Single number three.. What will it be?

Kathy · Post by **Kathy** » 1/9/2006, 8:26 pm

do you mean before, or after they heard it?

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 1/9/2006, 8:29 pm

both.. i think.

Brooklin Matt · Post by **Brooklin Matt** » 1/9/2006, 8:31 pm

lol, SOME thought HIPT would be huge and SOME didn't........

I was expecting the numbers of Gravity but it underperformed a bit.........especially in Canada.

I have to express my disappointment with some of the production methods and song choices for the album. Where Are You sounded much better with its' original chorus and had no business being a single. The album felt a little hollow but did have some strong points seen in BOY, LOVE AND TRUST, and WALKING IN CIRCLES which has grown on me. Hopefully they actually rock out a little more next time.

Kathy · Post by **Kathy** » 1/9/2006, 8:33 pm

I wish I had heard the original WAY

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 1/9/2006, 8:33 pm

i dont know if anyone else thought this, but i thought (in addition to the production) the mixing was also terrible. like, all you could hear well is raine's voice. sometimes i can't even tell what the lead guitar is doing. if you listen to an album like spiritual machines, you can hear all of its many parts clearly and each "sound" gets a turn to be heard.

Axtech · Post by **Axtech** » 1/9/2006, 8:34 pm

Pessimists aren't allowed here. Be gone with ye.

When will bands learn? You don't get long-term success with albums designed to top the charts. OLP has been a huge name in Canadian music for over a decade. Then they made Gravity. For a short time they were all over the radio with SOT and Innocent. Now they're struggling to have a hit with the best song on their new album - the only song that was even remotely similar to the sounds that earned the band their long-term success.

Spiritual Machines was a successful album. And like those before it, it had staying power. They could have easily released another single and kept going on that album, but instead Sony stopped backing SM (note the lack of video for RBY*), and likely pushed for the release of a new album under a hit-maker producer. Enter: Bob.

*Despite one artist-who-shall-remain-unnamed's explanation that the RBY video wasn't released because of band strife, Mike leaving, etc, I think that the video was cancelled due to lack of support from Sony. RBY single was released in summer of '01. They didn't go into the studio until Nov-Dec '01, and Mike didn't leave until Dec (it was announced on Dec 12). Normally the video would have been in production long before then, and released shortly after the single. The other possibility, of course, is that Mike's departure was something planned well in advance of going into the studio with Bob. But this seems like an unlikely scenario.

Kathy · Post by **Kathy** » 1/9/2006, 8:38 pm

Hope wrote:i dont know if anyone else thought this, but i thought (in addition to the production) the mixing was also terrible. like, all you could hear well is raine's voice. sometimes i can't even tell what the lead guitar is doing. if you listen to an album like spiritual machines, you can hear all of its many parts clearly and each "sound" gets a turn to be heard.

Earlier I was reading a review that said "Almost every song on the album has either political or social overtones, but the lyrics are drowned out by over-produced guitar and manic drums, leaving frontman Raine Maida's lullaby-esque voice fighting to be heard."

then the guys says a bunch of other things I also disagree with...

Axtech · Post by **Axtech** » 1/9/2006, 8:39 pm

Hope wrote:i dont know if anyone else thought this, but i thought (in addition to the production) the mixing was also terrible. like, all you could hear well is raine's voice. sometimes i can't even tell what the lead guitar is doing. if you listen to an album like spiritual machines, you can hear all of its many parts clearly and each "sound" gets a turn to be heard.

Again, I think that's hit-single-minded production. The more vocals, the better. Guitarists may be able to relate to guitar parts, as drummers to drums and bassists to bass. But everyone can relate to vocals. Whether you sing well or just in the shower, a song's popularity is dependant on vocals more than any other instrument. Look at popular pop music. Vocals are always up front, and the music (or synth beat in some cases) is simply something in the background to keep the song moving. Though they didn't take it to this extreme, I think that's what they were headed for. If the vocals become lost behind the music, the song will become less relatable to the target market.

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 1/9/2006, 8:46 pm

yeah, but it's like, they put all this work into putting guitar parts and even keyboard, etc and later none of the stuff is actually HEARD! and i hear from cmers that some of the guitar parts are actully GOOD. so its frustrating. im not even just complaining about the production, but the volumes of parts at which the stuff was mixed.

nikki4982 · Post by **nikki4982** » 1/10/2006, 6:31 am

Am I the only one who can hear everything clearly? :freak:

Maybe it's cos I usually listen to the album on my iPod with headphones instead of speakers.

Kathy · Post by **Kathy** » 1/10/2006, 7:25 am

I can hear everything clearly but 90% of the time I'm listening it's on my iPod as well.... hhmm

nikki4982 · Post by **nikki4982** » 1/10/2006, 7:54 am

Aha! So the secret to hearing it at its best is the iPod! :lol:

Post by **faninor** » 1/10/2006, 1:11 pm

I can hear everything clearly...

Didn't people complain about the volume of the mixes for SM though?

Axtech · Post by **Axtech** » 1/10/2006, 1:27 pm

I can hear everything clearly too, but it is apparent that Raine's vocals are largely in the foreground (more than I would prefer),

nikki4982 · Post by **nikki4982** » 1/10/2006, 1:33 pm

Well.... that's how most music is. :lol:

If vocals are put in the background... that's usually a sign that the singer can't sing.

Axtech · Post by **Axtech** » 1/10/2006, 1:50 pm

well, not in the background. But I think the vocals are more prominent than need be.

On that note, guitar put in the background is usually a sign that the guitarist ... well, you see where I'm going with this, right?

nikki4982 · Post by **nikki4982** » 1/10/2006, 1:56 pm

Axtech · Post by **Axtech** » 1/10/2006, 1:57 pm

Just using your logic. :mrgreen:

nikki4982 · Post by **nikki4982** » 1/10/2006, 1:58 pm

That isn't typically true, though. So

.

Axtech · Post by **Axtech** » 1/10/2006, 1:59 pm

:eyeroll:

anyways, I still think HIPT could have been mixed better.