quincy Jones's production is fantastic.
post edited by Glyn Barnes - 2015/12/30 04:15:56
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patm300e
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 07:26:06
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Beepster
I've said it before but as far as "production values" the job Butch Vig did on Nirvana's Nevermind is one of my absolute favorites.
I seriously don't think they would have become the phenomena they were without his hands on the board.
Most of the doods around here are big into Steely Dan though. Never really paid them much mind before but the constant praise of their mixes around here is getting it in my thick noodle to go through their catalog at some point to see if I can learn something.
Haven't gotten around to it yet. Not even sure which album to start with.
OK, Nirvana=Sound City - Google it. Dave Grohl even did a documentary on this EPIC studio. He even bought the analogue board from it and has been using it to record ANALOGUE (GASP!). As far as Steely Dan I would start with Aja. Even if you don't like the music, you have to appreciate the mix. I do agree with Glyn on Dark Side of the Moon. Pretty much anything Alan Parsons puts out is very well done. He knows how to get a super clean sound. Back in the late 70s early 80s, Anything mastered by Bob Ludwig was really good as well. If you haven't heard of him Google him. He is a mastering legend.
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Leizer
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 07:36:00
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Beepster
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 08:07:19
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patm300e
OK, Nirvana=Sound City - Google it. Dave Grohl even did a documentary on this EPIC studio. He even bought the analogue board from it and has been using it to record ANALOGUE (GASP!).
Yup. Well... Nevermind was recorded there anyway. I saw that doc too. Also those AD2 "Fairfax" kit paks were produced there. I got Volume 1 (which is the more modern rock sound). It does indeed sound like the drums on NM if on the right preset (and tweaked a touch). Cheers.
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Moshkito
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 09:32:02
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Glyn Barnes
I second Bitflippers nomination of Steven Wilson's Hand.Cannot.Erase.
The Man in the Bowler Hat by Stackridge, one of George Martin's finest.
...
Have not heard SW's yet ... he's not on my list of things to grab yet. I miss PT a lot more than him! That album by Stackridge and the other one, Mr. Mick, but I think Mr. Mick was done by Dave Lawson of Greenslade fame. Have to recheck. I really do not find a lot of rock music that fancy or that good in terms of recording, when you can have an orchestra with 48 tracks going, instead of a rock band ... with 4 or 8 tracks ... which is way easier to do and mix together. Of all these people, the mixes that you find in Klaus Schulze, in the "Audentity" period, the album with Michael Shrieve right after, and a couple of other things, are far superior in mixing, as you have 10 to 20 things going all the time, and their ability to work together is insane, and the mixing and timing is heavenly. Honestly, I find SW's mixes rather boring and just "cleaner" rock music ... nothing new there. RCA Red Seal and a few others were doing that 50 years ago, and putting out special classical music albums cleaned up like that! Most folks just never heard it. Those albums in the late 60's would rival DSOTM any day of the week, but if no one ever heard them, you would have no idea what I am saying and think I'm the dark hole in the universe! You have to take things in a more comparative detail, and SW's is over rated crap, just like he is in person as a total egomaniac creep!
post edited by Moshkito - 2015/12/30 09:49:25
Music is not about notes and chords! My poem is not about the computer or monitor or letters! It's about how I was able to translate it from my insides!
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codamedia
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 09:51:46
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I can't disagree with most of the suggestions already here. Some I am not aware of, but only because it's not my listening preference. Some of my favorites... - Dire Straits "On Every Street" sounds great as does all of Knopflers solo work which has Chuck Ainlay at the controls.
- The first Boston Album....
- Fleetwood Mac - Rumours and Tusk.
- Steely Dan - 2 Against Nature, Everything Must Go and all others...
- More current.... Adele's latest 2 offerings (21 & 25) sound great, I wasn't fond of the production on 19 but liked the songs.
Dave Pensado (who I admire greatly) has a saying that I completely disagree with.... "it's better to sound current than to sound good". That's why I don't like a lot of the modern production - it's sounds terrible to me. "Sounding current" is all about making money and a few years down the road it quite often sounds dated..... while stuff that "sounds good" seems to stand up over a much longer period of time. Of course.... just my opinion 
post edited by codamedia - 2015/12/30 10:05:57
Don't fix it in the mix ... Fix it in the take!
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Hatstand
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 10:35:29
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+1 for Thomas Dolby and to add some variation, Talk Talk -Happiness is Easy as a good reference warm up.
Sister of Mercy by the Thomson Twins but also anything worked on by the late Alex Sadkin
and an off beat favourite album of mine, Mars needs Guitars by the Hoodoo Gurus, a must if you need a jangly guitar reference sound
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bitflipper
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 11:07:06
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Nice tip on the Hoodoo Gurus, Hatstand. The two-chord songs didn't exactly grab me, but the production is quite good. Great example of early-80's restraint, just before things got weird with over-production and overblown effects. Sadly, more of a source of inspiration than a useful contemporary reference, though. Reminds me of this band. Not a great production/mixing reference perhaps, but a favorite nonetheless. AFAIK it was recorded live in studio.
All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. My Stuff
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Mesh
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Re: So what are some songs that you think are well produced and recorded?
2015/12/30 11:52:30
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