Rumours vocals

[ViscountViktor]

Is it just me or do some vocals on Rumours sound really small, diminished, kind of closed... I can't really describe it so I'll give an example.

Dreams: The volume of Stevie's vocals is at a normal level, and in the chorus you can hear all the different vocals quite clearly.

The Chain: The harmonized vocals in the verses sound really quiet compared to dDeams, and they also sound quite compressed.

Just my opinion, but I wonder if anyone else has picked up on this.

The rest of the songs fit into the categories:

Clear, open, non-compressed vocals:

Dreams
You Make Loving Fun
Oh Daddy

Closed, compressed vocals:

Second Hand News
Never Going Back Again
Go Your Own Way
Don't Stop
Songbird
The Chain
I Dont Want to Know
Gold Dust Woman

Here's another example: compare Stevie's vocals from Dreams to Gold Dust Woman, and Christine's from You Make Loving Fun to Don't Stop. The second songs' vocals sound much quieter and more compressed?

I'm not a sound engineer, but why do some songs on the album have different vocal quality to the others.

I'm probably talking a load of nonsense. If I am, please correct me.

[AnthonyMI]

It was the choice of the producers, how they arranged the mics in the booths, and then how they mastered it.

not to mention the fact that they "scraped" the tapes across the tape head thousands of times while mixing and overdubbing. A point which they made in the Making of Rumours Classic Albums where they had to go to second generation "safety" copies of the Cymbals and overtrack them onto the "master" to get the high end of the treble "back into" the final mix. That might be why the middle area of the sound range sounds compressed... because it IS compressed, having lost the upper range. The bass does not suffer as much from that sort of loss that I know of and if the high parts of percussion were retraked then.... there ya go.

[WatchChain]

I have also noticed this. Not quite sure why that is, but the previous poster also made a great point about the tapes being damaged.

I've heard several different mixes of Rumours over the years from bootlegs to expanded CD versions. I must say, I much prefer the alternate takes over the ones that actually made the record.

Example, there is a mix of "You Make Loving Fun" on the Rumours expanded version where you can hear Stevie's beautiful background vocals on the chorus. Her background vocals on the chorus of that song take it to a new level. That mix should have been kept for the album. Same thing with "Oh Daddy", I've heard a bootleg mix that features Christine harmonizing with Stevie that is just BEAUTIFUL!

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by ViscountViktor

Is it just me or do some vocals on Rumours sound really small, diminished, kind of closed... I can't really describe it so I'll give an example.

Dreams: The volume of Stevie's vocals is at a normal level, and in the chorus you can hear all the different vocals quite clearly.

The Chain: The harmonized vocals in the verses sound really quiet compared to dDeams, and they also sound quite compressed.

Just my opinion, but I wonder if anyone else has picked up on this.

.

Yes I have noticed this too. I always thought production choices like this were the reason Stevie went out of her way to thank her engineer on Bella Donna, Shelly Yakus, for giving her her voice back or something along those lines (I don't have the album here or I'd look up her exact words).

As for Dreams, the way you can hear clearly all 3 of their voices on the chorus is one of my favorite things they've ever recorded. Hearing Christine's harmony on that song again during The Dance (after hearing so many Stevie solo tour versions of it) brought tears to my eyes.