American Band movie--a question about it

[Andrew G. Doe]

I can only think of two possible solutions to the dilemma:

(1) Before leaving Columbia, Brian mixed the 8-tracks down to some kind of 4-track submasters, then had Chuck do the final mixes from those at Western. However, I've never heard anybody who's dealt with BB master tapes indicate that such submasters existed.

(2) The accepted story of Chuck Britz doing all the final mixes for Brian during that era is simply wrong. And for at least two of the group's most important albums, Summer Days and Pet Sounds, Brian had some unheralded staff engineer at Columbia doing many of the final mixdowns. Could we really have gotten the facts so wrong all these years?

Considering all the other stuff we've all accepted as gospel down the years - the 1962 midwest tour, Alan leaving to go to dental college, "SJB" included at Capitol's insistence - that turned out not to be so... yes, easily !

[Andrew G. Doe]

One more observation: If you watch American Band there is maybe 10-15 seconds of footage which this clip we're discussing does not have.

Among them:

Two shots of Mike pretending to smoke and dancing, wearing the same firehat as everyone else, and it looks like Western's backdrop.

One shot of Carl sitting in front of the Scully rack units that looks like it came from a lower-quality 8mm film.

A final shot of the studio door being closed on Brian, as he's standing behind the board in the control room still wearing the firehat.

I wasn't able to find any new details in those clips, but it's odd that this version of that film which I thought was the most complete and clear I had ever seen is actually missing a few pretty cool shots. For whatever reason.

Hence my comment about it not being a mix session as two other band members are there. Or... those shots are edited into the main footage... 

To sum up...

It's at Western 3 - fact.

Therefore it's not a "Fire" session - fact.

There's a Scully 280B 8-track that just shouldn't be there - inconvenient fact.

[guitarfool2002]

I've often wondered whether they might have had it on premises as early as April. Where were the Pet Sounds songs recorded on 8-track at Columbia mixed down and by whom? I wouldn't think they'd have been done at Columbia, as reportedly Brian got in trouble for touching the board there and I doubt he'd have trusted the mixdowns to an engineer he hadn't known and worked with for some time. And Columbia being such a strict shop, I don't think he could have brought Chuck over from Western to do the mixdowns. So where were they done and by whom? If at Western, they had to have had an 8-track at that time.

Very interesting, I'd like to break this down even further.

1. Start with the assumed fact at the end of the process: Chuck Britz and Brian mixed Pet Sounds at Western.

2. According to Mark Linett, at the time of Pet Sounds, Columbia had the only 8-track machine in town.

3. Let's assume Brian would take his four-track reel containing the instrumental tracks from Western or Gold Star over to Columbia, they'd transfer the instrumental mixdown to one track on Columbia's eight track, and Brian would add his vocals and vocal overdubs on the open tracks.

So we have a 8-track tape now in Brian's possession from Columbia, with instrumentals and vocals. Even taking into account any bouncing of tracks and sub-mixes and all of it, the question becomes:

Exactly what tapes were Brian and Chuck Britz working with when they mixed Pet Sounds at Western? If, according to Mark, Columbia had the only 8 track in town, how would Brian do as much as a playback at Western if there was no machine there to do it?

This is before Wally Heider had his for-hire 8-track machine being demoed in use at those Sinatra sessions in fall 1966, and as Beach Head suggested in his post, something is missing from this story. How did they play an 8 track reel of tape if they were not mixing at the only studio which had an 8 track machine?

There is a simple answer for this, I know, but I'm just not getting it...

Sometimes the simplest, most obvious explanation is the answer - they mixed at Columbia, not Western. Is there any hard evidence they mixed Pet Sounds at Western ?

After reading and re-reading articles like Mark Linett's mixing notes for the Pet Sounds box, as well as the Mix magazine article when he mixed it in 5.1 and others, I'm not much closer to an answer    ...other than to say it seems Chuck Britz mixed the instrumental tracks he recorded at Western down to a single mono track, in effect bouncing three tracks into one, so Brian could then add the vocals to that one mono backing track which he would put on an 8-track at Columbia. That's been reported so many times, though, it's not really new info. With Good Vibrations they apparently did multiple versions of this, many times over, where they recorded, then bounced the tracks onto one mono track, copied *that* track onto another 4-track tape, and kept repeating the process to layer new tracks. Just like Les Paul in the 40's and 50's, bizarre, quirky, unorthodox, but damn the results were amazing!

The only references I can find of Chuck "mixing" Pet Sounds were for a stereo release in another country, four songs mixed in primitive stereo. Brian mentions him time and time again, actually so does Mark Linett, but given the scenario of the 4 and 8 track reels I think crediting Chuck Britz with mixing Pet Sounds is only partially true...if all he mixed were the instrumental backing tracks.

So an anonymous, uncredited engineer at Columbia actually did the final mixes of Pet Sounds, is that what we're suggesting? Unless someone can clarify the role Chuck Britz actually played? That would be quite a blockbuster as well...

[guitarfool2002]

One more observation: If you watch American Band there is maybe 10-15 seconds of footage which this clip we're discussing does not have.

Among them:

Two shots of Mike pretending to smoke and dancing, wearing the same firehat as everyone else, and it looks like Western's backdrop.

One shot of Carl sitting in front of the Scully rack units that looks like it came from a lower-quality 8mm film.

A final shot of the studio door being closed on Brian, as he's standing behind the board in the control room still wearing the firehat.

I wasn't able to find any new details in those clips, but it's odd that this version of that film which I thought was the most complete and clear I had ever seen is actually missing a few pretty cool shots. For whatever reason.

Hence my comment about it not being a mix session as two other band members are there. Or... those shots are edited into the main footage... 

To sum up...

It's at Western 3 - fact.

Therefore it's not a "Fire" session - fact.

There's a Scully 280B 8-track that just shouldn't be there - inconvenient fact.

Very inconvenient!   

The shot of Brian at the studio door at the end in AB is a shot I never noticed, in many repeated viewings of American Band (specifically that clip). I'm still surprised the footage of Mike isn't in the longer clip we've been watching...it clearly looks like the same day or session.

Andrew, you or someone mentioned the firehats in the Good Vibrations film clip: Offhand I don't know the date, but were there any sessions at Western held the same week as that clip was filmed? The firehats appear to be exactly the same. Of course those same firehats pop up several times, so maybe Brian just had a supply of them which he'd whip out on a whim for people to wear.

[Mikie]

I thought Marilyn or Diane (probably Diane) bought those fire hats for the musicians to wear during the Fire session(s). Was that the first time they appeared, and then in the studio pictures you noted above and subsequently in the the video clips (shown in American Band)?

[guitarfool2002]

I thought Marilyn or Diane (probably Diane) bought those fire hats for the musicians to wear during the Fire session(s). Was that the first time they appeared, and then in the studio pictures you noted above and subsequently in the the video clips (shown in American Band)?

The Fire session was at Gold Star November 28, 1966 and in the session photos both Brian and Jim Gordon are shown wearing them. Jules Siegel describes this session in full detail in his article, even including the kind of shirt Brian was wearing which he later took off as shown in the photos. Jules says Brian sent Steve Korthof to the car to get the rest of the firehats for the musicians to wear at some point during that session.

So the implication there is that the firehats may have already been available for something else?

These same fire hats are seen in the Good Vibrations promo film. That was filmed October 23 1966 (according to Badman's timeline) before the Beach Boys went on their European tour and the day they got back from the shows in Michigan where the song was premiered live. So those hats were around October 23.

The interesting item I saw in Badman's book was a mention of another Good Vibrations "promo" showing the band rehearsing at Western, which was shown on French TV in Feb 1967 again according to Badman's timeline. Could this be the edit of the clip we're watching?

So the group had the firehats in October 1966, wore them for what *could* be two promo films for Good Vibrations (the firehouse film is confirmed), then Brian had them again for the Fire session November 28 (confirmed in photos and Jules' article).

The part that doesn't fit is that 8-track machine in the film.

[Ed Roach]

One more observation: If you watch American Band there is maybe 10-15 seconds of footage which this clip we're discussing does not have.

Among them:

Two shots of Mike pretending to smoke and dancing, wearing the same firehat as everyone else, and it looks like Western's backdrop.

One shot of Carl sitting in front of the Scully rack units that looks like it came from a lower-quality 8mm film.

A final shot of the studio door being closed on Brian, as he's standing behind the board in the control room still wearing the firehat.

I wasn't able to find any new details in those clips, but it's odd that this version of that film which I thought was the most complete and clear I had ever seen is actually missing a few pretty cool shots. For whatever reason.

The footage that is being discussed here is a complete 100' roll of 16mm.  That 15 seconds you're mentioning is from a separate 100' roll that was found during the making of American Band.

[guitarfool2002]

One more observation: If you watch American Band there is maybe 10-15 seconds of footage which this clip we're discussing does not have.

Among them:

Two shots of Mike pretending to smoke and dancing, wearing the same firehat as everyone else, and it looks like Western's backdrop.

One shot of Carl sitting in front of the Scully rack units that looks like it came from a lower-quality 8mm film.

A final shot of the studio door being closed on Brian, as he's standing behind the board in the control room still wearing the firehat.

I wasn't able to find any new details in those clips, but it's odd that this version of that film which I thought was the most complete and clear I had ever seen is actually missing a few pretty cool shots. For whatever reason.

The footage that is being discussed here is a complete 100' roll of 16mm.  That 15 seconds you're mentioning is from a separate 100' roll that was found during the making of American Band.

Thank you for the information! Were those rolls of film dated or cataloged in any way, or can you say what else may be on the other 100' roll that was found? A few additional clips that turned up in documentaries after AB were the shots of Dennis on a firetruck, and the band blowing into Coke bottles outside the firehouse from the GV promo shoot...could these be on that separate roll?

[Andrew G. Doe]

One more observation: If you watch American Band there is maybe 10-15 seconds of footage which this clip we're discussing does not have.

Among them:

Two shots of Mike pretending to smoke and dancing, wearing the same firehat as everyone else, and it looks like Western's backdrop.

One shot of Carl sitting in front of the Scully rack units that looks like it came from a lower-quality 8mm film.

A final shot of the studio door being closed on Brian, as he's standing behind the board in the control room still wearing the firehat.

I wasn't able to find any new details in those clips, but it's odd that this version of that film which I thought was the most complete and clear I had ever seen is actually missing a few pretty cool shots. For whatever reason.

Hence my comment about it not being a mix session as two other band members are there. Or... those shots are edited into the main footage... 

To sum up...

It's at Western 3 - fact.

Therefore it's not a "Fire" session - fact.

There's a Scully 280B 8-track that just shouldn't be there - inconvenient fact.

Very inconvenient!   

The shot of Brian at the studio door at the end in AB is a shot I never noticed, in many repeated viewings of American Band (specifically that clip). I'm still surprised the footage of Mike isn't in the longer clip we've been watching...it clearly looks like the same day or session.

Andrew, you or someone mentioned the firehats in the Good Vibrations film clip: Offhand I don't know the date, but were there any sessions at Western held the same week as that clip was filmed? The firehats appear to be exactly the same. Of course those same firehats pop up several times, so maybe Brian just had a supply of them which he'd whip out on a whim for people to wear.

"GV" promo was filmed 10/23/66, in between coming back from the two Michigan shows (21 & 22) and flying to Europe on the 24th !. Sessions for October 1966 are (Western highlighted):

  3 - Smile session: Home On The Range (= Cabin Essence) [Gold Star]
  4 - Smile session: Prayer [Columbia]
  5 - Smile session: Wind Chimes
  6 - Smile session: Wonderful [vocals - Columbia] [BW]
  7 - Smile session: Child Is Father To The Man
10 - Smile session: Wind Chimes [vocals - Columbia]
11 - Smile session: Home On The Range (= Cabin Essence)
11 - Smile session: Home On The Range (= Cabin Essence) [vocals - Columbia]
12 - Smile session: Child Is Father To The Man [vocals - Columbia]
13 - Smile session: I Ran vocals (= Look)  [vocals - Columbia]
17 - Smile session: I'm In Great Shape (= Heroes And Villains) [vocals - Columbia]
18 - Smile session: Do You Like Worms ?
18 - Smile session: 'Brian's Smile party' [Columbia]
20 - Smile session: Heroes And Villains/'Barnyard'

[Andrew G. Doe]

I thought Marilyn or Diane (probably Diane) bought those fire hats for the musicians to wear during the Fire session(s). Was that the first time they appeared, and then in the studio pictures you noted above and subsequently in the the video clips (shown in American Band)?

Exact same fire hats are in the "GV" promo video, dated 10/23/66.

[Ian]

Sorry-but the BBs didn't fly back to California after Michigan.  They went on to NY and from there to Paris.. Badman's dating of the promo film is incorrect (not October 23)

[guitarfool2002]

Sorry-but the BBs didn't fly back to California after Michigan.  They went on to NY and from there to Paris.. Badman's dating of the promo film is incorrect (not October 23)

Just when things started lining up...

When was that film shot at the firehouse?

[guitarfool2002]

Here are a few stills of the GV promo film shoot outtakes...note the firehats. If we can date this, it's a start. As mentioned before, the date would surely be prior to October 24 1966 because the band was on tour after that, and they mentioned the GV film in interviews while in Europe. Then the firehats appear again November 28, 1966 at the "Fire" session at Gold Star.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Sorry-but the BBs didn't fly back to California after Michigan.  They went on to NY and from there to Paris.. Badman's dating of the promo film is incorrect (not October 23)

There's a words for that... ah yes - BUGGER !

OK... BB on tour (US/Europe/US) from 10/21 - 11/24. "GV" charted in the UK 11/5, at #15, hit #1 on 11/19 for two weeks (significance is, TOTP didn't play songs on the way down), so it had to have been shot before 10/21, as everyone's in it. Some time before 10/21. Consider... you've got a single readied for released 2nd week of October and the touring unit will be unable to push it for a month or so shortly after that. Makes sense to shoot a promo film before then.

[punkinhead]

Off subject of the concerned section, I was wondering about the "other version" of the American Band film; is there a cut out there that's trimmed down in time because it takes out the Smile section? I haven't seen it before...Does it just go from Good Vibrations to Brian being depressed? Pretty lame to make a version without a little psychedelicacy.  The anti-drug message makes for a great 80s-after-school-special theme.

[DonnyL]

The answer to where PET SOUNDS was mixed may lie in careful listening to the original vinyl releases.  Any listening tests do not apply to most of the common CD reissues, and even to some of the vinyl releases, especially LP reissues pressed since 1988, which used the same digital masters as the CDs.

Please reference this thread:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-171692.html

The fades on some of the tracks on SUMMER DAYS and PET SOUNDS have the “2 db step” Mr. Hoffman noted in the thread above.  However, he could be mistaken with regard to this being a characteristic of the console at Western – it might have actually been a characteristic of the board at Columbia.  Perhaps the tracks recorded at Western were mixed at Western and tracks where the final multi-track master ended up on 8-track at Columbia, were mixed at Columbia.  This makes sense with regard to some additional recording being done on the multi-tracks AFTER the final mixdown; i.e., the mix was not accomplished in one session or even within a specific time frame set aside for mixing, but was done at various stages in the recording process.  Or perhaps all or most of PET SOUNDS was mixed at Columbia.  “Good Vibrations” was mixed at Columbia, according to Brian himself in the quote in the SMILEY SMILE/WILD HONEY 2-fer.

I listened to some vinyl i have, a few different versions, and found some tracks that have the "2 db step":

1 - Amusement Parks USA
2 - Salt Lake City
3 - California Girls
4 - Let Him Run Wild
5 - You're So Good to Me
6 - God Only Knows
7 - Here Today
8 - Good Vibrations

I researched it a bit, and it looks like some of the tracks above are not Columbia 8-track sessions?  but this does not rule out that they could have been mixed there.  In any case, you don't hear this "2 db step" on tracks from TODAY and before ... so i think that says something.

In any case, keep in mind that in the ‘60s, “mixing” wasn’t thought of how it is today.  It was more the final step in an ongoing recording process.  Any way that you look at it, Chuck Britz did a lot of the actual mixing on Pet Sounds because he (along with Brian of course) was in charge of the live balance into the 3 or 4-track deck.

[Mooger Fooger]

Off subject of the concerned section, I was wondering about the "other version" of the American Band film; is there a cut out there that's trimmed down in time because it takes out the Smile section? I haven't seen it before...Does it just go from Good Vibrations to Brian being depressed? Pretty lame to make a version without a little psychedelicacy.  The anti-drug message makes for a great 80s-after-school-special theme.

When the video was premiered in Australia (at the now defunct Roxy Cinema Parramatta) it was indeed sans the whole Smile bit. It jumped from GV to Do It Again much to the chagrin of many-a-BB fan.

[Andrew G. Doe]

The answer to where PET SOUNDS was mixed may lie in careful listening to the original vinyl releases.  Any listening tests do not apply to most of the common CD reissues, and even to some of the vinyl releases, especially LP reissues pressed since 1988, which used the same digital masters as the CDs.

Please reference this thread:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-171692.html

The fades on some of the tracks on SUMMER DAYS and PET SOUNDS have the “2 db step” Mr. Hoffman noted in the thread above.  However, he could be mistaken with regard to this being a characteristic of the console at Western – it might have actually been a characteristic of the board at Columbia.  Perhaps the tracks recorded at Western were mixed at Western and tracks where the final multi-track master ended up on 8-track at Columbia, were mixed at Columbia.  This makes sense with regard to some additional recording being done on the multi-tracks AFTER the final mixdown; i.e., the mix was not accomplished in one session or even within a specific time frame set aside for mixing, but was done at various stages in the recording process.  Or perhaps all or most of PET SOUNDS was mixed at Columbia.  “Good Vibrations” was mixed at Columbia, according to Brian himself in the quote in the SMILEY SMILE/WILD HONEY 2-fer.

I listened to some vinyl i have, a few different versions, and found some tracks that have the "2 db step":

1 - Amusement Parks USA
2 - Salt Lake City
3 - California Girls
4 - Let Him Run Wild
5 - You're So Good to Me
6 - God Only Knows
7 - Here Today
8 - Good Vibrations

I researched it a bit, and it looks like some of the tracks above are not Columbia 8-track sessions?  but this does not rule out that they could have been mixed there.  In any case, you don't hear this "2 db step" on tracks from TODAY and before ... so i think that says something.

In any case, keep in mind that in the ‘60s, “mixing” wasn’t thought of how it is today.  It was more the final step in an ongoing recording process.  Any way that you look at it, Chuck Britz did a lot of the actual mixing on Pet Sounds because he (along with Brian of course) was in charge of the live balance into the 3 or 4-track deck.

First documented Columbia session was May 24th 1965 (for a bunch of vocals on Summer Days..., although that's a little bit questionable, but on June 1st Brian cut "Summer Means New Love" there, which date is rock solid). Basically in 1965, there's no question that the only 8-track in town was at Columbia, so anything cut on 8-track had to be mixed there. I think the logical thing would be to sub-mix at Western to mono then copy that to the Columbia machine.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Off subject of the concerned section, I was wondering about the "other version" of the American Band film; is there a cut out there that's trimmed down in time because it takes out the Smile section? I haven't seen it before...Does it just go from Good Vibrations to Brian being depressed? Pretty lame to make a version without a little psychedelicacy.  The anti-drug message makes for a great 80s-after-school-special theme.

The version I saw in March 1985 at Malcolm Leo's office was slightly different to the commercial release (some of the background music was different, slight editing differences), and it was further cut in the 90s to make it basically a collection of songs.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

First documented Columbia session was May 24th 1965 (for a bunch of vocals on Summer Days..., although that's a little bit questionable, but on June 1st Brian cut "Summer Means New Love" there, which date is rock solid). Basically in 1965, there's no question that the only 8-track in town was at Columbia, so anything cut on 8-track had to be mixed there. I think the logical thing would be to sub-mix at Western to mono then copy that to the Columbia machine.

One wouldn't even have so sub-mix at Western, though certainly that could have happened.  If they cared at all about degrading the sound, it would make more sense to take the 4-track tape from a Western session and do the mix right to the 8-track.

[onkster]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned...

We see Van Dyke in the film. Yet Van Dyke adamantly denies ever having been at a Fire session--he notices in '03 that the Fire track sounds totally unfamiliar to him until he recalls that he wasn't there.

Unless, of course, he has misremembered.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned...

We see Van Dyke in the film. Yet Van Dyke adamantly denies ever having been at a Fire session--he notices in '03 that the Fire track sounds totally unfamiliar to him until he recalls that he wasn't there.

Unless, of course, he has misremembered.

It's not a "Fire" session: that was the assumption of the film makers. They correctly state in the caption that the "Fire" session was at Gold Star. The minor snag is, that's Western.  

More to the point, Jules Siegel's excellent description of both session and music makes no mention of any band member except Brian being there.

[guitarfool2002]

First documented Columbia session was May 24th 1965 (for a bunch of vocals on Summer Days..., although that's a little bit questionable, but on June 1st Brian cut "Summer Means New Love" there, which date is rock solid). Basically in 1965, there's no question that the only 8-track in town was at Columbia, so anything cut on 8-track had to be mixed there. I think the logical thing would be to sub-mix at Western to mono then copy that to the Columbia machine.

One wouldn't even have so sub-mix at Western, though certainly that could have happened.  If they cared at all about degrading the sound, it would make more sense to take the 4-track tape from a Western session and do the mix right to the 8-track.

I know I've mentioned it before in this post, but I wanted to point out that degradation of sound quality doesn't seem to have been an issue with Brian in 1966! He did sub-mix after sub-mix, bounce after bounce, on Good Vibrations where he was constantly freeing up tracks. Every time he did that, the sound quality naturally would drop, but wasn't he into the whole "saturate the tape with sound" ethic at this time? Listening to Good Vibrations, and knowing what went into it and just how many bounces and whatnot were done in the process, it actually becomes more amazing every time you hear it...the fact that the little details are as audible as they are.

I think Les Paul and Brian were related in the way they approached recording. It was primitive, it was on the fly, it was totally unlike what their peers were doing, yet the results could be stunning. And it seemed like they eventually found a way to get what they wanted to hear on tape, and they sent everyone else scrambling to figure out what they were doing to get those sounds.

Re: Mixing...Vosse in the Fusion piece specifically mentioned Chuck Britz, and how Brian liked to work with him because Chuck let him work the board at Western. Is the implication being made that other engineers (Larry Levine, Columbia, etc) did *not* allow Brian to work the controls? It's odd that Vosse singled out Chuck for that one reason.

[Andrew G. Doe]

First documented Columbia session was May 24th 1965 (for a bunch of vocals on Summer Days..., although that's a little bit questionable, but on June 1st Brian cut "Summer Means New Love" there, which date is rock solid). Basically in 1965, there's no question that the only 8-track in town was at Columbia, so anything cut on 8-track had to be mixed there. I think the logical thing would be to sub-mix at Western to mono then copy that to the Columbia machine.

One wouldn't even have so sub-mix at Western, though certainly that could have happened.  If they cared at all about degrading the sound, it would make more sense to take the 4-track tape from a Western session and do the mix right to the 8-track.

I know I've mentioned it before in this post, but I wanted to point out that degradation of sound quality doesn't seem to have been an issue with Brian in 1966! He did sub-mix after sub-mix, bounce after bounce, on Good Vibrations where he was constantly freeing up tracks. Every time he did that, the sound quality naturally would drop, but wasn't he into the whole "saturate the tape with sound" ethic at this time? Listening to Good Vibrations, and knowing what went into it and just how many bounces and whatnot were done in the process, it actually becomes more amazing every time you hear it...the fact that the little details are as audible as they are.

I think Les Paul and Brian were related in the way they approached recording. It was primitive, it was on the fly, it was totally unlike what their peers were doing, yet the results could be stunning. And it seemed like they eventually found a way to get what they wanted to hear on tape, and they sent everyone else scrambling to figure out what they were doing to get those sounds.

Re: Mixing...Vosse in the Fusion piece specifically mentioned Chuck Britz, and how Brian liked to work with him because Chuck let him work the board at Western. Is the implication being made that other engineers (Larry Levine, Columbia, etc) did *not* allow Brian to work the controls? It's odd that Vosse singled out Chuck for that one reason.

I think Vosse is a questionable source, given that he stated "Cabin Essence" was completely re-recorded simply because he thought it was stereo. We know that Gold Star let Brian work the board (Siegel piece again) and, speaking personally, I have grave doubts that Columbia enforced their hands-off-unless-you're-staff policy, for the reasons already advanced. Also, as per SWD, Vosse wasn't (AFAIK) around for anything pre-Smile.

[onkster]

I think the track to suffer the most from the sound quality degradation was definitely Heroes And Villains.

There were so many layers of so many amazing things there, I think it was simply impossible to do a decent mix where you could hear everything clearly at once, given the technology at the time.

Nowadays, though... you'd think it would be possible...