24KG production question - is it just me?
 

Hi all,

I've been listening to "Starshine" (which I freakin' love!) today and I also went back and listened to "Lady" and "The Dealer" as well after I noticed something.

All the production on these new tracks sound like it's recorded off an old cassette, with some quite distorted vocals in parts - especially if you crank the volume up. They almost sound like when you rip a song from YouTube and play it through your iPod, despite all 3 tracks being iTunes pre-order downloads.

I thought it might just be my iPod headphones, but I played it through my sennheisers and it was even more noticeable. It doesn't happen with any other tracks I've got ripped from CD or from iTunes.

Has anybody else noticed this or is it just me?

Yes, I noticed it, too! The sound quality is kind of...weird. Maybe they intentionally went for this raw, sometimes imperfect sound, but I think the vocal mixing is quite odd, especially on "Starshine". It doesn't sound as crisp as it should, especially in the beginning. On "Lady" it's less obvious, but kind of distorted when Stevie sings loud. ;)

I thought Starshine has sounded the best of all of them so far!

The Dealer has bothered me since the day I heard it. Her vocals switch back and forth between muted(like there is a pillow over the speaker) to very clear and crisp. It's very odd.

Yes, that's true. There are huge differences between different takes, especially during the middle of the song.

On "Lady" I assumed that she got far louder than they were ready for and the needle in the studio hit red and they felt that it was such a great vocal (hence the clapping at the end) that instead of re-recording it, they just kept it. It's the distorted sound you get when it's recorded too loud. But I haven't noticed that on any other tracks other than they are far "warmer" sounding than "In Your Dreams" which surprised me but listening to them in context, side by side, I don't mind it. I will be interested to hear "Blue Water" in full because in the snippet Stevie's vocals sounded really loud compared to the piano but it's hard to tell from such a short clip.

Yes. I thought it was just me
Its a little annoying...
I wish her voice were crisp and clearer
The clip of Mabel Normand seems to be the only one
That doesn't bother be so far

I can't quite tell if it's on purpose or mistake. I really hope they don't sound like this on the CD. Maybe they've made this album specifically for vinyl?

I think they mixed the bass up too high on the Dealer. Don't get me wrong, I love my bass, but, I think in some parts, they mixed it in with the voice as well when treble should have been increased as well.

I know some artists are going back to recording on tape instead of digitally. Perhaps the theme of this record is going to be the old demo/old taping method? I personally don't mind, but then again, I bought my copy on vinyl.

But if that were the case, then "Bella Donna" through to OSOTM and every other album not remastered since would sound muffled and distorted like this one does, but those albums, whilst they're quite quiet, still sound clear.

It doesn't matter what I play the new songs on, it sounds like the volume is up too high on some crappy speakers and it's causing hiss.

When you listen to "The Dealer" at around 3:12 when she sings "I'll just almost hold you" it sounds muffled and the next line "You just almost stay here" is much more clearer.
I don't know if that's intentional and supposed to be some "sound effect", but I just assume they're different takes and it's quite obvious.

I never noticed that actually until you mentioned it.. I think it might be from different takes as well.

Luckily I haven't heard any of what you are all talking about but so far have only played these songs through my computer speakers.

The song "24 Karat Gold" sounds so much better and much more balanced than the others, don't you think?

Absolutely. The mixing on this one is fabulous. :D