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Post by coolbarn on Feb 10, 2016 0:10:17 GMT -5
I've been loving VS, but I REALLY miss JT's bassline! There's nuthin'! Agreed. I am yet to find a song in history where synth-bass sounds better than what a decent bass guitar player would churn out.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2016 9:48:30 GMT -5
I've been loving VS, but I REALLY miss JT's bassline! There's nuthin'! Agreed. I am yet to find a song in history where synth-bass sounds better than what a decent bass guitar player would churn out. this is why I have a sneaky suspicion WB heard the tracks, said "sorry - the Daft Punk disco retro thing is dead... make something more *modern*..." or that they didn't like the songs and the guys had to quickly write new tracks and get them down to make some sort of deadline... it's a lot faster to lay down synth bass than real bass when making a record. heck, who knows who's even playing the bassline? ha ha - I listened to the first album again the other day and am honestly amazed with how good John plays on there - if it is indeed him, not to add fuel again to that speculative fire, that's another discussion... There are other clues too the final PG album was kinda rushed like RCM was... namely, Simon's dodgy lyric writing on the final PG album. The only production element I'm more or less satisfied with is Simon's performance on PG album. It's like they made that the priority - get the vox to sound full and produced well. The instrumentation is there, sure, but some of the flourishes probably would have gotten chucked/revamped had they had more time. The tracks that do have real bass like PG the track and Pressure Off sound amazing... I think the predominance of synth bass makes the album sound less "band-sound-y" and yeah actually I prefer real drumkit too because Rog is more showcased with real drums You can have an interesting mix of band sound with synths - Queen and even The Clash and of course Blondie... Even the Eurythmics started bringing guitar into it more on the later albums... Because PG sounds like well produced Simon vox tracks (not counting dodgy lyrics) against questionable instrumentation arrangement choices, it comes off to me as a later Village People album or even something akin to the last two ABBA albums - Super Trouper or The Visitors. Not the strongest work. A struggle to play catch up in the modern music landscape. A bit out of touch and jarringly distracting enough times to take you out of the listening experience entirely. In fact, I find to me Si's energy on the vocal performance doesn't match the energy of the songs. It's like he actually sang in some cases to something much more fuller, more high energy. Some tracks like Universe Alone final version... it's almost like he's pushing it too much... was the original arrangement bigger? Some of the tracks while hooky now seem almost cringe-worthy "trying too hard" - What Are the Chances is another one where Si's mix is too high... it's almost like the old trying too hard with Someone Else Not Me debacle all over again. and Falling Down. At least the tracks on PG are more upbeat. But almost too much. By the time you finish Garage and Skyline and B. Girl you're wondering if someone slipped the band Happy Pills. I skip Danceophobia now every time and wonder why Cinderella Ride did not make the main album... I'm going to chalk it up to Corporate sellout... I think Duran are better musico's than PG the album was allowed to showcase to us. WB: Sorry Duran, it's not exactly the record we're looking for... NR: (answering for whole band) That's okay. I'm gonna pull some all nighters with Spike Stent at Sphere Studios... I'll get it right, don't you worry! (John goes off to hang out with Gela and Si races around France in a vintage car before jumping on a yacht. Rog goes on a secret commando mission and... well, you know what they say about the quiet ones!)
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trevgreg
PAPER GOD
[Mo0:17]
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Post by trevgreg on Feb 10, 2016 14:56:00 GMT -5
WB: Sorry Duran, it's not exactly the record we're looking for... NR: (answering for whole band) That's okay. I'm gonna pull some all nighters with Spike Stent at Sphere Studios... I'll get it right, don't you worry! This actually isn't very far off from a story that a musician told me last year about Nick, haha.
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blaahh
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Post by blaahh on Feb 18, 2016 12:49:30 GMT -5
Going back to the post title, i havent played it this year. Shame thought it may be a clinger...
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Post by derekduran on Feb 19, 2016 2:06:09 GMT -5
I've narrowed it down to PG, Last Night, Silence, Face for today, Chances and Universe Alone and depending on my mood Northern Lights.
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Post by SilverSungBlueBoy on Feb 19, 2016 14:37:24 GMT -5
GREAT question.
You know? At first? Pressure Off didn't do it for me at all. Now? I really like it. As I found myself listening to the LP Paper Gods via different mediums, Macbook, Car, Phone, Bose, and playing with volume levels, I'm astonished at how differently the same song can sound via different devices and at different volumes, even lower volumes from which I'm accustomed.
Pressure Off has such complex multiple layers of sound. Nick at his BEST! There for awhile I heard something new with each listen. LOVE that and when D2 does it well, no one does it better! I appreciated PO much more over time. You Kill Me with Silence? At first I LOVED it. Felt like it had that Chauffeur vibe! As time as passed, not so much. THAT and I discovered What are the Chances? I love that ballad. Man oh Man. Can't get enough of it. I just don't feel Sunset Garage, although I do fancy the British pronunciation of Garage. Change the Skyline, another snoozer, then again, I never cared for it neither. I get what they are doing with Last Night in the City, i'll tap along to it, hum, Laaa la la la, la la, but not enough D2 DNA in there.
I actually dig Paper Gods, the single, as it took balls to release a slower song of THAT length as the opening track in 2015. I like the confidence! An amalgam of New Religion, Nightboat, and Man who Stole the Leopard. I LOVE their classic albeit not visited enough haunting sound. Furthermore, the lines, "She's staring out in underwear from your computer screen, It's all on sale for dirty cash (cache), we can wash it clean, So hang it out on line (hanging out online), confess and you'll feel fine. Great wordplay!!!
I've always dug Face for Today, GREAT song, never tire of it, Dancephobia, hated at first, LOVE it now, it's an acquired taste, Butterfly Girl I never tire of neither, The Universe Alone, amazing, not enough words, sound matches the lyrics masterfully.
Only in Dreams? Please! Any song that has the lines to illicit the imagery of, "There's a Vampire, in the limousine, the sun's going down like a symphony?" KICK ASS! What a moody sound completed by the moodiest of lyrics!
I have always VERY much preferred the extra tracks, Planet Roaring, Valentine Stones, too a lesser degree Northern Lights, On Evil Beach and Cinderella Ride. My god, Cinderella Ride!
So, I don't like it any more or less really as time has passed. I just appreciate it in a different way since the release. The artwork has CERTAINLY grown on me in a much more positive manner!
FWIW I do prefer AYNIN to PG, but I'll take either over Astronaut.
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