Ringleaders Badly Produced & Mixed?

[Morrissey2007]

Heyy all, im new here but id just like to start a positive thread :S as you can see lol
is it just me or is morrisseys mixed in a way that its higher and obviously delayed abit to much in all of the songs especially i just want to see the boy happy? i think this is the worst produced album of morrisseys but i love the songs! i love morrissey

 

[Kewpie]

You Are The Quarry is badly produced and mixed.


Tony Visconti did excellent joband glad he's going to work with Morrissey again.

 

[international playboy]

Welcome to the forum!
haha I actually disagree with you. I think ROTT is a fantastically produced album!

 

[Morrissey2007]

i just find morrisseys voice abit high on volume especially i just want to see...

 

[Kewpie]

Earlier discussions about ROTT:

http://forums.morrissey-solo.com/showthread.php?t=66245

http://forums.morrissey-solo.com/showthread.php?t=68485

 

[the judge]

I haven't understood precisely what "production" is, but there's nothing wrong with it, apart some songs (The Father Who Must Be Killed, esp; I don't like it)

 

[Roma De Moz]

You Are The Quarry is poorly produced. "America Is Not The World", "I Have Forgiven Jesus" and "Come Back To Camden" suffer the most as a result, with the latter two still upheld as some of the best songs from the album.

Kill Uncle is the worst produced album, in my opinion.

Ringleader of the Tormentors I think is actually very well produced: "Dear God, Please Help Me", "On The Streets I Ran", "To Me You Are A Work Of Art" and "At Last I Am Born" are cream of the crop musically. Lyrically, it's more of a debate, but production wise I think the album is very good indeed.

 

[Worm]

You Are The Quarry is poorly produced. "America Is Not The World", "I Have Forgiven Jesus" and "Come Back To Camden" suffer the most as a result, with the latter two still upheld as some of the best songs from the album.

Kill Uncle is the worst produced album, in my opinion.

Ringleader of the Tormentors I think is actually very well produced: "Dear God, Please Help Me", "On The Streets I Ran", "To Me You Are A Work Of Art" and "At Last I Am Born" are cream of the crop musically. Lyrically, it's more of a debate, but production wise I think the album is very good indeed.

I don't agree. I think Visconti was a great choice. He brings out Morrissey's voice better than any other producer. If I had my druthers (and the power to raise the dead) I'd have Mick Ronson producing all his albums, but Visconti's an able back-up.

 

[SNS22]

I don't agree. I think Visconti was a great choice. He brings out Morrissey's voice better than any other producer. If I had my druthers (and the power to raise the dead) I'd have Mick Ronson producing all his albums, but Visconti's an able back-up.

Lillywhite did a good job on Vauxall And I...

 

[Oso Blanco]

You Are The Quarry is badly produced and mixed.

I've been reading over and over again about how badly produced YATQ is. But I still don't see what the problem is supposed to be. It sounds perfectly fine to me ... better than ROTT, I might say. So, what kind of problem do people have with the production of YATQ?

 

[Danny]

Good or bad production are both a matter of taste really aren't they? Both albums sound competently produced. If you like a bright poppy mainstream sound then you will prefer Quarry. If you prefer something darker and more atmospheric then you will go for ROTT.

 

[I am a Ghost]

Quarry, whilst a great album, is somewhat blandly produced.
Visconti, on the other hand, did a magnificent job on Ringleader. As has been noted elsewhere, Morrissey's voice strains and wavers brilliantly at times in Ringleader, and Visconti has the genius to combine this with the music. No contest.

 

[Kewpie]

I've been reading over and over again about how badly produced YATQ is. But I still don't see what the problem is supposed to be. It sounds perfectly fine to me ... better than ROTT, I might say. So, what kind of problem do people have with the production of YATQ?

Many songs of YATQ sound better in live, but I hardly listen to the album these days.
Jerry Finn treated each song all the same, however, Tony Visconti understands the subtlty and substance which makes ROTT great album.
ROTT songs sound both excellent in live and the album.

 

[Chartres]

The problem for me is that I hear a bit of Bowie & T Rex while listening to ROTT, the production is really similair. I wonder why.

 

[sid james]

I think Ringleaders is decently produced, it seems to be a nice thick layer of sound, but I do wonder if the mastering is all it could be. There seems to be a recent trend of mastering albums very loud, so they sound excellent at low volumes or when played on the radio or as low quality MP3 downloads, but the downside is when played at high volume on decent equipment it all tends to mush together sonically.

Maybe it's just my ears but when I listen on headphones at high volume to 'Ringleader' and then say oh...'Bona Drag' for example - the latter disc just seems to have such better clarity of sound.

Is it just me?

 

[Society]

incredible production and arrangement. it may not be "clean" but i love the thickness of all the instruments and the way the drums sound. the mix fits the songs perfectly.

 

[Vauxhall95]

Good or bad production are both a matter of taste really aren't they? Both albums sound competently produced. If you like a bright poppy mainstream sound then you will prefer Quarry. If you prefer something darker and more atmospheric then you will go for ROTT.

Well stated. I *think* "In The Future.." and "I Just Want To See..." might have charted higher had they been produced by Jerry Finn due to the pop sensibilities he displayed producing "You Are The Quarry." I like both albums, and it is like you stated: if one prefers pop then YATQ seems brilliantly produced and vice-versa.

I understand Morrissey's affection for Visconti, but I wish he'd try something new. My biggest disappointment would be another record that sounded like ROTT. It's not that I dislike ROTT, quite the opposite, but it's been done. Again, let's try someone new.

Moot point anyway as Moz has already decided Visconti will produce the next album...

-Vaux

 

[PregnantForTheLastTime]

Well, musically ROTT was so much smoother and richer- Quarry sounded cheap at times.

I'm a graphic designer and photographer, and I pay lots and lots of attention to the graphic elements of the presentation. Quarry's graphics sucked bad, bad, bad hairy goat balls. It was shit. I know the look that they were going for, and I know how to achieve it. They missed, big time. When you're working in Classical Moz style, you have: a. A big photo and b. A little bit of type. So it's imperative that you use both of those tools WELL. Quarry looked like a high school yearbook student laid it out in Word. No, PowerPoint. While high.

I do love the Quarry font- I've used it a ton over the past year and now I'm seeing it everywhere.

ROTT was beautifully crafted. I could not have done that better myself.

Moz, if you read this... hire me next time. I'm cheap and good and a perfectionist. And I shoot all my own photos.

 

[sid james]

Moot point anyway as Moz has already decided Visconti will produce the next album...

Maybe not - after all, Steve Lillywhite produced 'Southpaw Grammar' immediately after producing the 'Vauhaul and I' album, and it's difficult to think of two Morrissey albums that sound so different in terms of production!

I don't know as I haven't heard anything else from him, but I'm hoping that Visconti does actually have some range, and every album he's ever recorded doesn't sound the same?

 

[Well I Wonder]

I would be of the opinion that YATQ is well produced up to a point. The fact that the strings on it are from a keyboard and not actually an orchastra really lets it down I think. Maybe Sanctury were afraid to invest too much money on Moz's come back album in case it bombed and took the cheaper option. They obviously paid for real strings on ROTT​