Worst production on a song
 

What's your vote for worst production on an otherwise promising Stevie Nicks song?

Mine would have to be the released version of Twisted. Maybe it's because I became accustomed to the demo first, I dunno... but man, I simply cannot sit through it. The rhythm, the vocals, the guitar solos.... everything about it is painful to me. It just seems so contrived, or something... if by chance it comes on while my iPod's on shuffle I get sort of agitated, and then I have to immediately stop the song midway and change it to the demo, which soothes me. From Stevie's Enchanted liner notes, it seems that she was less than satisfied with the finished product, as well.

Who produced that piece of crap? Was it Lindsey? Shame on him.

Anyway, what do you all think?

The Say You Will version of "Smile at You". Did Stevie just forget how awesome it once was? And to think that that is the only version that a lot of people will ever know.

I second that one. Shame on them both. If Stevie could not reach the intensity in the studio they should have just dumped that song the album. The album version is just soo blah.

i love SnLs version of Twisted
but i do agree that it seriously pales to the demo version
ditto with S@Y and Sorcerer i could go on an on

worst production........i prefer the demos to pretty much all the songs on TISL so I will say ALL of those {i.e written by Stevie}, barring POTU & TISL :shocked:

I'll jump in and play David and remind everyone that there's a difference between production and arrangement.

It sounds like your problem with the SYW version of "Smile At You" is with the arrangement. You think it's watered down compared to the arrangement on the earlier outtakes.

I don't see how you could think that the production of the SYW "Smile At You" is somehow worse than those old outtakes. Those are just rough bootlegs and are barely "produced" at all.

I think the production and engineering of the SYW "Smile At You" is really great, particularly with John's bassline snaking right up the middle in between the guitars, Stevie's vocal hovering just above it. But I do sometimes long for that old fiery arrangement.

I agree on SWY's "Smile at You" but my choice would be "Doing the Best that I can". This song COULD have been been great and powerful if it was produced by anyone other than Rupert Hine. Those faint keyboards don't reflect the true spirit of the song at all. I don't like her vocal, either. Very lackluster but my biggest problem with the song are the programmed drums. They ruin the song.

TOUCHE :o
I was referring to the arrangment rather that production.

Biggest production boners in my memory: Docklands & Doing the Best That I Can

Don't be coy, David, tell us why you don't like them.

This one's easy for me -

"Not make Believe" The demo for that song had SO much potential. On the SYW version it sounds like she's TALKING through the song, almost robot-like. Really weird. I remember being all excited to hear it after I bought the special edition SYW CD with the extra disc. I was so disappointed. I think Lindsey was the one who wrecked it. :distress:

It gets pretty technical. Suffice it to say that both productions are like senior thesis projects in recording that were graded D.

Thank you so much, you are very kind to say, but I mostly just bull****. Jyqm & I are kidding each other here.

Quote:

I, on the other hand... am lucky if I remember where I put my car keys..:D

You & me BOTH, brutha! :thumbsup:

I was driving down the street just now & a lady in the van in the next lane honked at me. I thought she was excited, but when I turned around she just said, "Your gas cap is hanging out of the cap door!"

Dangit! Those stupid buffoons who run the Chevron station NEVER get the damn drive-through car wash working. So I was so pissed about that that I forgot to put my cap back.

A related article...

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Stevie's production nightmares
Thursday, 30 March 2006

Bad production work is like a bad haircut, that you have forever
By Adam O'Leary


1. Sara (Tusk, edit from 1st CD pressing)

If Stevie Nicks ever had a studio masterpiece, Sara was the epic. Lindsey Buckingham created a rich soundscape of lush guitar and vocal arrangements, brilliantly set against Mick Fleetwood's heartbeat-like rhythm section. It's gorgeous. It's mysterious. It's haunting. And it's all hacked up if you happen to own the first CD pressing of Tusk, which mercilessly cuts Sara in half with a very dull studio knife at 2:38.

2. Smile At You (Say You Will, 2003)

This skeletal, grossly understated 2003 production was quite a shock to the system if you had been raised on Nicks’ previously unreleased classic demo of scorned lover’s rage. If it wasn't bad enough to declaw this once rockin' beast, a sloppy edit at 2:34, meant to be transitional but instead sounding almost like a skip on a record, adds insult to injury.

3. Battle of the Dragon (American Anthem Soundtrack, 1986)

Nicks’ complex subject battling inner turmoil is drowning in the sea of bad production in this murky 1985 studio mess. Kudos to producer Chris Lord-Alge for battling through the madness in his stellar 1991 remix.

4. No Questions Asked (Greatest Hits, 1988)

In spite of the title, the one question that should be asked is why does Stevie sound like she’s singing in a tunnel?

5. Planets of the Universe (Trouble in Shangri-La, 2001)

If a verse has to be eliminated in the name of brevity, the key is to not let us know about it (at 4:04).

UGH God I hate No Questions Asked!