Lindsey's Arranging On Tango In Night

[Matt Lucas]

Hello all---

I haven't listened to TANGO in a few months, but I recall listening to the whole record just after Christmas, and I was impressed by how good it still sounded. It needs a bit more low-end and would benefit greatly from remastering, but overall, it's a good record. I love the layered rhythm guitars and percussion, but I think Lindsey's choice of snare drum sounds was poor. He was following the late-'80s trend of a super-crisp, high-ended snare, and the result doesn't sound real. I don't really care for the treated vocals, either, but then, I've always disliked the way Lindsey uses so many effects on vocals. He clearly still has most of his vocal range and strength, so I don't understand why he continues to layer so many effects on his own lead vocals [songs like "Underground" and "When She Comes Down" come to mind]. But that's another issue...

Someone pointed out the fact that Lindsey often tries to make instruments such as his guitar sound like other instruments. I think the arpeggio at the beginning of "Everywhere," for instance, is a perfect example of this. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that part is played on guitar. I suspect that it was played at normal speed, then sped up and treated with effects to make it sound as it does on the official recording.

Lindsey wasn’t the first to do that sort of thing---The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix did it quite a bit---but it's certainly a big part of his approach to recording.

matt