is mick jones the worst producer of indie-rock in the UK?

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i would say hes in the running

― hmmmmmmmmmm, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 11:44 (twenty years ago)

It's a fucking competitive field.

― Nöödle Vägue (noodle vague), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:05 (twenty years ago)

haha

― N_RQ, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:05 (twenty years ago)

I only know his recent production work on the two Libertines records, and they're fucking great as far as I'm concerned.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:06 (twenty years ago)

You crazy Americans.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:07 (twenty years ago)

Well at least Paul Epworth's heard of computers and mixing desks, even if he doens't know how to use them.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:08 (twenty years ago)

are they really 'produced' in any meaningful sense?

xpost

― N_RQ, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:09 (twenty years ago)

he doesnt seem to really produce the libertines though does he? the sound on their first album seemed to be really basic and not really 'hard' enough. theyre hardly actually 'produced' my jones. im not sure what he does with them except sit there and press record. theyre better when bernard butler produced them IMO

― mmmhmmm, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:10 (twenty years ago)

Even if all he did was make sure Doherty and Barat were in the same room, relatively sober, and working together, surely that's more than enough, no?

Besides, in most casees, sitting there and pressing record is all I ask of a producer.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:15 (twenty years ago)

Even if all he did was make sure Doherty and Barat were in the same room, relatively sober, and working together, surely that's more than enough, no?

more than enough. really, *more* than enough. no, honestly, that's quite enough for me.

― N_RQ, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

Besides, in most casees, sitting there and pressing record is all I ask of a producer.

a dangerous line of thinking!

― The Lex (The Lex), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:19 (twenty years ago)

but the sound they got from him for their records wasnt even 'raw', it was just underproduced
he gave them more compressed punch and oomph on the 2nd album but even so, he made them sound, in the strict sonic sense, pretty plain
its just lucky they were such an energetic band
they should have stuck with butler (who did dont look back into the sun), at least his productions have some clarity, jones is just a shit producer, hes more like a good coach

― hmmmmhmmh, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:21 (twenty years ago)

I think indie-rock producers should whisper their names over the start of tracks, a la Just Blaze or David Banner, so we know who's to blame.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:22 (twenty years ago)

ummm. just cos mick aint used technology toys with the libs doesn't mean he has no idea about all that gubbins, big audio dynamite reveled in the joys of studio trickery, as do carbon/silicon i suspect.

he always admitted that for the flibs it was going to just 'hit record' and see what happens .. not that i have ever heard those particular results mind.

― mark e (mark e), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:22 (twenty years ago)

im not saying he should use loads of tech and studio trickery, i mean, butler uses tech but he didnt make it obvious. im just saying that the sound jones used on the first libs album was pretty much a non-sound. i read an interview with carl barat and he said they prefered jones to butler cos well, jones recorded them like a live band (that sounded like they were playing in a cardboard box), while butler played around with their sound too much. idiot. he doesnt know a good thing when he hears it. babyshambles album is gonna be produced by jones as well. idiots. i hope barats new band isnt produced by jones, but it probably will be.

― hmmhmhmhmhm, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 12:28 (twenty years ago)

According to a mate of the bass player, Jones didn't rehearse the band, didn't let the rhythm section hear the songs more than once before recording and didn't let them do any second takes. As we can hear.
The Babyshambles album, which I'm listening to, is no Rum, Sodomy and the Lash. But it is very very long.

― snotty moore, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 13:44 (twenty years ago)

well i think the idea was that 'lets quickly record these tracks while pete is sober/in the studio/breathing'

still... that album has 3 really great songs

― hmhmmhmhm, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 13:47 (twenty years ago)

Oh, for the day when the phrase "UK Indie" doesn't inspire discussion of the Libertines or Babyshambles or The Needled And Damaged Dud.

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

Well at least Paul Epworth's heard of computers and mixing desks, even if he doens't know how to use them..

I've always thought of PE as a very good enginner/mixer (don't know enough of his remix work to comment on that) Please elucidate Nick.

― mzui (mzui), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 13:54 (twenty years ago)

All I mean, mzui, is that he over-compresses stuff, to my ears, and makes record sound very harsh. This is great in terms of initial impact, and he's fantastic at getting layers of detail, but the sound's not realistic and there's very little space in it.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 13:56 (twenty years ago)

I see. In some ways compression is a real curse, once you tune in to the sound of it, it really can fuck up your appreciation of a record.

― mzui (mzui), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 13:58 (twenty years ago)

'realistic'?

― Enrique (Enrique), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

Epworth however is an excellent bloke and boon companion who merely bullies indie pop singers for a living.

― snotty moore, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

"realistic" meaning, Henry, that it doens't sound like four guys playing instruments in front of my on my nice hi-fi, unlike, say, Drawn From Memory by Embrace where you can practically hear the bassist smoking. Or that Hollis album. Or anything recorded and mixed more realistically than Bloc Party. Who sound AWESOME, just wearing.

I have a sideline in bullying indie rock singers. It's fun.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 15:32 (twenty years ago)

Did you know that Paul was Phil (Phill?) Brown's assistant on the Hollis solo album for a spell.

― mzui (mzui), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 15:45 (twenty years ago)

I had no idea, how bizarre.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 15:54 (twenty years ago)

Besides, in most casees, sitting there and pressing record is all I ask of a producer.

but you like hugh padgham!

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 15:58 (twenty years ago)

that Jones has anything to do with that utterly atrocious second Libertines rekkid is a black mark on his legacy. the first one wuz rilly good, though.

that anyone can enjoy that ghastly mess is beyond me. but i do know that nothing makes a British music journalist more erect than a junked-out fuckup with a record contract. whether this is true for British music fans, i know not.

― veronica moser (veronica moser), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 20:48 (twenty years ago)

but nick doesn't that just mean you want it to sound like it was played live?

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Thursday, 20 October 2005 09:30 (twenty years ago)

No, because I'm not ruling out overdubs and stereopanning and edits and so on and so forth - I'd just like there to be more space and... intimacy.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Thursday, 20 October 2005 09:35 (twenty years ago)

that Jones has anything to do with that utterly atrocious second Libertines rekkid is a black mark on his legacy. the first one wuz rilly good, though. that anyone can enjoy that ghastly mess is beyond me

Hi!!

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 20 October 2005 11:41 (twenty years ago)

mick jones couldn't produce his way out of a wet paper bag

― vacuum cleaner (electricsound), Thursday, 20 October 2005 11:45 (twenty years ago)

Mick Jones produced Sandinista and Megatop Phoenix and Kool-Aid you fule!

― kit brash (kit brash), Thursday, 20 October 2005 12:13 (twenty years ago)

hmmm not sure my point doesn't still stand..

― vacuum cleaner (electricsound), Thursday, 20 October 2005 12:15 (twenty years ago)

Listen to Mick's production then compare it to DOn't Look Back Into The Sun which was produced by BErnard Butler. Butler kicks his arse

― FACEBRACE (FACEBRACE), Thursday, 20 October 2005 12:19 (twenty years ago)

Except that "Don't Look Back Into The Sun" is a good production wasted on a piece of crap. Didn't Butler produce "What A Waster"? Much better.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 20 October 2005 12:27 (twenty years ago)

He certainly made a complete pig's breakfast of the first Theatre Of Hate album. Who else apart from B.A.D and The Libertines has he actually produced?

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:16 (twenty years ago)

He did a random Suede remix. It wasn't much cop.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:22 (twenty years ago)

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