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Author Topic: New album info (as it rolls out...)  (Read 1055722 times)
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« Reply #2400 on: May 14, 2012, 07:56:26 PM »

i don't understand why people still complain about them being processed, we've heard the single, not to mention 25 years of processed brian
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« Reply #2401 on: May 14, 2012, 07:58:44 PM »

The first song is OK, but I really don't like the production on these tracks at all. It's just way too slick... like we're hearing from cartoon versions of the Beach Boys rather than the real people. I'll certainly buy the album and give it a fair listen, but this sounds to me like it will date the same way Beach Boys 85 did.

Well, really, what was expected?  The guys singing around a campfire recorded on an 8-track? Some people really set themselves up for disapointment, I guess.

Thank you. There is no way you're going to get an album produced by a 23-year-old Brian Wilson. We already have one of those anyway. You're going to get an album with a co-writer and a co-producer, and with autotune and slick production. And you know what? It's all right.

I wasn't expecting that, but again, it's either that or slick autotune? No other options? Am I missing a logical leap here?
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« Reply #2402 on: May 14, 2012, 08:03:05 PM »

i think people should listen to more modern music before they say these songs have modern "slickness"

I do, and it doesn't have to sound like this. I think the Smile skit came true, except in this case the Beach Boys fell in the synthesizer. They're singing to me through this film of bits and bytes, and they can't get out!!!
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« Reply #2403 on: May 14, 2012, 08:09:48 PM »

Agayn, why so much hyperbole? That Lucky Old Sun didn't sound too bad (albeit not without a few faults), and the Gershwin album was a bit better, at that. Middle ground. There aren't only two production styles and sounds, it's not a matter of the songs sounding exactly like "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" versus "Tik Tok" by Kesha.

I get what you're saying, completely. Apparently it's easier to criticize the criticizers as old fashioned rather than admit that different production decisions could have been made regarding this album, with it still sounding like a 2012 product.
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Wirestone
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« Reply #2404 on: May 14, 2012, 08:14:24 PM »

People just want to have something to complain about. Because this wouldn't be a fan board if people here didn't hate Brian and the rest of the band with the white-hot hatred that only true fans can feel.

Some 14 years ago, everyone freaked out about the pitch correction on "Imagination."

When BWPS came out, people complained about the synthesized keyboard sound and that Brian was doubled too many times and tuned.

When TLOS came out, people said it was too slick. They preferred the demos. There were too many lyrics from Scott.

When the Gershwin album came out, people vociferously criticized the autotune on "The Like in I Love You."

Several posters complained about ITKOD sounding "like Imagination." Too slick.

And on every single one of these releases, and more, posters have complained about it "not sounding like Brian," that the songs were written by other people, etc., etc., etc.

So pardon me for not taking any of this particularly seriously. It's going to be a slick record, and the participation of Joe Thomas made that a likelihood from the beginning. And even if it did sound like TLOS, a lot of the same people would be bitching for the same reasons.

In principle, yes, "a middle ground" is great. But the last decade of BW releases has proved there is no such thing. He will be excoriated for whatever he does, whoever he collaborates with, whatever he releases. It all falls short for someone somewhere. We can all imagine better productions, better people for him to collaborate with, better lyrics, better mixing, better mastering.

So, yeah. The album is made, and this is what it sounds like, for better or worse.
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mammy blue
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« Reply #2405 on: May 14, 2012, 08:19:41 PM »

People just want to have something to complain about.

Some 14 years ago, everyone freaked out about the pitch correction on "Imagination."

When BWPS came out, people complained about the synthesized keyboard sound and that Brian was doubled too many times and tuned.

When TLOS came out, people said it was too slick. They preferred the demos. There were too many lyrics from Scott.

When the Gershwin album came out, people vociferously criticized the autotune on "The Like in I Love You."

Several posters complained about ITKOD sounding "like Imagination." Too slick.

And on every single one of these releases, and more, posters have complained about it "not sounding like Brian," that the songs were written by other people, etc., etc., etc.

So pardon me for not taking any of this particularly seriously. It's going to be a slick record, and the participation of Joe Thomas made that a likelihood from the beginning. And even if it did sound like TLOS, a lot of the same people would be bitching for the same reasons.

In principle, yes, "a middle ground" is great. But the last decade of BW releases has proved there is no such thing. He will be excoriated for whatever he does, whoever he collaborates with, whatever he releases. It all falls short for someone somewhere.

So, yeah. The album is made, and this is what it sounds like, for better or worse.

But, you're painting me with a broad brush here. I had no major problems with any of the post-Imagination albums you cite. Actually, the last decade proved that there was a middle ground. Everything after Imagination mostly sounded fine to my ears. Listen to the vocals on BWPS, TLOS and Gershwin, then this. Flat out, I wish the Wondermint crew / Mark Linnett had their hands on this instead. One man's opinion. I'm glad people are enjoying the tracks and I don't want to overwhelm the thread anymore with negativity, so Ill stop here. If I haven't gotten my point across by now, I never will.
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Wirestone
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« Reply #2406 on: May 14, 2012, 08:35:31 PM »

Flat out, I wish the Wondermint crew / Mark Linnett had their hands on this instead.

You might be surprised.
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« Reply #2407 on: May 14, 2012, 08:43:37 PM »

People just want to have something to complain about.

Do you mean like this?


Gotta get this off my chest. The reunion really seems a bit crap now, doesn't it?

Car songs.

Surfin' songs.

Surfboards in promo pics.

"Beaches in Mind."

Not a single Pet Sounds song in the mini-set -- no WIBN, no GOK.

"Kokomo."

That hideous single cover.

Wal-Mart.

Jim Peterik writing the lead-off single.

Underwhelming, poorly mixed live appearances.

Utterly disengaged Brian.

I remember saying that I would expect the worst and hope for the best from this reunion. My expectations have been richly fulfilled.

All of you hepping yourselves up over this should calm down. It's not going to be the worst ever, but it seems like it will be richly embarrassing for anyone expecting anything with a smidgen of artistic integrity. Brian was on a winning streak with TLOS and BWRG. He's now singing songs from by Peterik and being produced by Joe Thomas.

How are you all blind to this? I have been trying so hard to think this will be good. But I've given up trying to defend the indefensible. These guys are cashing in, pure and simple. The album is likely going to have a couple of nice new BW things, some recycled stuff, and oodles of dross. No one is interested in pushing themselves -- only using Brian's band as a giant security blanket as they go through the motions of a coast-to-coast cash grab.

Depressing beyond belief.

EDIT: I would love to be proved wrong. I would so love to be proved wrong. But every step of this process has only increased my doubts, rather than assuaging them.
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« Reply #2408 on: May 14, 2012, 08:46:20 PM »

Jim looks extremely drunk in your avatar. Like, I just picture him sitting there saying, "uhhh yeah man. f*ckin' beers and chicks, man. uhhhdrrrrr i'm goin' for the jesus look abnd i'm important and... ejr what was i sayin'. quick, one of y'ouns hit me with a toolbox."

"uhhh yeah man. f*ckin' beers and chicks, man. uhhhdrrrrr i'm goin' for the jesus look abnd i'm important and... ejr what was i sayin'. quick, one of y'ouns hit me with a toolbox." - James Douglas Morrison
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« Reply #2409 on: May 14, 2012, 08:58:41 PM »

People just want to have something to complain about.
Do you mean like this?

Yes! I know the sins of which I speak, sadly.
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I. Spaceman
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« Reply #2410 on: May 14, 2012, 09:00:48 PM »

I don't understand all the hyperbole. It's not ultra slick production and autotune versus Brian's muddiest mono mix of the 60s - there is a happy middle ground to be found.
Exactly.

And I agree with Hickey that Al's Postcard sounds way better production-wise than the 3 tracks I've heard off TWGMTR.

But yeah, that's just how it is and what we're gonna get. And I'm still positive that we're gonna get a good album. It's just that to a fan of the timeless and well-aged stuff the Beach Boys did in the 60s and 70s and to a music lover in general this mainstreamed production style (that tries to cover as many target groups as possible while taking absolutely no risks creatively) is a huge disappointment when applied to his/her favourite band.

I'd have loved them to get Jason Brewer of The Explorers Club to help produce and maybe even write.

Barf.


That cracked me up.
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« Reply #2411 on: May 14, 2012, 09:04:09 PM »

  Bruce wasn't kidding when he said this isn't a "pot luck" album where everybody brings his songs to the table. Based on the credits, it is very much a Brian Wilson-Joe Thomas composed LP, with some Mike Love input. One might lament that this won't be a "group album" along the lines of SUNFLOWER or SURF'S UP, but then again PET SOUNDS and THE BEACH BOYS LOVE YOU didn't exactly feature many tunes from the rest of the band, did they? After 50 years, Brian is still the guy who makes it happen, although the full, still to come details on the making of this album will likely be more complicated that that simple, eternal truth. 

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« Reply #2412 on: May 14, 2012, 09:16:54 PM »

Regarding Spring Vacation, in the words of Yacht Rock - 'keep the smooth'

First track sounds great. A 2012 update of One for the Boys, with a nice melancholy touch.

I think that everything we've heard and/or suspected is in play here; Joe Thomas as the all seeing presence turning up the smooth, Brian doing what only he can do in vocal arranging, and a delicate equilibrium between Brian's emotional quirks and commercial concerns. Much like 'magination, I'll take it. It's gonna be good, but it's never gonna be quirky good, because the money 'sez so.' And I hate to say it, but the same musical tug a war would be at play if Brian ever does his long mentioned 'rock and roll Spector' record with the 'Boys. I'd rather he just cut it with his band, and have Scottie play the role of Svengali as opposed to Thomas.

Still can't understand why they used that flat vocal session for the promo video for SV - with proper studio sweetening, it's a pleasant thing. Not the kind of thing you'd win over indie music converts but to a fan who's already loyal to the catalog, they'll enjoy it for what it is, imo.
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« Reply #2413 on: May 14, 2012, 09:25:42 PM »


"Spring Vacation", I think, is pretty bad. The tune itself might be okay-ish, despite the dumb lyrics and general boringness of the melody, but the production sinks it. Sounds like a generic production of some soulless 90s summer dance group: flat, sterile, witlessly overproduced. Their voices sound unnatural. I will never get that kind of production decision.. the Boys still got fine enough voices, you could do all kinds of authentic and exciting stuff with them. "Spring Vacation" is utterly unexciting. Best case scenario: it grows to become a guilty pleasure song like "Kokomo" or "Smart Girls". (Actually, "Kokomo" is a far better song.)

"Spring Vacation" has a nice melody, but I agree that it is marred with bad lyrics and Autotuned vocals. 
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« Reply #2414 on: May 14, 2012, 09:26:45 PM »

it's odd to me that auto-tune can sway people so much, i guess i'll see when i hear it.  but i don't recall anyone who has heard the album complaining about autotune. 
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Awesoman
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« Reply #2415 on: May 14, 2012, 09:28:12 PM »

People just want to have something to complain about. Because this wouldn't be a fan board if people here didn't hate Brian and the rest of the band with the white-hot hatred that only true fans can feel.

Some 14 years ago, everyone freaked out about the pitch correction on "Imagination."

When BWPS came out, people complained about the synthesized keyboard sound and that Brian was doubled too many times and tuned.

When TLOS came out, people said it was too slick. They preferred the demos. There were too many lyrics from Scott.

When the Gershwin album came out, people vociferously criticized the autotune on "The Like in I Love You."

Several posters complained about ITKOD sounding "like Imagination." Too slick.

And on every single one of these releases, and more, posters have complained about it "not sounding like Brian," that the songs were written by other people, etc., etc., etc.

So pardon me for not taking any of this particularly seriously. It's going to be a slick record, and the participation of Joe Thomas made that a likelihood from the beginning. And even if it did sound like TLOS, a lot of the same people would be bitching for the same reasons.

In principle, yes, "a middle ground" is great. But the last decade of BW releases has proved there is no such thing. He will be excoriated for whatever he does, whoever he collaborates with, whatever he releases. It all falls short for someone somewhere. We can all imagine better productions, better people for him to collaborate with, better lyrics, better mixing, better mastering.

So, yeah. The album is made, and this is what it sounds like, for better or worse.

I agree that you can't please everyone and I don't care for those that are just looking for reasons to complain.  That being said, there's nothing wrong with being objective.  
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« Reply #2416 on: May 14, 2012, 09:29:54 PM »

it's odd to me that auto-tune can sway people so much, i guess i'll see when i hear it.  but i don't recall anyone who has heard the album complaining about autotune. 

Liberal use of pitch correction just over-cooks the vocals, making them sound robotic.  It is used quite commonly as an effect these days, but I'm waiting for it to go out of style.  :-)
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« Reply #2417 on: May 14, 2012, 09:35:56 PM »

FWIW, I think the processing on the Spring Vacation vocals is entirely intentional, and done with an eye toward making the song a single. Lots of AC songs, even from people who can sing, feature major vocal processing these days. The other two songs released, while still clearly processed, sound somewhat more natural.
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« Reply #2418 on: May 14, 2012, 09:44:27 PM »

it's odd to me that auto-tune can sway people so much, i guess i'll see when i hear it.  but i don't recall anyone who has heard the album complaining about autotune. 

Liberal use of pitch correction just over-cooks the vocals, making them sound robotic.  It is used quite commonly as an effect these days, but I'm waiting for it to go out of style.  :-)

i know what it is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5CHyy4sazs
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« Reply #2419 on: May 14, 2012, 09:51:12 PM »

BTW - iTunes has the new album available for pre-order.  Doesn't appear to have any exclusive bonus tracks on it.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/preorder/thats-why-god-made-the-radio/id527213734
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« Reply #2420 on: May 14, 2012, 09:52:51 PM »

Here's my feeling on auto-tune, processing etc. I think, to some extent, I prefer to hear the 70-year-old voices -- at least the ones that require it -- with the rough edges rounded off a bit. I know a lot of people didn't like the Ramone-produced remake of GOK for that very reason, but I did. For me, it simply sounded like a better, more listenable version of BW. In that regard, auto-tune is simply this generation's version of double tracking, punching-in, comp-ing, etc. The key difference being that those were mostly organic processes, whereas this can be a noticeably artificial one -- particularly if done to an excess or with the parameters set to "stun." Would I prefer the use of some of those more organic methods? Absolutely. But, my guess would be that time, money and interest often makes that less likely these days, and in the end, the results might even be less satisfying...all things considered.

And that's what's really going to be the deal-breaker for me with the album. That is, will I get the feeling that the human element is still coming through, or will it sound like an excessive, generic wash of blandness? Of course, other, possibly even more important factors come into play here: Will I get a sense that I'm hearing the individual BBs voices in the mix vs. that generic wash again (the former being *really* important to me)? Will the backing tracks convey a feeling of "real" instruments vs. the artificial type? And obviously, the songs themselves.

I guess the questions will be answered soon enough. I will say this much however: I do believe that it's going to tip in the direction of artificiality, more so than what we've heard this past decade from the various BW, AJ productions, BUT, that doesn't mean that it still can't all hang together and be satisfying if one or more of those aforementioned good factors outweigh the bad.

Just go lightly on the nylon string guitars, JT...  Smiley
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« Reply #2421 on: May 14, 2012, 09:58:51 PM »

So far, the _tracks_ of all the songs sound pretty good. Not a lot of processing there, and a lot of BW touches (at least in TWGMTR). The voices are a different story.
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« Reply #2422 on: May 14, 2012, 10:14:50 PM »

The first song is OK, but I really don't like the production on these tracks at all. It's just way too slick... like we're hearing from cartoon versions of the Beach Boys rather than the real people. I'll certainly buy the album and give it a fair listen, but this sounds to me like it will date the same way Beach Boys 85 did.

Well, really, what was expected?  The guys singing around a campfire recorded on an 8-track? Some people really set themselves up for disapointment, I guess.

So, you're saying there was no other option available to them, either lo-fi or this? Or you're just trying to make me out to be totally unreasonable? I do listen to "modern" music, and it doesn't need to be produced like this. The voices sound completely processed to my ears and I find that disappointing. You don't have to agree with me, but the fact that I don't agree with you doesn't mean I'm a bitter person.
Your thoughts are appreciated and I can definitely understand where you're coming from. We have to take the good with the bad, as with any album. I'll jump in with my thoughts, why not...

"That's Why God Made the Radio" is slick and radio-friendly but very well-produced. The tightness of the rhythm section, for example, is second to none. Listen to that bass guitar! It is not a cloying-sounding single to my ears, like some of Imagination. It is mixed in an atypical way compared to the group's catalogue, but the instrumentation is pure Brian Wilson.

"Think About the Days" sounds very good overall. I love the instrumentation and the beautiful, yet slightly twisted sound of the melody. A loping descending chord pattern. Probably the perfect intro to a 2012 Beach Boys album.

I have to agree with you about the overall production of "Spring Vacation." I wish they had at least turned down the wet level of the pitch correction on that track for starters. The instrumentation is more contemporary than on the other two tracks.  It seems like they went all-in on the 2012 Top 40 sound for this song. I'm glad they didn't go too far in this direction with "That's Why God Made The Radio."

Unlike some of the group's lesser work, "Spring Vacation" is not lacking in the melody department, so I am sure I will listen to it sometimes, although not as much as the other two songs. The fact that it has a good melody and some Brian Wilson quirk puts it over most of Summer In Paradise in my view.

Like you, I am a fan of BWPS, TLOS, and BWRG, and I have very few complaints about the production on those albums or ITKOD. From what I've heard of this record, there are two excellent tracks and one mediocre track, so I am not too worried about the quality of the remaining tracks.

We are getting a slickly produced album no matter what, and it is not going to sound like That Lucky Old Sun... which brings with it advantages and disadvantages. Let's hope for more timeless production decisions than bad/instantly-dated ones.
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« Reply #2423 on: May 14, 2012, 11:06:41 PM »

Anyone else curious about the so-called "eclectic" mix of greatest hits on the QVC bonus disc?  I'm wondering if it will be the same disc as the Zinepak.

Sorry if this has been posted already, but here is the track listing for the QVC bonus CD; there is some overlap with the ZinePak CD.  (Don't know if "Do It Again" is the 2012 version, but I'm guessing it is).  And the website says the ship date is June 5; the earliest delivery date given to my address in Texas is June 6.  So apparently no early delivery of the new album.

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.F09766.desc.Shp65-The-Beach-Boys-Thats-Why-God-Made-the-Radio-CD

50 Years Of Hits (Bonus CD)

    "Catch a Wave"
    "Surfin' Safari"
    "409"
    "God Only Knows"
    "California Girls"
    "Heroes and Villains"
    "Surfer Girl"
    "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
    "Little Honda"
    "Dance, Dance, Dance"
    "Do It Again"
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« Reply #2424 on: May 14, 2012, 11:10:45 PM »

People just want to have something to complain about. Because this wouldn't be a fan board if people here didn't hate Brian and the rest of the band with the white-hot hatred that only true fans can feel.

Some 14 years ago, everyone freaked out about the pitch correction on "Imagination."

When BWPS came out, people complained about the synthesized keyboard sound and that Brian was doubled too many times and tuned.

When TLOS came out, people said it was too slick. They preferred the demos. There were too many lyrics from Scott.

When the Gershwin album came out, people vociferously criticized the autotune on "The Like in I Love You."

Several posters complained about ITKOD sounding "like Imagination." Too slick.

And on every single one of these releases, and more, posters have complained about it "not sounding like Brian," that the songs were written by other people, etc., etc., etc.

I don't get it...your list is a catalog of perfectly legitimate complaints.   It's not as though everyone subsequently recanted and now agrees that every single one of those releases is flawless.   The fact that criticisms invariably arise does not mean that those criticisms are all uniform, or all invalid...the things you listed are actually true of those albums.  And if those things are true, it seems like this would be the place to talk about them.
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