music production in the 70s

I think so, too, so why did Fleetwood Mac or Steely Dan spend a year making records that sounded no better than what he and Gus Dudgeon could do in a few weeks?

― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, November 23, 2021 2:22 PM (fifty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i'd love a log of how much time fleetwood mac spent *actually recording music* vs...other stuff

feel like steely dan was probably working all the time though

Early rather than late 70s, but the sessions for Deep Purple's Machine Head sound like a total shitshow, the story of which can of course be heard in "Smoke on the Water". Always thought the production was pretty weak on that album tbh.

We had the Rolling Stones' mobile recording unit sitting outside in the snow ... once we got to the truck for a playback, even if we didn't think it was a perfect take, we'd go, 'Yeah, that's good enough.' Because we just couldn't stand going back again.

—Ritchie Blackmore[16]

Prolly on the earlier tip too, but the first few Kiss albums are horribly produced, borderline unlistenable. Destroyer was their first studio album with any oomph.

I like electric sitars

The Kinks are not really noted for their production values tbf.

Their records are all over the place. Production-wise, their best stuff was with Shel Talmy. Ray always seemed indifferent at best, accepting whatever the then-current mode of production was, but never attempting to perfect it or bend it to the Kinks’ needs. One exception is Give The People What They Want, but the great production is wasted on middling material. Their ‘70s theatrical records all sound meh, especially Preservation (though that was apparently rushed; they finished the mix literally the day before they left for a US tour).

Three albums that I associate with a sort of murky over-stuffed 70s sound - though that might have been the pressings I heard them on - are "Quadrophenia", "Physical Graffiti" and "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway".

Same engineer on Quadrophenia and (the ‘74 recordings on) Physical Graffiti, Ron Nevison. He designed Ronnie Lane’s mobile studio which the Who used for Quadrophenia while their control room was being built, so they kept him on as the engineer. He didn’t know how to mic Moon’s kit — few did — and supposedly after the first session with Zep, Bonham had to take him aside to tell him how he wanted his kit miked. This is why the drums on Quadrophenia are close-miked vs. the more ambient approach on Physical Graffiti. But the overall sound of Quadrophenia was heavily criticized in Lenny Kaye’s Rolling Stone review.

I mean

is no one going to talk about Nebraska

it's like

i

i don't even KNOW you people

Nebraska isn't '70s.

Oh! Right. My bad

Music production in the 80s is another kettle of fish altogether