Best Album Production?

[Rev. Juda$ Sleaze]

Interested to hear what album you guys think has the best production you've ever heard. You don't have to like the music, just the engineering.

My vote goes for "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac. Every instrument really seems to sing out on it. If anyone can point me to some reading material about the production on that album, I'd be grateful.

Any others?

[Andyreww]

One that I have always liked is: Simple Minds - Live in the City of Light. My understanding is that after the actual concert (I was there) they spent a while in the studio producing the album. The result was very good IMHO and one of the nest live albums I've heard.

[Beer Moth]

It's all relative.

[CarlosUnderground]

Robi Draco Rosa-"Vagabundo". It's very dynamic and has IMO, a very live feel and character. Plus, I can hear everything!
I highly recommend listening from start to finish, like "Bitches Brew".

[Scott Jackson]

It's all relative.

P.S. To Sleazy: Dark Side of the Moon

[redlogic]

P.S. To Sleazy: Dark Side of the Moon

+1
Also my personal Gold Standard.

[davidpietrzak]

I know I'm young. ha. But here's my favorite production/ mix job: anything from the album "The Ocean and the Sun" by The Sound of Animals Fighting.


I love how glassy yet full sounding the guitars are.
The bass is leveled perfectly and really clear.
They actually rode the faders through-out the song to help make the song more dynamic. (seems to be a lost trade to my generation)
And don't even get me started on the drums. (beautiful, notice the change of how much ring is on the snare at different parts in the song)

I do love dark side of the moon too though. Alan Parsons for the win.

[Nublu]

It's all relative.

+1
"Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" are milestone markers for me when it comes to new adventures in what is possible. Looking back at them now, I find myself thinking "look ma, I've discovered the tip of the iceberg!"
There's so-o-o-o much good stuff out there. For various reasons.

My favourite album that distinguishes itself by what they didn't do is "Vladimir Horowitz - The Historic Return to Carnegie Hall". Here's one of the truly great romantic artist/musician/pianists.... and Mr. Horowitz made them leave his performance mistakes in the post production.
The event was deemed Historic because he hadn't given a public performance in 10 yrs. and because it was "Horowitz". The recital was announced and sold out within a few hrs.
He walks out on stage to an extended standing ovation and you can feel the burden of expectation that is placed on him. He sits down to the Cmaj Bach/Busoni Toccata Adagio and Fugue. In the opening bar he falters.......... for all the world and history to see.
By the end of the Fugue one can see that the "King has Returned"... Why he earned the title... Why a brass tack was put in the stage where the front right leg of his piano was located to commemorate the occasion ... and why concert pianists often sought that tack as a reference to where they might place their piano.
Art alive. In artist and audience. It's refreshing for me to encounter someone who doesn't have to edit or censor their humanity.

[Rev. Juda$ Sleaze]

It's all relative.

Of course, but that doesn't mean people can't share their relative opinions.

If it were definitive, we would all already know the answer.

Some interesting choices, I was totally expecting Dark Side of the Moon to be mentioned a lot. While I can appreciate that Dark Side is better produced, I actually prefer the sound of Wish You Were Here, if that makes sense?

Fairly in-depth article about Rumours:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug07/a ... s_0807.htm

[Beer Moth]

I know,I meant it depended entirely on the music and what its limitations held for the production.A live gig,for instance.
And so many different genres...just being lazy,I suppose.

[Rev. Juda$ Sleaze]

Yeah, but regardless of the situation and wotnot of the recording, is there not some albums that just make you think "damn that sounds good, how the f**k did they do that?!?" or some such...

[fader8]

"Best" is too arbitrary. You need to have a measure. So I'll submit this one and let's see if anyone can guess/figure out why I think this one's important:

[Rev. Juda$ Sleaze]

I haven't figured out why you posted it, but I did enjoy it!

I should have said "favourite" rather than "best".

P.S. Apparently there's crowbar hits recorded along to the drums in that song: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_in_the_Street

[fader8]

I haven't figured out why you posted it, but I did enjoy it!

The thing that makes the production of this song so special is that no matter what you are listening to it with, from a massive PA down to a 1/4 inch speaker on a portable device, it still sounds great. Even if it's barely audible in a noisy place, it still sounds great.

Besides that, it's a great song.

[Rev. Juda$ Sleaze]

Ah, I see. Yes, very true. It even sounds good on YouTube!

See, this was the kind of discussion I was after! Not just a list of great albums

[tristancalvaire]

It really depends on how you define best production, for me.

See, I really love that 'made in a garage' sound- which takes quite a bit of effort to get with my favorite genres of music, nearly always electronica. It's sort of like how the 'just got out of bed' rocker look takes hours to prepare XD

In regards to that, my favorite album produced would be Daft Punk's Musique- it's really breathy and airy.

Now, if you want sterile, loud, 'well-produced'? Britney Spears' Femme Fatale

[davidpietrzak]

I haven't figured out why you posted it, but I did enjoy it!

The thing that makes the production of this song so special is that no matter what you are listening to it with, from a massive PA down to a 1/4 inch speaker on a portable device, it still sounds great. Even if it's barely audible in a noisy place, it still sounds great.

Besides that, it's a great song.

The key to making it sound good on all speakers is a perfect midrange, and I knew the song but haven't heard it in years. I gotta agree with you. I just listened to it on my laptop speakers and it was a great mix.

[fader8]

The key to making it sound good on all speakers is a perfect midrange,

Bingo!

A lot of people starting out in production fall victim to the myth that it's the mastering engineers job to make sure a song sounds great across various playback mediums. It's only partially true. That goal needs to start with and encompass the composition, arrangement, instrumentation, sound design, recording and the mixing of the song. When you have all that stuff right, you can make miracles happen.

[CarlosUnderground]

NIN-"The Downward Spiral". IMO its so deep from a mixing point of view, from mellow pianos to crushing guitars, happy harmonies to painful screams. And all that white noise! A masterful production.

Bob Marley and the Wailers- "Exodus". Great tunes, unique sound, and sounds awesome even through a can of beans.

[zakkleifeste]

I'm gonna be lame and say Adele-Rolling in the Deep. I love how he captured the "classic" feel in a modern song.