best produced albums ever?

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Pretty much anything produced by Brian Eno....I true God and revolutionary producer. (see Low - David Bowie, Remain in Light - Talking Heads)

Anything produced by Tom Dowd for Atlantic Records...THE leading pioneer in early popular music production.

More specifically:

The Joshua Tree - U2

Hail To The Thief - Radiohead (I've been admiring this albums production all day...and on a different note, this has been the one album that I've had the MOST rocky relationship with in my life. At first I loved it, but not as much as other Radiohead albums...then for a good period of 2 years I absolutely despised it...And a couple months ago I had a major revelation, and now it's one of my favorite albums of all time. And the production IS spectacular. The arrangements are top-notch, and the use of stereo is better than in any previous Radiohead albums.)

Quadrophenia - The Who

Sargent Peppers - The Beatles (though most of their albums are masterpieces in production)
 
yep. httt is a fantastic thing to listen to in headphones. absolutely fantastic. sometimes i listen to this album solely to enjoy the production.

also i would like to say that i always enjoy the sound quality of the corrs' albums, the instruments and their voices are so deliciously clear, which is a good thing when andrea is singing. they should have avoided all the echo thing that they started to use at a certain point, though.

do you really think jt is so well produced?
 
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Well, production has to do with a lot more than just sound quality, which I feel is maybe the only aspect that might be considered disappointing, and even then I still wouldn't say it's sub-par. But the more creative techniques applied to creating the sonic space and specific arrangement of the songs really propels the Joshua Tree into the upper echelon of album production, in my opinion. Taking a look at Streets, With or Without You, Bullet (I don't really understand why people dislike the album version so much...maybe it's just because it's so different from live incarnations), Running to Stand Still, and Mothers. Eno and Lanois had just about as much to do with the structural way those songs came out as the band did in the end, which is really the prominent aspect of "production". Like, say if Lillywhite has produced the album, it might have had a simliar or better/worse sound quality, but the songs' arrangments would probably have been significantly less interesting.
 
U2Man said:
yep. httt is a fantastic thing to listen to in headphones. absolutely fantastic. sometimes i listen to this album solely to enjoy the production.

There There just came on and I had to comment specifically on how utterly amazing this song is. And I think the best part is that they somehow managed to surpass the album incarnation in their live performances of the song. The way they arranged this song on stage was a thing of tremendous beauty.
 
Elephant by The White Stripes is excellent on headphones

Revolver by The Beatles is fucking mindblowing. I love mono recordings.
 
great topic! i can't believe this has never come up before.
i agree that the joshua tree is fantastically produced. Lancemc's observations are dead on, as far as i'm concerned. the arrangements are actually quite sparse, but they fill the space magnificently. for similar reasons i also like 'achtung baby', perhaps a notch higher.
ok computer and the bends jumped right into my head when i saw this. i'll have to give httt a good listen with my headphones.
i also really LOVE the production of 'siamese dream' by the smashing pumpkins. i'm a big fan of the army of guitars approach, and i don't think it was ever delivered quite so effectively.
the pinnacle for me, however, is 'spilt milk' by jellyfish. they managed to balance so many flourishes and accents - sitting comfortably in the mix with meticulously crafted songs and harmonies. all the levels are perfect, and every little bit adds a new twist or turn to the already vivid songs. listen to the 'when you wish upon a star' string flourish that punctuates the pinnochio reference in 'joining a fanclub', the buried doorbell sound effect in the intro to 'all is forgiven', as the philanderer pleads for his love life at some ungodly hour. and those harmonies - i'm not sure how many parts, but they used just the right amount of reverb to fill your skull when you hear it (the opening track 'hush'). the songs flow seamlessly (like a beatles album), the arrangements are melodic and mindblowingly complex. it's a great listen on 2 levels - (1) you could listen repeatedly for the fantastic immediacy of the songs - you'll be humming for weeks. (2) the production constantly reveals new subtleties, it's inspiring to me. i'm always wondering 'how did they do that?'. so it covers both sides of the brain, and that's a real triumph...
 
Lancemc said:

Quadrophenia - The Who


was this meant to be a joke? I thought the band famously hated the production/mix on this record



my pick is kid A, by radiohead
 
I'm Ready said:


was this meant to be a joke? I thought the band famously hated the production/mix on this record.

Don't remember hearing that. But whether or not the band hated it, it's still incredible.
 
Lancemc said:
\

Hail To The Thief - Radiohead (I've been admiring this albums production all day...and on a different note, this has been the one album that I've had the MOST rocky relationship with in my life. At first I loved it, but not as much as other Radiohead albums...then for a good period of 2 years I absolutely despised it...And a couple months ago I had a major revelation, and now it's one of my favorite albums of all time. And the production IS spectacular. The arrangements are top-notch, and the use of stereo is better than in any previous Radiohead albums.)


the production on that album is awful IMO
Nigel really screwed the pooch on that one:down:
 
The OOTS said:
The production on JT is sub par at best.

I think OK Computer is one of the best things to listen to with headphones. Absolutely stunning.

"Let down" with headphones is fucking orgasmic....especially the

"you know, you know where you are with":drool: :drool:
 
xaviMF22 said:


"Let down" with headphones is fucking orgasmic....especially the

"you know, you know where you are with":drool: :drool:

really? I find the production on let down and no surprises to be unsatisfactory
 
I'm Ready said:


really? I find the production on let down and no surprises to be unsatisfactory

listen to let down with headphones...and pay close attention to the build up....it is :drool:
 
Lancemc said:


Don't remember hearing that. But whether or not the band hated it, it's still incredible.

ok, just wondering if it was a personal opinion thing or if your were seeing if anyone would catch that the Band hates the production of it

I personally enjoy the production on the album myself, but I find it hard to list it as the best produced ever when the band itself doesn't like it
 
xaviMF22 said:


listen to let down with headphones...and pay close attention to the build up....it is :drool:

I know what your talking about, I just find it to be a bit overwhelming at times
 
xaviMF22 said:


true radiohead fans know this is true:wink:

Oh you cheeky bastard, you. :wink:


Anyway, I just listened to a few Achtung Baby album tracks, something I haven't done in a long time...and you know what? The production on that album really is unbelievable. :up: Eno/Lanois all the way bitches.
 
Lancemc said:


Oh you cheeky bastard, you. :wink:



listen to Sit down stand up, the gloaming, Go to sleep, punchup, sail to the moon, and 2+2=5,
the band wanted to
capture the atmosphere these songs had
when they played them live.........

they failed miserably:wink:


it is still one of my favorite albums :drool: :drool:
 
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Radiohead's production has always been fantastic, and so has Pink Floyd's

but no one seconds my Revolver one?

Come on.
 
Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen

when this album comes through my tiny headphones on my ipod it becomes larger than life, really. the album is solid.. music, sound, lyrics and all. it makes me want to start dancing like a crazy loon everytime the intro to 10th Avenue comes on. Sounds good on vinyl too!
:love:
 
elevation2u said:
Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen

when this album comes through my tiny headphones on my ipod it becomes larger than life, really. the album is solid.. music, sound, lyrics and all. it makes me want to start dancing like a crazy loon everytime the intro to 10th Avenue comes on. Sounds good on vinyl too!
:love:

Wow. I can't believe I forgot that one. Nice catch. Born to Run is a landmark recording, and deservedly so.

And LMP, I support the Revolver statement. But pretty much all The Beatles album from Rubber Soul on are production masterpieces (barring the original Let it Be, or course...and maybe The White Album to an extent.)
 
gmc said:
Revolver - The Beatles


All the rules fell by the wayside with Revolver, as the Beatles began exploring new sonic territory, lyrical subjects, and styles of composition. It wasn't just Lennon and McCartney, either -- Harrison staked out his own dark territory with the tightly wound, cynical rocker "Taxman"; the jaunty yet dissonant "I Want to Tell You"; and "Love You To," George's first and best foray into Indian music. Such explorations were bold, yet they were eclipsed by Lennon's trippy kaleidoscopes of sound. His most straightforward number was "Doctor Robert," an ode to his dealer, and things just got stranger from there, as he buried "And Your Bird Can Sing" in a maze of multi-tracked guitars, gave Ringo a charmingly hallucinogenic slice of childhood whimsy in "Yellow Submarine," and then capped it off with a triptych of bad trips: the spiraling "She Said She Said"; the crawling, druggy "I'm Only Sleeping"; and "Tomorrow Never Knows," a pure nightmare where John sang portions of the Tibetan Book of the Dead into a suspended microphone over Ringo's thundering, menacing drumbeats and layers of overdubbed, phased guitars and tape loops. McCartney's experiments were formal, as he tried on every pop style from chamber pop to soul, and when placed alongside Lennon and Harrison's outright experimentations, McCartney's songcraft becomes all the more impressive. The biggest miracle of Revolver may be that the Beatles covered so much new stylistic ground and executed it perfectly on one record, or it may be that all of it holds together perfectly. Either way, its daring sonic adventures and consistently stunning songcraft set the standard for what pop/rock could achieve. Even after Sgt. Pepper, Revolver stands as the ultimate modern pop album and it's still as emulated as it was upon its original release.

:drool:
 
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