Jump to content

Best Produced Muse Album


TheLionSlicer

Which Muse album has the best production?  

42 members have voted

  1. 1. Which Muse album has the best production?

    • Showbiz
      0
    • Origin of Symmetry
      5
    • Absolution
      3
    • Black Holes & Revelations
      6
    • The Resistance
      3
    • The 2nd Law
      14
    • Drones
      11


Recommended Posts

Yeah, Abso might be their worst production-wise for me. Even the quieter stuff like Endlessly and FAWY sound weirdly muffled and muddy. That, plus the amount of 'meh' tracks/filler make it pretty hard for me to listen to as a whole.

 

OOS can sound a bit 'sharp' (particularly with some of the guitar parts, like the end of Micro Cuts) in places but generally sounds brilliant considering.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Origin would have benefitted from T2L production in so much as some of its more layered, grandiose moments would have shined more.

 

The downside is that the Mcro Cuts outro, Hyper Music riffs - the heavy sections in general - might have suffered.

 

The one song on Origin I have always loved the production/layering/mastering (I have no idea what each bit does) on is Bliss. That song is so spacious - I love it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always felt that despite it not having the best written tracks, The 2nd Law is very well produced. It feels like it all has space to breathe sufficiently.

 

Much as it was my favourite album, and may still be, I think Absolution's production is hit-and-miss - the piano songs are good, but the heavier stuff - especially Stockholm Syndrome - is overproduced. Black Holes has the same problem, and I'm not entirely sure by The Resistance or Drones' production.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it generally just means "too clean". Both clean tones and flawless recordings, often patched together.

 

Not sure about the SS comment though. Maybe that it's gone through so much processing that it came out a mess? No idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love how everyone here is a music production expert. Or at least pretend to be .:LOL: I assume you guys recorded many many songs in the studio and your ears are the same as the best music producers.

 

Also reading "this song is overproduced" etc. Seems to me it's just talking bullshit to be seemed as competent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've studied music production at uni. Spent a fair amount of time in a studio. Once tried to produce a girl whose instructions for the guitar part was "lots of fchhh sounds".

 

And I don't exactly refer to you personally but the general music fan.

I don't believe more than 20% of the members here are producers or studied music. They just wanna sound clever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like its that hard to listen to music and eventually determine what sounds both well-produced and badly produced.

I think it generally just means "too clean". Both clean tones and flawless recordings, often patched together.

 

Not sure about the SS comment though. Maybe that it's gone through so much processing that it came out a mess? No idea.

It does sound to my (admittedly tinnitus-y, damaged) ears that the guitar tone to Stockholm Syndrome sounds a bit over-processed and it feels much more powerful in a live context. I think it said in the Mark Beaumont book the idea during the Absolution recording was a sort of 50-50 tone between playing the part on a guitar and on a synthesiser, but it feels somewhat muted compared to what it can be.

 

That's all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And I don't exactly refer to you personally but the general music fan.

I don't believe more than 20% of the members here are producers or studied music. They just wanna sound clever.

 

Which is why we're talking about things sounding muddy, spacious, clean, etc. As we're on a !usic forum, it's a safe bet that we've heard enough music to know subpar production when we hear it, even when we don't get the technical aspects.

 

What sort of production do people feel would suit Abso best?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SS and TSP should sound more like Dead Star I think.

 

Not a bad shout. I think I plump more for what Devin Townsend achieved on Alien, but that might be a little too extreme (though the idea of SS given that massive, sledgehammer force is seriously appealing). Pelagial by The Ocean might be a better fit.

Edited by Alec.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the perfect album, production/mix-wise, for me would be a combination of:

 

Vocals from T2L

Guitar from Drones

Bass from Drones

Drums from T2L

Piano from Abso or TR

Strings + trumpets from T2L

Synths from TR

 

What sort of production do people feel would suit Abso best?

 

Assuming we're picking from their discography, probs Drones. Decent clarity and dynamics (if not on T2L's level) without being so 'clean' that it loses it's punch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What exactly do we mean when we say overproduced?

 

It means some aspect of the production (the actual building of the track in studio) has been done to hell, this can be done in post-production such as adding effects and fiddling with everything after a preliminary mix has been done. In essence when people say "overproduced", they're describing how the whole package hits their ears. They know something's 'off', either it's too clean, too muddy, too processed, etc.

 

It's a lot harder to identify the specific things that sound 'off' if you're not well versed in the terminology/knowing how to attribute each production term or characteristic which sounds you hear.

 

Talking more specifically about mixing/mastering is a bit different but if often falls under the umbrella term of production/overproduction, though the producer doesn't tend to be the mixer or masterer. With this stage things like 'loudness' and 'clipping' come into play.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...