oakey
PAPER GOD
Posts: 2,600
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Post by oakey on Apr 17, 2022 3:45:06 GMT -5
It’s nice that they are working on a Medazzaland reissue even though I hate that album. It’s a bit odd though to skip TWA, an album 3 of the current members were actively involved in and even PT, an album which all four current members were involved in (there are even more demos with RT). Maybe a reissue of TWA is in the works as well but the people involved are not very talkative about it. Not sure what you mean about PT... you mean Pop Trash, right? How were all four of the current members involved? They weren't, it were only Nick and Simon. Or do you mean Thank You? I mean TY, sorry ☺️ All those abbreviations. Seriously had to look up which song SLS refers to.
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Post by poptrash on Apr 17, 2022 7:15:11 GMT -5
Maybe a reissue of TWA is in the works as well but the people involved are not very talkative about it. Not sure what you mean about PT... you mean Pop Trash, right? How were all four of the current members involved? They weren't, it were only Nick and Simon. Or do you mean Thank You? I mean TY, sorry ☺️ All those abbreviations. Seriously had to look up which song SLS refers to. Yeah i thought so, and i totally dislike the abbreviations also when refered to usernames. I wouldnt know what SLS refers to actually but wont do a search... 😎
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Post by mic on Apr 17, 2022 8:19:28 GMT -5
I mean TY, sorry ☺️ All those abbreviations. Seriously had to look up which song SLS refers to. Yeah i thought so, and i totally dislike the abbreviations also when refered to usernames. I wouldnt know what SLS refers to actually but wont do a search... 😎 You are not the only one who did that! : D
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Post by pollo194 on Apr 17, 2022 10:06:42 GMT -5
Thanks for posting! UGH! Them saying that typical Nick when responding to "what are you looking for in this track?" is "Not this!" That is the WORST kind of client to have. Even though Anthony and Bob sound very gracious and appreciative of the opportunity, and have nothing but nice things to say about the guys (they laugh at the exchange I wrote above), DD, at least at that time, sound like a pain in the butt to work with! It's like they're a bunch of children who need a firm hand to keep them focused and on track! I don't know how typical the writing/producing/mixing process normally is, so I don't know if what they describe is the norm that they hand over some half-baked ideas and demos and expect the producer/mixer to make something out of it. I had the impression that since Ronson (and including him), they have been including the producer in the writing process, which I think sounds a little more manageable, since like I said earlier, the producer can keep them on track. I think I've mentioned this before, but I think at this point in their careers and with 40 years of experience in writing songs, they would be more efficient in their writing process, or at least be able to shape songs much more easily. Fascinating stuff though! I would LOVE to hear this kind of commentary about EVERY SINGLE ALBUM!!! As a music producer myself (albeit not as professional as these guys, only local indie bands) I can relate with the frustration of working with artists that don't know how to express their ideas or just simply want to leave most of the job to the producer. In this case it kind of surprises me that the band wasn't so involved in the process. It was probably a symptom of the crisis that the band was going through at the moment. My guess is that this was one of the consequences of John's departure. On Pop Trash it was prbably more of the same. Anyway, AJR and Bob St. John seem to be very gracious towards that project (Doing a podcast about it makes it evident). Warren has worked on different projects with AJR after Medazzaland, so the relation they have and their music creation workflow must be very good.
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Post by theprocess on Apr 17, 2022 11:00:35 GMT -5
I'm loving this series. The most insightful look at how DD work in the studio. It definitely seems as though the band were keeping an eye on the budget and avoiding big studios. They were quite brave in going fully digital in the mid 90's when the technology was still finding its feet. It seems to have brought its own problems with it though, and much of the production was a salvage job more than anything, even though the songs were completed. I was always under the impression that Warren was in complete control around this era and was creating completed pieces that were ready for release. That doesn't seem to be the case. Its more a collection of songs with specific sounds and loops recorded but everything needing put into place properly.
I'm curious about the potential of a 25th anniversary release that they mentioned. Would they use some more of John's original basslines or the early arrangements? They may try and reclaim this as a three original members album as opposed to the album they made after John left. He didn't play on all of the Wedding Album either so its highly possible.
Can't wait for more episodes.
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Post by bigbanggeneration on Apr 17, 2022 13:34:47 GMT -5
Regarding Pressure off, I heard something totally different on how the song came about.
The story goes that Ronson heard the guitar on What are the chances and then suggested to JT to get in touch with Nile. I think it was Simon who reached out to Nile. I think this was due to there may have been differences of opinion between Nile and the band in terms of the reunion album.
Nile recollected that he needed to make sure he had rest the night before coming into the studio. In the studio, the band played him the entire album and Nile said, ok (or something to that effect). But there was no pressure off song on the album. Then all of them started jamming - a song which would become Pressure off. There is video of the jamming session out there. JT commented later that he was feeling inspired by Nile during the session and he really had to bring it.
Nile recalled thinking on the plane ride home that all Simon had to do was do that thing he does (i.e. his harmonies) and the song was ready.
Nick recalled the song title came from a Simon expression. Pressure off meaning if you think you have one hit song on an album, the pressure is then off for the rest of the album recording in terms of there is no pressure to create a lead single because you now have one.
There was another song - but it didn't come together as quickly. Nile would be talking to Nick in later discussions about that one. Duran ended up using Nile's guitar on that 2nd one. Can't remember the song title - but posters here know what song that was.
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Post by Dr Of The Revolution on Apr 17, 2022 14:00:26 GMT -5
Wasn't that song OID ? (Only in Dreams)
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Post by fictionalsounds on Apr 19, 2022 8:21:26 GMT -5
Warren C.. “ You’re a producer! Figure it out? What an to a$$! Sorry Warren fans he’s an a hole!!! Why aren’t they and Duran on the same page when mixing happens??? Ie like working “together “ in the same studio at the same time?? yeah, that quote struck me as being the total opposite from the band/working dynamic as "rio," where nick was so involved that he stayed behind for mixing while the others had already travelled overseas for video shoots. however, when you look at "medazzaland," they could have simply made the decision to be more collaborative in the ways that they let anthony (and others) bring something to the table--much like when they decided to work with ian little for "is there something i should know?" according to little, the durans requested that he do a remix of something off of "rio" (the track wasn't named/remix released), but he was irked that no-one from the band bothered to show up for the session. so--he decided to just very much do whatever he wanted and liked--thinking he would never hear from them. as it turns out, they didn't attend because they wanted him to do exactly that--they didn't want him to be concerned with what they might think--and they all loved his work, each one called him separately and different times to say how great it was. so he got the "is there something i should know?" session!
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Post by fictionalsounds on Apr 19, 2022 9:51:51 GMT -5
listened to the "midnight sun" episode yesterday after work--an excellent episode--and that's one of the tracks that has aged best, the vocal melody/choices are amazingly good.
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Post by madoldlu on Apr 19, 2022 10:19:37 GMT -5
Yeah, that Warren quote is something. I know Nick and Warren are big shot rock stars, but at least show some professional courtesy or even at the very least some freaking manners! Those responses are pretty obnoxious.
I can completely understand the band wanting the producers/mixers to do their own thing, but at least be a little more gracious about telling them that. When we work with clients, we have a kick off meeting where we ask questions about what direction they want their project to go, because any project can go in possibly millions of different directions. So even if the client doesn't know specifically what they want, they can at least express a general, even if vague, area they want to explore. I think in the last few albums the band have alluded to having bigger discussions about what sound they want to explore (no bass in current music, taking back the DD sound), or how they collaborate more with the producers (Mr Hudson coming up with the Paper Gods chorus). But I guess back then they were more "relaxed" about the whole process.
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