Guess You Had To Be There

[The Cincinnati Kid]

I know it was already posted in the other thread, but the other songs have their own links for now, so this one might as well, too.

http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a33878/brian-wilson-10-favorite-songs/

[joshferrell]

nevermind..... sorry for this post.. 

[alf wiedersehen]

This song is dope.

[joshferrell]

wait a minute... How many people (other than I) noticed that this song ends with Beethoven's 5th symphony?

[Rocker]

Just a quick reaction because I have to go off:
Love it! Brian's really back this time as it seems. Way to go!

[bgas]

Nice that you can sit and watch  Guess, then stay to watch videos for The Right Time, Mini-Mansions, Brian+ Carnie+ Wendy from 1995( DIA), What Love Can Do, NPP trailer, Emile Haynie Falling apart, Runaway Dancer live, Emile Henie Falling Apart live....  

Sail Away hit RS today: http://tinyurl.com/nlej86r

[Rocket]

Wow, what a track! I don't think it'd be possible to be unhappy while listening to this song.

Brian is 5/5 so far for this album.

I loved That Lucky Old Sun, and I'm sure I'll love this as well.

[timbnash68]

nice thanks..... now this song HAS autotune..at least on Kacey's voice it does..  

Sorry, my friend, you are completely wrong.  I work at a recording studio here in Nashville.  Kacey, according to reliable sources, said that Brian worked on her vocal for several hours until she got it perfect, and then had her multitrack her voice at least 5 times to get that sound.  Also, according to her, it was just her and Brian in the studio along with an engineer when she laid the track down.  One might conclude that since Kacey doesn't normally multitrack her vocals and Brian was working with her alone, either the engineer in the room forced him to record it that way, or it was his own idea.  We really should be better informed when we make definitive statements such as yours.

[Eric Aniversario]

nice thanks..... now this song HAS autotune..at least on Kacey's voice it does..  

Sorry, my friend, you are completely wrong.  I work at a recording studio here in Nashville.  Kacey, according to reliable sources, said that Brian worked on her vocal for several hours until she got it perfect, and then had her multitrack her voice at least 5 times to get that sound.  Also, according to her, it was just her and Brian in the studio along with an engineer when she laid the track down.  One might conclude that since Kacey doesn't normally multitrack her vocals and Brian was working with her alone, either the engineer in the room forced him to record it that way, or it was his own idea.  We really should be better informed when we make definitive statements such as yours.

I was also surprised at this assertion. I didn't hear auto tune. Really enjoyed this song.

[job]

Holy crap...Brian is now 6 for 6 on awesome tunes that have been released in their entirety!

[seltaeb1012002]

Damn. So good.

edit: Glad Brian finally decided to do his thing with this chord progression. One of my favorite chord progressions ever. There's something about it (with the right melodies) that is chill inducing.

[guitarfool2002]

nice thanks..... now this song HAS autotune..at least on Kacey's voice it does..  

Sorry, my friend, you are completely wrong.  I work at a recording studio here in Nashville.  Kacey, according to reliable sources, said that Brian worked on her vocal for several hours until she got it perfect, and then had her multitrack her voice at least 5 times to get that sound.  Also, according to her, it was just her and Brian in the studio along with an engineer when she laid the track down.  One might conclude that since Kacey doesn't normally multitrack her vocals and Brian was working with her alone, either the engineer in the room forced him to record it that way, or it was his own idea.  We really should be better informed when we make definitive statements such as yours.

Well said. 

[Micha]

So far my favorite track off the NPP. Just over a week till it's out!

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

Anyone else not able to load the video?  Whenever I try to click on it, it says "This video is private."

[pixletwin]

I like this one too.

Oddly enough, it would sound good on The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots. Has a similar feel to those songs.

[Please delete my account]

Anyone else not able to load the video?  Whenever I try to click on it, it says "This video is private."

try clicking on a different part of the video (specifically the centre of the "video"). It won't play on the vimeo page, it only plays directly embedded into the Esquire article.

[HeyJude]

nice thanks..... now this song HAS autotune..at least on Kacey's voice it does..  

Sorry, my friend, you are completely wrong.  I work at a recording studio here in Nashville.  Kacey, according to reliable sources, said that Brian worked on her vocal for several hours until she got it perfect, and then had her multitrack her voice at least 5 times to get that sound.  Also, according to her, it was just her and Brian in the studio along with an engineer when she laid the track down.  One might conclude that since Kacey doesn't normally multitrack her vocals and Brian was working with her alone, either the engineer in the room forced him to record it that way, or it was his own idea.  We really should be better informed when we make definitive statements such as yours.

So were you there while the song was being mixed? Definitive "this has autotune!" statements may be overboard, but so is "you're completely wrong!"

I for one am finding it odd that all of a sudden autotuneish-sounding stuff is being explained away by "it's multitracked!" Now, let me back up. I'm not saying I find it odd that listeners are making this assertion. I think, and this is JUST A THEORY, that double tracking (or more) a lead vocal could be used to sort of take the edge off that autotune sound.

Double tracking a lead vocal is obviously a very old method. I'm also willing to stipulate to the fact that double tracking can give an autotune-ish effect to a voice, and I will *also* stipulate to the fact that previous uses of autotune can cause listeners to start assuming or waiting to hear it on the next song/album from an artist, and power of suggestion can go a long way.

But, given how WIDESPREAD the use of autotune-type plug-ins are, and the fact that they HAVE been used by some of the same folks working this new album, as well as the fact that some stuff *does* at least *sound* similar to an autotune effect; these things all tell me it's not far fetched to think that perhaps it has been used here and there to some degree. That doesn't preclude the artists from having done a million takes in the studio, nor does it preclude them from singing it as perfectly as they possibly can. It's not uncommon for a perfectly fine singer and a perfectly fine performance to have autotune gobbed all over their voice.

The mixture of better autotune (again, we're using autotune as a generic term for digital pitch correction plug-ins), a lighter hand on the autotune, then double or tripling he voice, and the mixing it, could take the edge off something like the robo voice heard on parts of TWGMTR.

News flash: We're never going to find out how much, if any autotune has been used. Are there a bunch of examples of artists admitting they use autotune?

So I don't think we should assume anything. But the mere accusation or question of whether autotune has been used should not be meant with an indignant tone.

This new tune sounds fine. It's the most "autotune-ish" sounding thing I've heard off the new album so far. Seriously, at this stage not everyone who suggest autotune might have been used are attacking the album, or the artists. It's like when your favorite band or singer does something you don't like on the track. Like when Al sticks a spoken-word intro on something, or when Mike has to namecheck old BB songs when he writes new lyrics, or when Clapton has to use a bright-sounding Strat on some song that needs a Les Paul and a Marshall stack. It doesn't necessarily make me hate the song. It's just a slight momentary "ah man, I could have done without that".

I'm also open to new "non-autotune" theories. Here's one: Young singers, especially *very* young singers, are now growing up hearing a lot of autotune. Maybe it's not insane to wonder if maybe young singers are using inflections and styles that emulate a bit of that autotune sound, and/or emulate the sound that our brains associate with autotune, and then it all starts sounding the same.

[CenturyDeprived]

nice thanks..... now this song HAS autotune..at least on Kacey's voice it does..  

Sorry, my friend, you are completely wrong.  I work at a recording studio here in Nashville.  Kacey, according to reliable sources, said that Brian worked on her vocal for several hours until she got it perfect, and then had her multitrack her voice at least 5 times to get that sound.  Also, according to her, it was just her and Brian in the studio along with an engineer when she laid the track down.  One might conclude that since Kacey doesn't normally multitrack her vocals and Brian was working with her alone, either the engineer in the room forced him to record it that way, or it was his own idea.  We really should be better informed when we make definitive statements such as yours.

So were you there while the song was being mixed? Definitive "this has autotune!" statements may be overboard, but so is "you're completely wrong!"

I for one am finding it odd that all of a sudden autotuneish-sounding stuff is being explained away by "it's multitracked!" Now, let me back up. I'm not saying I find it odd that listeners are making this assertion. I think, and this is JUST A THEORY, that double tracking (or more) a lead vocal could be used to sort of take the edge off that autotune sound.

Double tracking a lead vocal is obviously a very old method. I'm also willing to stipulate to the fact that double tracking can give an autotune-ish effect to a voice, and I will *also* stipulate to the fact that previous uses of autotune can cause listeners to start assuming or waiting to hear it on the next song/album from an artist, and power of suggestion can go a long way.

But, given how WIDESPREAD the use of autotune-type plug-ins are, and the fact that they HAVE been used by some of the same folks working this new album, as well as the fact that some stuff *does* at least *sound* similar to an autotune effect; these things all tell me it's not far fetched to think that perhaps it has been used here and there to some degree. That doesn't preclude the artists from having done a million takes in the studio, nor does it preclude them from singing it as perfectly as they possibly can. It's not uncommon for a perfectly fine singer and a perfectly fine performance to have autotune gobbed all over their voice.

The mixture of better autotune (again, we're using autotune as a generic term for digital pitch correction plug-ins), a lighter hand on the autotune, then double or tripling he voice, and the mixing it, could take the edge off something like the robo voice heard on parts of TWGMTR.

News flash: We're never going to find out how much, if any autotune has been used. Are there a bunch of examples of artists admitting they use autotune?

So I don't think we should assume anything. But the mere accusation or question of whether autotune has been used should not be meant with an indignant tone.

This new tune sounds fine. It's the most "autotune-ish" sounding thing I've heard off the new album so far. Seriously, at this stage not everyone who suggest autotune might have been used are attacking the album, or the artists. It's like when your favorite band or singer does something you don't like on the track. Like when Al sticks a spoken-word intro on something, or when Mike has to namecheck old BB songs when he writes new lyrics, or when Clapton has to use a bright-sounding Strat on some song that needs a Les Paul and a Marshall stack. It doesn't necessarily make me hate the song. It's just a slight momentary "ah man, I could have done without that".

I'm also open to new "non-autotune" theories. Here's one: Young singers, especially *very* young singers, are now growing up hearing a lot of autotune. Maybe it's not insane to wonder if maybe young singers are using inflections and styles that emulate a bit of that autotune sound, and/or emulate the sound that our brains associate with autotune, and then it all starts sounding the same.

This.

I haven't even heard the track (I'm abstaining from listening to more from NPP until its release)... but it's impossible to say that there's no autotune on it. If autotune is mixed and implemented properly, it *should* essentially be invisible and not sound robotic. It should be wholly undetectable. I know, because I've used it a touch myself here and there for bum notes, and the moment it becomes even slightly apparent, I make sure to ease back on it.

Bottom line: We know Joe Thomas has used it in the past, it's been blatantly overused on a number of BW tunes (unarguably) over the years, so to think it's out of the question that it would be used on NPP (or on this track) is a bit absurd. For there to be some mythic no-autotune rule that BW would somehow magically implement to his current work, I would think that this would be publicized and pointed out specifically by the artist and/or producer, as a selling point to alleviate concerns to the people who it bugs so much. Since that's not happening, don't automatically expect autotune isn't there, even if it's invisible. Not saying that means it's on every single thing ever these days, but don't be so sure it's not on Joe Thomas product, even if it's less apparent.

[rab2591]

Do we know, by any actual source, how much Thomas has had to do with the production/mix of this album?

[Awesoman]

"Guess You Had To Be There" sounds quite good; "Sail Away" isn't impressing me as much but not bad. 

[HeyJude]

Do we know, by any actual source, how much Thomas has had to do with the production/mix of this album?

Nope. He's been in a studio pic or two. It appears at least some of the songs on the album were co-written with Thomas. It was also mentioned that Joe was not in attendance for at least some sessions.

And all of that may or may not have anything to do with how much autotune is used or other post-production decisions are made.

[joshferrell]

sorry maybe I'm wrong..it could be her Vibrato that sounds like "auto Tune" to my ears.. maybe she just has that vibrato that goes up and down real fast I don't know, because I don't listen to her other stuff so I wouldn't know how her voice sounds.

[timbnash68]

nice thanks..... now this song HAS autotune..at least on Kacey's voice it does..  

Sorry, my friend, you are completely wrong.  I work at a recording studio here in Nashville.  Kacey, according to reliable sources, said that Brian worked on her vocal for several hours until she got it perfect, and then had her multitrack her voice at least 5 times to get that sound.  Also, according to her, it was just her and Brian in the studio along with an engineer when she laid the track down.  One might conclude that since Kacey doesn't normally multitrack her vocals and Brian was working with her alone, either the engineer in the room forced him to record it that way, or it was his own idea.  We really should be better informed when we make definitive statements such as yours.

So were you there while the song was being mixed? Definitive "this has autotune!" statements may be overboard, but so is "you're completely wrong!"

I for one am finding it odd that all of a sudden autotuneish-sounding stuff is being explained away by "it's multitracked!" Now, let me back up. I'm not saying I find it odd that listeners are making this assertion. I think, and this is JUST A THEORY, that double tracking (or more) a lead vocal could be used to sort of take the edge off that autotune sound.

Double tracking a lead vocal is obviously a very old method. I'm also willing to stipulate to the fact that double tracking can give an autotune-ish effect to a voice, and I will *also* stipulate to the fact that previous uses of autotune can cause listeners to start assuming or waiting to hear it on the next song/album from an artist, and power of suggestion can go a long way.

But, given how WIDESPREAD the use of autotune-type plug-ins are, and the fact that they HAVE been used by some of the same folks working this new album, as well as the fact that some stuff *does* at least *sound* similar to an autotune effect; these things all tell me it's not far fetched to think that perhaps it has been used here and there to some degree. That doesn't preclude the artists from having done a million takes in the studio, nor does it preclude them from singing it as perfectly as they possibly can. It's not uncommon for a perfectly fine singer and a perfectly fine performance to have autotune gobbed all over their voice.

The mixture of better autotune (again, we're using autotune as a generic term for digital pitch correction plug-ins), a lighter hand on the autotune, then double or tripling he voice, and the mixing it, could take the edge off something like the robo voice heard on parts of TWGMTR.

News flash: We're never going to find out how much, if any autotune has been used. Are there a bunch of examples of artists admitting they use autotune?

So I don't think we should assume anything. But the mere accusation or question of whether autotune has been used should not be meant with an indignant tone.

This new tune sounds fine. It's the most "autotune-ish" sounding thing I've heard off the new album so far. Seriously, at this stage not everyone who suggest autotune might have been used are attacking the album, or the artists. It's like when your favorite band or singer does something you don't like on the track. Like when Al sticks a spoken-word intro on something, or when Mike has to namecheck old BB songs when he writes new lyrics, or when Clapton has to use a bright-sounding Strat on some song that needs a Les Paul and a Marshall stack. It doesn't necessarily make me hate the song. It's just a slight momentary "ah man, I could have done without that".

I'm also open to new "non-autotune" theories. Here's one: Young singers, especially *very* young singers, are now growing up hearing a lot of autotune. Maybe it's not insane to wonder if maybe young singers are using inflections and styles that emulate a bit of that autotune sound, and/or emulate the sound that our brains associate with autotune, and then it all starts sounding the same.

I was not at the mix of course. Down here in Nashville we pride ourselves in pristine non altered recordings. Kacey is a killer musician. If she was at the mixes i highly doubt if she would allow even  Brian to auto tune her voice, especially if she spent hours recording it over and over again more than 5 times.  i don't know about previous albums who what when , nor do i care. we will never know. I think that not saying anything at all is not equal to an accusation such as this thrown at a wonderful singer. The accusation is far more damaging than my response. I can think of many hurtful and libelous things someone could write about another person. If someone were called a thief for example saying the person is not does not carry equal weight. But i will agree with you that my choice of words should have been as follows. I would highly doubt that Kacey would have allowed Brian to not only make her sing the lead vocal perfectly five or more times and then stack all of the vocals together, and then auto tune them in the mix. My God at some point don't you think she, her managers or label would have said stop? And once again I cannot imagine Brian having anything to do with it either. Can we please now get back to what a great song and performance these wonderful musicians have given us? Please!

[Wirestone]

So far, all of the songs that have shown up on iTunes have Joe Thomas co-writing credits.

[Amy B.]

Reposting what I wrote in the other thread. This is where I meant to put it.

I'm not a recording expert, and I've never heard her voice on anything else, that I know of. I do know that there's something artificial I'm hearing...some sort of effect. I can't imagine that if she were to sing live, into a microphone, with no effects on her voice, she would sound like that. If she does, I guess I just don't like her voice. But I can overlook that because I love the song.