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RossQuote
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Ross
Interesting. I don't recall seeing even one thing negative from anyone on this board who has heard the album. I am sure there will eventually be some dissenters, but so far it's unanimous love for this fine album!!
I still can't get enough of it, it just gets better with each listen. Just, wow!
Mind you, there will be. Complaints about few Keith-solos and Mick's mannered singing will soon shower over us
Or the dreaded "brickwalled" complaints!
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Idorh
I'm 69 years old, and stones fan off 1963. I was 15 years old. Now with this album blue and lonely I'm 15 again hahaha. Great album, and swinging drums from Watts, and driving guitars plus fantastic harmonica and voice of Mick Jagger. Sorry for my bad english, my Dutch is already bad. The blues is back.
Great review, great english
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mpj200
This all leads to a Stones album that is very unique.
So it's not unique (1.being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.) but it's very unique.
That's heavy, man. I don't know how to understand that.
It's actually quite simple. It's unique. It is unlike anything else. Perhaps this clears it all up for you?
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kowalski
The album is actually brickwalled to death. But who cares? It's so good.
Yeah I had the impression you could hear distortion on just about every instrument, not just the vocals.
But I agree B&L is very good.
I wasn't aware of the term "brickwalled", but I listened last night and thought the whole album seemed flat. Now I know why.
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Hairball
While I anticipate the initial impression will be a blast of euphoria (when was the last time there was a great Stones album...'81?), not sure how long the bliss will last. Is it one for the ages? Will it stand the test of time? Or is it more of a novelty of blues covers by a great band that we love?
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Hairball
Can't help but think of Mick's quote from back in the day: "I mean what's the point in listening to us doing "I'm A King Bee" when you can listen to Slim Harpo doing it"? Will this album be any different in the long run? Are any of these covers better than the originals?
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lem motlow
...reality sets in eventually and you have to decide how good what they put out really was...or wasn't.when bigger bang was released i loved it for about a week i couldn't stop listening then i noticed well..some of the odd songs weren't odd,they sucked and it unraveled from there.where ..say,let it bleed is timeless bang had a shelf life of about a month.
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gotdablouse
Surely the instruments/guitars were recorded on their own individual track and the nearly "mono" mix we're getting on some tracks is a production decision they made?
Not necessarily.
Older recording techniques from the 50s & 60s often involved just micing the room, rather than the individual instruments.
The best results are often achieved using a combination of the two approaches.
...and there's lot more to producing and mastering a good recording than deciding which instruments come out of which speaker
Like Don Was indeed said they did on some tracks.
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AmpegVT22
No, you have to have stereo to place things to the left or right. Mono, everything is dead centre. Sounds to me like they've just taken their usual modus op of allowing -some- bleed -- e.g. guitars into the drum mics -- and let it bleed just a little more. Of course, that can be done later, artificially & very artfully ... but why bother?
Who are the guest guitarists, do we know? Some of the lead sounds like Clapton; it's a bit too fluent for Brother Ron.
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gotdablouse
Surely the instruments/guitars were recorded on their own individual track and the nearly "mono" mix we're getting on some tracks is a production decision they made?
Not necessarily.
Older recording techniques from the 50s & 60s often involved just micing the room, rather than the individual instruments.
The best results are often achieved using a combination of the two approaches.
...and there's lot more to producing and mastering a good recording than deciding which instruments come out of which speaker
Like Don Was indeed said they did on some tracks.
It's probable that they did have mics for each instrument ie the usual but also miced the room.
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AmpegVT22
Sounds to me like they've just taken their usual modus op of allowing -some- bleed -- e.g. guitars into the drum mics -- and let it bleed just a little more.
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GasLightStreet
That might be what Mick was hinting at - the mixing being a pain in the ass to get it to sound like it was done on Pro Tools in 1956 or whatever. Getting the right placement with the guitars, there were probably a few ideas of how mono it should sound or how little yet still there separation there should be to be almost mono.
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Hairball
While I anticipate the initial impression will be a blast of euphoria (when was the last time there was a great Stones album...'81?), not sure how long the bliss will last. Is it one for the ages? Will it stand the test of time? Or is it more of a novelty of blues covers by a great band that we love?
The bliss will last as long as one loves the LP, just like BEGGARS BANQUET, LET IT BLEED, STICKY FINGERS, EXILE ON MAIN STREET, SOME GIRLS and TATTOO YOU (and whatever really good albums like AFTERMATH, GOATS HEAD SOUP, BLACK AND BLUE and their last really good LP, UNDERCOVER).
It's that good.
It is for the ages. It will stand the test of time. It's not a novelty.
It's that good.
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GasLightStreet
I think if one thinks the Stones' versions of a or any of these song(s) is better than the original(s) well then maybe it is. The original (or whatever cover version they emulate) is not necessarily the best version. Afterall, if you listen to Robert Johnson's Love In Vain or Stop Breaking Down and then say they're better than the Stones' versions of them, well, there's probably something wrong with you.
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Rip This
...really??....complaints about the harmonica??...on a blues album??...again...really?
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Bjorn
Sometimes I feel that I´m missing the "like-button"...Obviously spend too much time on Facebook...
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Hairball
While I anticipate the initial impression will be a blast of euphoria (when was the last time there was a great Stones album...'81?), not sure how long the bliss will last. Is it one for the ages? Will it stand the test of time? Or is it more of a novelty of blues covers by a great band that we love?
The bliss will last as long as one loves the LP, just like BEGGARS BANQUET, LET IT BLEED, STICKY FINGERS, EXILE ON MAIN STREET, SOME GIRLS and TATTOO YOU (and whatever really good albums like AFTERMATH, GOATS HEAD SOUP, BLACK AND BLUE and their last really good LP, UNDERCOVER).
It's that good.
It is for the ages. It will stand the test of time. It's not a novelty.
It's that good.
Glad you like it that much Gaslight. I'd agree that it will be the best album from the Stones in decades, but will a blues cover album stand alongside masterpieces such as Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main Street? From the three tunes I've heard probably not, but I'm sure it will for many others. It's been a long drought studio-wise for Stones fans, and this seems to have fulfilled the thirst for something listenable.Quote
GasLightStreet
I think if one thinks the Stones' versions of a or any of these song(s) is better than the original(s) well then maybe it is. The original (or whatever cover version they emulate) is not necessarily the best version. Afterall, if you listen to Robert Johnson's Love In Vain or Stop Breaking Down and then say they're better than the Stones' versions of them, well, there's probably something wrong with you.
Fair enough. Keep in mind the two Robert Johnson examples you've given were recorded c.1937 primitively - solo with an acoustic guitar. The Stones reworked them to an almost unrecognizable point with a full band and contemporary recording techniques. Both versions are completely different, and stand on their own for different reasons (acoustic vs. electric w/full band).
On the other hand, the Stones have done a reverse strategy with these new covers. Rather than reworking them in any way, they've opted to mimic and/or copy them even to the point of using some of the same recording techniques as the 'originals'. Perhaps some will enjoy the Stones doing nearly note for note renditions of what came before, but from the three I've heard so far I would argue the 'originals' are better. There's something holy about the older bluesman's versions - something more authentic and sincere about them. With the Stones' new versions it's almost blues by numbers. For example, I've seen nearly exact replica's of Van Gogh's Starry Night painting, but none of them are as real and authentic as the original. The pain and anguish of the original artist comes through with the original, whereas with the copies it all seems a bit diluted. In the end, it comes down to personal opinion about what makes something truly great, and I can appreciate why some might prefer the Stones' versions. Looking forward to hearing the album tomorrow from start to finish, but anticipate it won't be quite as thrilling as when I first heard the classic Stones albums mentioned above. Keeping an open mind, but from what I've heard so far, the results will be predictable. Nice enough for a few listens (and maybe more), but being that they're simply blues covers without much embellishment over the 'originals', nothing truly earth shattering.
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KRiffhard
From The Guardian:
"Will we ever hear more Stones originals? So Wood claims: "In 2017 we'll shape up these news songs – we've got some in the can and then there's a lot more on the back burner"