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Author Topic: Many Negative Reviews of No Pier Pressure...  (Read 104435 times)
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« Reply #100 on: April 11, 2015, 05:45:34 PM »


Yes, because a bonus track that literally sounds like nothing else on the record is totally representative of Joe's input.

How about the 14 tracks that aren't that or Runaway Dancer? There's nothing about any of them that would be out of place on Brian's other solo records from the last 15 years. Except that, in large part, they're better written and more inventively arranged.

You are entitled to your opinion but to me there is quite obviously a difference in sound between songs written and produced by Wilson/Bennett and songs written and produced by Wilson/Thomas. That`s only natural and certainly isn`t down to the listener`s imagination. It can be heard in the drums and the brass to give but two examples.

There are songs written by Wilson / Bennett on this very record.

Or didn't you notice?

Brian's band, which has consistently played on all of his records since Imagination, plays on this one too. Mertens, who has done arrangements on all the records since then, does arrangements here too. Brian overdubs himself a bunch. Again, like usual.

The main difference, as I've mentioned, is that there is a greater variety of songs, a somewhat denser production approach (although it's pretty similar to BWRG in many ways) and more multitracked leads from Brian.

The horror!

You know, I was planning to start a NPP vs. Imagination thread, but I guess I'll just
comment here. In my opnion NPP is superior to Imagination. I want to stress this, since some fans have claimed preference for the latter.

. Brian's voice may be 17 years older on NPP, he aims less for the heights, but still he's achieved a degree of expression in his studio singing that is remarkably removed from the majority of those on Imagination.

.there is an "atheur"-like approach to the guests in the album. All them are incorporated into the ethos of it, while retaining the qualities that make them successful and unique. This is what true collaborations should be about: helping Brian realise his songs while bringing their own goods to the table.


.there's some cool songs on Imagination, but an important number of half-assed songs there (Sunshine, Dream Baby, the cover versions, Where has love been, the new Sherry lyric...). In NPP even the ditties are charming and thought-out and redeemed either by performance, arrangement or production value. Perhaps it's harder to find a song on NPP with the emotional power of a Cry or Lay Down Burden, but still the album conveys a mood throughout and puts you in a certain state of mind as a whole, which Imagintion did not. Songwriting is stronger overall.

.there's plenty of "ad-lib" arranging on Imagination. Those seemingly impromptu piano and nylon guitar licks, or the horrid saxophone, were foreign to Brian's tight, crafted, textured arrangements. Not only did they pervade the songs, they rang overtones of then-current corn, conferring the album a dated quality by the time of its release. Arrangements on NPP are much more organic, layered, textured, in line with the songwriting and Brian's style of arranging. Even the quirkiest-sounding like "Don't worry" refer to a certain time and style when BW was relatively active but never made records in such manner, thus giving the songs a certain timeless qualtiy.

.there is a complexity to the songwriting that was absent in the 1998 album. The attempt at sophistication was the final, mandatory, suite-like song, marred by its production values and self-proclaimed pretentiousness. None of that here. Songs are elaborated as such, and there's enough complexity to grant second and third listens.

Overall, NPP is a much more gratifying experience than Imagination. A stronger album, far removed from its coarse 1998 predecessor.
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« Reply #101 on: April 11, 2015, 05:55:16 PM »

Here's another negative review from a huge Brian Wilson fan:

Runaway Dancer - 1, an awful intro. The finger clicks, shakers and saxophone sound almost make the glaze come off your teeth. Can this become any worse? Oh yes, there comes a cheap sounding four to the floor kick drum beat with idem dito synths and heavily processed vocals. When I watched the band perform this live on TV a couple of days ago I felt so sorry for the guys in the band..I know the Wondermints guys are total music nerds with a great taste and they must have been embarrassed having to perform this type of trash. It pays their bills.
Hope the song is over soon. Ouch, it can even get worse: there's the chorus! Here Comes The Night (1979) is like God Only Knows compared to this crap. Completely unnecessarily guest star. It pains me how out of touch with modern music Brian fanboys are who rant about how this song could become a chart hit etc. This is the kind of sound that was hip in the 90s, welcome to 2015. Joe Thomas in 2015 is a worse collaborator for Brian than Mike Love could ever be IMO. And that is saying a lot!


Pheww...For a while there I thought I was alone.
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« Reply #102 on: April 11, 2015, 06:02:08 PM »

Your Imagination vs. NPP?

OK, I'll play. Best songs on NPP that have the same emotional impact, melodies/songwriting, instrumental/vocal tracks, repeatability, hit potential, etc. as Imagination. I'll just pick a few off the top. Here are the Imagination songs to compare to:

"Your Imagination"
"She Says That She Needs Me"
"South American"
"Cry"
"Lay Down Burden"
"Let Him Run Wild"
"Happy Days"

What's after this one to compare to, BW88?
« Last Edit: April 11, 2015, 06:05:37 PM by Mikie » Logged

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« Reply #103 on: April 11, 2015, 06:16:23 PM »

Mikie: Instrumental / vocal tracks throughout NPP are vastly superior to Imagination, no question.

As for much of the rest, I'd say it comes down to personal taste. And I don't think you get to include "Let Him Run Wild" or "She Says," given that they're both from the 60s.

Regardless.

I'd say that:

"It's A Beautiful Day"
"Whatever Happened"
"On the Island"
"Half Moon Bay"
"Guess You Had to Be There"
"I'm Feeling Sad"
"Sail Away"
"One Kind of Love"
"Saturday Night"
"The Last Song"

Are either equal to or superior to the songs you mention.
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« Reply #104 on: April 11, 2015, 06:18:52 PM »


Yes, because a bonus track that literally sounds like nothing else on the record is totally representative of Joe's input.

How about the 14 tracks that aren't that or Runaway Dancer? There's nothing about any of them that would be out of place on Brian's other solo records from the last 15 years. Except that, in large part, they're better written and more inventively arranged.

You are entitled to your opinion but to me there is quite obviously a difference in sound between songs written and produced by Wilson/Bennett and songs written and produced by Wilson/Thomas. That`s only natural and certainly isn`t down to the listener`s imagination. It can be heard in the drums and the brass to give but two examples.

There are songs written by Wilson / Bennett on this very record.

Or didn't you notice?

Brian's band, which has consistently played on all of his records since Imagination, plays on this one too. Mertens, who has done arrangements on all the records since then, does arrangements here too. Brian overdubs himself a bunch. Again, like usual.

The main difference, as I've mentioned, is that there is a greater variety of songs, a somewhat denser production approach (although it's pretty similar to BWRG in many ways) and more multitracked leads from Brian.

The horror!

Sorry but I think we are debating the undebatable here...

Yes, there is one new Wilson/Bennett song (the music from Somewhere Quiet having been written 50 years ago). There are 14 songs that have a Joe Thomas writing credit aren`t there? Clearly very different to TLOS.

And I quite agree that Brian`s band is still present and Mertens is still doing his job. So it is Thomas`s presence that is the difference.

And I don`t think anyone has said the production is identical to Imagination (it isn`t). What I did say was that there have always been people knocking Joe Thomas`s presence from Stars and Stripes through to TWGMTR. So is it really any surprise that some people don`t like some of the production elements of the new album?

I`m sure there are many people who do enjoy the production and nobody is knocking them for that. But the assertion that, `folks are so blinded by the fact that Joe's name is attached, or that Mike's isn't, that they're not able to actually hear the music` is blatantly false. Right from the beginning there have been reviews both on the board and in the media that discuss the production sound in a not particularly positive way. Now these people aren`t just imagining that there is a difference between the production of this album and TLOS. Of course there are differences. You can`t just replace Scott Bennett with Joe Thomas and expect an album to sound the same.
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« Reply #105 on: April 11, 2015, 06:22:13 PM »

The Sherry song is lovely but, alas, it is ruined on Imagination by a gutless lyric, a clarinet intro as dull as tofu and production techniques out of a Julio Iglesias song. There's no throwaway production and arranging devices on NPP.
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« Reply #106 on: April 11, 2015, 06:29:01 PM »

I`m sure there are many people who do enjoy the production and nobody is knocking them for that. But the assertion that, `folks are so blinded by the fact that Joe's name is attached, or that Mike's isn't, that they're not able to actually hear the music` is blatantly false. Right from the beginning there have been reviews both on the board and in the media that discuss the production sound in a not particularly positive way. Now these people aren`t just imagining that there is a difference between the production of this album and TLOS. Of course there are differences. You can`t just replace Scott Bennett with Joe Thomas and expect an album to sound the same.

Except that Scott Bennett writes, sings and plays on the album.

So I'm not seeing the replacement there.

You also entirely miss the point of my quote, but you seem so blinded by hatred of the album it hardly seems worth the effort to engage with you now.

Enjoy poisoning people against the man and music you purport to love!
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« Reply #107 on: April 11, 2015, 06:30:42 PM »

As for much of the rest, I'd say it comes down to personal taste. And I don't think you get to include "Let Him Run Wild" or "She Says," given that they're both from the 60s.

"She Says That She Needs Me" was unreleased up to that point, albeit "Sherry" with alternate lyrics. Might as well have been a new song in 1998. It was.

"Let Him Run Wild" is a contender - while a re-make, it was re-made with a different Brian vocal because he didn't like it the first time around - thought he sounded like a girl. I like both versions.

"No Pier Pressure vastly superior to Your Imagination"?  That's a little much, I'd say. I know NPP will grow on me. I know it will. But while "Your Imagination" was panned at the time for being "too sterile" and "too slick" of a production, I also know NPP won't get the same kind of airplay on radio stations (and in my house) that "Your Imagination" did.

And of course its down to personal taste. But Tunafish wanted a comparison, so I obliged.

Again, I've listened to NPP in its entirety 5 or 6 times. I keep gravitating back to the same 3 songs. One of them is "Guess You Had To Be There". I crank that one up. Love it!
« Last Edit: April 11, 2015, 06:38:03 PM by Mikie » Logged

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« Reply #108 on: April 11, 2015, 06:46:56 PM »

I`m sure there are many people who do enjoy the production and nobody is knocking them for that. But the assertion that, `folks are so blinded by the fact that Joe's name is attached, or that Mike's isn't, that they're not able to actually hear the music` is blatantly false. Right from the beginning there have been reviews both on the board and in the media that discuss the production sound in a not particularly positive way. Now these people aren`t just imagining that there is a difference between the production of this album and TLOS. Of course there are differences. You can`t just replace Scott Bennett with Joe Thomas and expect an album to sound the same.

Except that Scott Bennett writes, sings and plays on the album.

So I'm not seeing the replacement there.

You also entirely miss the point of my quote, but you seem so blinded by hatred of the album it hardly seems worth the effort to engage with you now.

Enjoy poisoning people against the man and music you purport to love!

This. is. absolutely. crazy.

I rate the album as a solid 3/5. If that is hatred then it is a strange world we live in.

Scott Bennett co-writing one song is obviously completely different to him co-writing and producing an entire album. This is basic stuff.

I have never said that I love any of The Beach Boys because I don`t. Some people love those who are in the public eye and some don`t. I do love some of the music of course.

The issue I have is one of people telling others why they don`t like the album. We have now had numerous comments on the board such as, `they don`t get it`, `it`s your own fault`, `they`re not listening properly` and now `people are being blinded by the credits`. These comments show a lack of respect for others imo and all stem from the, `my opinion is more important than yours` vault.

And to get back on topic, this thread is all about the media reviews. Now as I said earlier, 3 of the biggest criticisms of the album seem to be: 1, Runaway Dancer is reviled. 2, There are too many guests and there should be more Brian. 3, Joe Thomas`s involvement has led to the album being cheesier/more saccharine than some of its predecessors.

Now none of these opinions is anti-Brian at all and certainly can`t be considered `poisonous` towards him. It is clear from the reviews that they have a huge amount of warmth towards Brian and they have generally complemented his singing and some of the songwriting. I listened to the album myself again yesterday and felt many of the same things. Some really nice songs and moments but also some negatives such as the production. Surely that is a valid opinion to express on a messageboard.
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« Reply #109 on: April 11, 2015, 07:53:09 PM »

But if you've followed Brian Wilson's solo career at all, I can't imagine much on NPP would come as a shock or disappointment. It sounds of a piece with practically everything he's recorded since 2000. Same general vocal and instrumental approach, same players, same kinds of songs.
only a few tracks have anything remotely in common with past output. good luck finding Spector/Dion/Proud Mary/Shortenin' Bread/Chuck Berry influence on NPP.

Quote from: lethimrun
Brian has said many times he doesn't listen to current music and when he does listen to the radio, he listens to oldies stations.
So, where did this stuff come from? It certainly doesn't sound like someone who is unfamiliar with current music trends. It certainly doesn't sound like the music that one might expect to be in the head of Brian Wilson in 2015. Even though, I'm not sure what that might be. I think I'd recognize it when I heard it.
the most valid point concerning this album's production. nobody who believes this album was 100% typical Brian Wilson fare can possibly explain it without conjuring something incredibly farfetched like 'he's only trolling when he says he only listens to oldies' or 'the ottotune was done ironically, like Love You'.
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« Reply #110 on: April 11, 2015, 08:14:46 PM »

He said when he's with his kids, he lets them choose the music.  So, it's not true that he only listens to oldies.  He might only choose to when he's on his own, but it's not like it's impossible for him to become familiar with younger artists.
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« Reply #111 on: April 11, 2015, 08:42:54 PM »

there is that, but i wonder if he actually enjoys it enough to want to copy its style. brian believes that the music industry has 'passed away', as he once put it, so it's strange that he'd care for whatever his kids listen to. he dislikes hi-hats, but every drum part on this album features them. does brian really have cognitive dissonance with his own music?
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« Reply #112 on: April 11, 2015, 08:58:51 PM »

Quote
And to get back on topic, this thread is all about the media reviews. Now as I said earlier, 3 of the biggest criticisms of the album seem to be: 1, Runaway Dancer is reviled. 2, There are too many guests and there should be more Brian. 3, Joe Thomas`s involvement has led to the album being cheesier/more saccharine than some of its predecessors.

You know, despite the fact that there are 5 or 6 guest singers on this album, there are still 10 songs with Brian/Al/Blondie. Throw in Half Moon Bay and you have a full album right there.
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« Reply #113 on: April 11, 2015, 09:05:11 PM »

Quote
the most valid point concerning this album's production. nobody who believes this album was 100% typical Brian Wilson fare can possibly explain it without conjuring something incredibly farfetched like 'he's only trolling when he says he only listens to oldies
Is it farfetched because it doesn't fit your view of how Brian actually is? Brian is known for being facetious periodically, and anybody who actually knows the man will back that up.
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« Reply #114 on: April 11, 2015, 11:09:42 PM »

The main difference, as I've mentioned, is that there is a greater variety of songs, a somewhat denser production approach (although it's pretty similar to BWRG in many ways) and more multitracked leads from Brian.

Actually the overwhelming differences are...

1 - the guest artists (eight, twice as many as GIOMH)...

2 - Brian's band doesn't provide nearly all the backing. Far from it.
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« Reply #115 on: April 11, 2015, 11:40:27 PM »

I`m sure there are many people who do enjoy the production and nobody is knocking them for that. But the assertion that, `folks are so blinded by the fact that Joe's name is attached, or that Mike's isn't, that they're not able to actually hear the music` is blatantly false. Right from the beginning there have been reviews both on the board and in the media that discuss the production sound in a not particularly positive way. Now these people aren`t just imagining that there is a difference between the production of this album and TLOS. Of course there are differences. You can`t just replace Scott Bennett with Joe Thomas and expect an album to sound the same.

Except that Scott Bennett writes, sings and plays on the album.

So I'm not seeing the replacement there.

You also entirely miss the point of my quote, but you seem so blinded by hatred of the album it hardly seems worth the effort to engage with you now.

Enjoy poisoning people against the man and music you purport to love!
This is sort of like saying Van Dyke Parks collaborated on lyrics for BWPS and TLOS... Scott Bennett wrote lyrics for two songs on NPP, which is hardly comparable to the extent of his collaboration with Brian on TLOS. I hope I'm not poisoning anyone against Brian when I say that I, too, tend to prefer Bennett's lyrics to the ones we get from Wilson/Thomas.  Everybody has their favorite Brian collaborators, and personally, Scott Bennett was/is my favorite since Andy Paley. 

If you compare the arrangements and overall sound of TLOS and the Gershwin album with those of Imagination, TWGMTR and NPP, there is an undeniable difference in production aesthetic. I think a large part of the problem some fans have with Joe Thomas lies with his arrangements. He has a style of his own, very much adult-contemporary, with a lot of nylon string acoustic guitars and a very different usage of woodwinds and brass compared to we are typically used to from Brian. While many members of this board enjoy or don't mind this production aesthetic - preferring instead to listen to the songs themselves -  it's the type of thing music critics latch onto.
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« Reply #116 on: April 12, 2015, 12:36:20 AM »

Essentially, NPP is Son of TWGMTR . With guests. A BW/JT album.
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« Reply #117 on: April 12, 2015, 02:31:01 AM »

Essentially, NPP is Son of TWGMTR . With guests. A BW/JT album.
I see it like that as well. But with the difference that all that people disliked about TWGMTR has been taken a couple of steps further on NPP. The pitching of vocals, the AC sounds etc. And the strongest songs aren't nearly as strong IMO. There's no stone cold classic on this record.
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« Reply #118 on: April 12, 2015, 02:50:56 AM »

I dare any sound engineer on this board to tell me with a straight face that no vocals have been pitched on this album. It's crazy how some people in this thread proclaim no Auto-tune has been used on this album, just because their ears aren't trained to detect it. Or the ones that start anal discussions about how it was not the Auto-tune brand that was used. Auto-tune is synonymous with pitched vocals and that's what we're talking about. Sorry for the rant, but knowing a lot about this stuff from working in professional sound studios all the time, it just irritates me to see this.
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« Reply #119 on: April 12, 2015, 07:31:59 AM »

I dare any sound engineer on this board to tell me with a straight face that no vocals have been pitched on this album. It's crazy how some people in this thread proclaim no  has been used on this album, just because their ears aren't trained to detect it. Or the ones that start anal discussions about how it was not the  brand that was used.  is synonymous with pitched vocals and that's what we're talking about. Sorry for the rant, but knowing a lot about this stuff from working in professional sound studios all the time, it just irritates me to see this.

Word. There is so much pitching going on, it's out of this world. Further more, I'm sorry, but to me this album is unlistenable. I bought it for "In the Back of My Mind".
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« Reply #120 on: April 12, 2015, 07:45:07 AM »

Hi all,

I have yet to buy NPP.  I do wonder if the fans give it a bad review because they weren't asked to be on the album also?  As for the critics, who get paid to review NPP, they should try making an ablum themselves.  We all have our tastes.  We have a right to day them.  While some are disappointed that Brian has other singers singing with him they should understand that this is how Brian and the powers that be wanted it.  If anyone calls NPP, or any other CD, unlistenable then throw it out or don't buy it.  I know that I would never be able to make an album.  Some times the more excited people get about the release of NPP or any other BW or BB CC, the more they will dislke it after listening to it.  If aynone wants excamples other than BW or BB I will be glad to talk about it in The Sandbox.   

 
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« Reply #121 on: April 12, 2015, 08:10:20 AM »

Ask me, Yorick. I posted a very long and in-depth review and analysis of the album in a thread called "An Alternate View Of No Pier Pressure". Did you read it? I specifically looked at the album from several angles, including the lyrical themes, the construction of the songs and the music itself, the connections to the past, and also specifically from a critical listening perspective.

Just for the record, and I don't know your credentials as a professional or anything else, but I had in the past operated a recording and production company with a friend from school. There were clients we had, who made both demos and albums with us, who were not trained singers. When we tracked with them, the type of songs they had were such that it felt like we did not want obvious pitch correction or autotune to be audible on the tracks which was very much in style at that time, so we were drill sergeants about hitting the pitches as dead-on as possible into the mic. It was the long road to the finish line doing it that way, but also those singers were challenged to really focus on the minute details of hitting and exiting a pitch without bending up or trailing off flat at the end of a note. Maybe they had not thought that microscopic about doing it that way, but we thought it served the music to do it without audible autotune.

Later they went to another local studio where the engineer used autotune as a general rule. The process was faster, to untrained ears the vocals had more pop and punch, and the singers didn't need to focus as much on the technicalities as the "fix it in the mix" ethos was firmly in play. So they jumped ship and got autotuned vocals. No big deal, it's business, right?

And on other projects, I have used and personally tweaked and tweezed the most minor vocal points using specifically Antares Autotune. I tried to make it the most undetectable use of correction possible, to where no one except the two of us producing the whole thing would know it was there. No residue, no dramatic jumps or digital sweeps, just the most fine-tuned use of correcting a trailing note that we thought could be possible. The thinking there is to use it like a really good compressor - unless you want the obvious overuse of that sound to be a part of the aural sheen of that track, keep it to where it isn't an obvious factor, or even where you hear Adam Levine on a Maroon 5 track triggering the overuse of autotune on some hook phrases of a song but not others. That is a production decision, obviously. Just like going "all in" on an 1176 and getting that deliberately effected sound versus a transparent use of the compressor.

How many listeners who have not worked with this gear would know what "all in" on an 1176 sounds like, or could point to that and say it affected their enjoyment of a drum track within a mix? How many, seriously?

So let me say this rather bluntly.

If you are trying to suggest and counter and argue points about the quality of this album potentially being affected negatively by the audible use of Autotune or Melodyne or any other processing that bothers you, you're kind of barking up a wrong tree by hammering those points into the ground.

If your goal and the goals of others who have been harping on the use of pitch correction on this particular album *even before it was released* is to diminish or distract from others enjoying it and even celebrating the fact that this album has for many even exceeded expectations of what it would be when it was finished and released, it's not working. It will not work in those people's minds, because they have heard it with their own ears and have made up their own minds. You're talking into a dead phone at this point trying to revisit the old "but it's been autotuned" point.

That point is similar to the Boy Who Cried Wolf. It's been said so often, it all but devolved into a pattern, an expected response. Something which perhaps some factions who may have the goal of throwing dirt on projects with the name Brian Wilson attached would latch onto and continue pounding and driving and arguing to the point where it turned into white noise with no discernible signal to the point where it's just tired and worn out at this point.

Have there been other posters on this forum who have not only detected such patterns but also called them out? Not just called them out, but spelled out some of the details? So what exactly are they seeing, and is it worth taking into consideration before continuing to try to engage debates about this stuff? I had a dust-up over autotune last month or so where the point was made that if others are seeing it and calling it out, then that criticism is worth considering, internalizing, and perhaps applying to your process in general...so if folks here are seeing this pattern which I'll call "crying autotune" that has permeated this board, maybe those playing into it should consider that perhaps some folks are wise to what could be going on.

It's fine to debate, discuss, etc. But to try convincing others that they should *not* like something based on something that has been used as a way to diminish or denigrate in the past, it can quickly turn into a crying wolf scene rather than changing any minds or shifting opinions.

So someone should now *not* enjoy this album because someone says there is autotune or other pitch correction audible? Then challenges other "professionals" to challenge their opinions in return and try to argue a negative?

I put my thoughts into words in my review. I detected no obvious use of pitch correction to the point where it jumped out of the mix, where it affected my enjoyment of the tracks, or where it did anything to mask the pure sound of the vocals in question. I heard very pure lead vocals, and tracks where the sound of those vocals perfectly matched the textures and mood of the song. I heard backing vocals mixed old-school, where certain blends in the same track were EQ'ed a certain way to make them stand out from the rest. It's the same EQ method used on Wouldn't It Be Nice, where some backing blends are mixed to bring out the mid-high and high freqs while cutting the bass, and those jump out of a very full track. Same techniques and sounds on certain NPP vocal blends.

So I'll take your bait, Yorick, as I think I have a somewhat decent critical ear able to pinpoint and discuss some pretty minor sonic details, and I also have hands-on experience working with and without pitch correction with both lead and backing vocals on recording sessions and mixes. I have applied it obviously for effect, have masked it so it's inaudible, and also applied it to where the vocal would be effected in some parts of the song and inaudible in others.


Bottom line - On this album, it's a non-issue for me because as I listened, there was nothing that jumped out of the vocals to suggest they were obviously corrected to the point where it was blatant or audible. If there were, I must have missed them.

Difference is, I know what to listen for, and none of that pitch correction which you and others may be trying to use as the primary negative critique of the record affected my enjoyment of the album.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2015, 08:19:55 AM by guitarfool2002 » Logged

"All of us have the privilege of making music that helps and heals - to make music that makes people happier, stronger, and kinder. Don't forget: Music is God's voice." - Brian Wilson
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« Reply #122 on: April 12, 2015, 08:13:41 AM »

I have to say, this is really sad that you can't just put this music on and enjoy it for what  it is: well produced pop music. You have to dissect it, study it and make yourself miserable when it doesn't jive with the Brian Wilson you envision. So very sad, all the experts here on production and music and who Brian was and who he should be. You've painted yourself into a corner where you can't really enjoy what Brian does because you think what he does now pretty much sucks. I am so happy I'm not in that place.
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« Reply #123 on: April 12, 2015, 08:15:14 AM »

I dare any sound engineer on this board to tell me with a straight face that no vocals have been pitched on this album. It's crazy how some people in this thread proclaim no  has been used on this album, just because their ears aren't trained to detect it. Or the ones that start anal discussions about how it was not the  brand that was used.  is synonymous with pitched vocals and that's what we're talking about. Sorry for the rant, but knowing a lot about this stuff from working in professional sound studios all the time, it just irritates me to see this.

Word. There is so much pitching going on, it's out of this world. Further more, I'm sorry, but to me this album is unlistenable. I bought it for "In the Back of My Mind".

Back up the claim with examples so some of us can hear what you're saying? I have the album, most of us do, give me a few track times and phrases to key in on and I'll listen with my AKG studio 'phones.

Fair enough?
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« Reply #124 on: April 12, 2015, 08:16:57 AM »

Another beautiful post guitarfool.
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