The Daves-- Grohl versus Stewart

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

I agree that Lindsey's current approach relies too much
on technology that results in digital muckery (great term!). The sound is more sharp and steely, lacking a certain depth and warmth.

Prior to Tango in the Night, Lindsey had a much more organic, sensitive touch that served Stevie's songs very well. Let's no forget that his exemplary production work on Stevie's songs earned her the credibility to launch her solo career. His work on Say You Will revealed a substantial change in his production style, exposing how insular he has become.

yes, that's it-- it's cold and steely.

Lindsey absolutely interpreted and arranged Stevie's songs in a way that got her the critical and popular attention that helped make her a star. I would add, however, that he never produced her best stuff single-handedly--- there was always another producer, another point of view with a say, whether it was Keith Olsen, Ken or Richard. For example, Richard says that Lindsey and the rest of the band were not that keen on Dreams and that he, Richard, really saw the potential of it and advocated for working on it. And Ken talks in his book about coming up with the arrangement of making "what you lost/what you had" into a pre-chorus …so who can say what that (or any other Mac song) would have become solely in Lindsey's hands Lindsey tends to really keep the drums and bass waaaay down in the mix, or out of a song altogether (see lots of solo stuff) and it's the drums and especially John's bass that reallllly takes a lot of Stevie's classic material into the stratosphere (Rhiannon, Dreams, Angel, etc).

You are so right that Lindsey's production has veered way off on another tangent --probably since the mid 90s really. His best solo album, for me anyway, and the one that got the most critical acclaim also, was OOTC, and that was co-produced with Richard, who states on his blog that he has a more 'commercial' style than LB (and he muses that might be one of the professional reasons they stopped working together).

Hmmm… maybe I should patent "digital muckery"…? I could sell teeshirts It could become a credit on people's albums: Digital Muckery by Dave Stewart. Would that make him the Digital Mucker? "Oh I'm doing another solo album and Dave Stewart's going to be my Digital Muckerer"?