dht@druri.UUCP (Davis Tucker) (11/28/84)
Oh ye of little faith! Lest we forget or new-wave history (since it
seems so many of us have forgotten everything else...), be reminded
that Steve Lillywhite is the Muhammad Ali, the Sergio Leone, the
Marlon Brando, the Gary Hart of producers. Back in the Dark Ages,
Lillywhite was the guy scrabbling and sweating for bands who barely
knew how to *play*, much less record. Just because he's been so
prolific over the years is no reason to knock him. Lillywhite *has*
produced albums that sound totally different from what you'd
expect, but the bands that come to him now do so because they
specifically want the "Lillywhite Sound" - so the fault rests with
them, not with the producer.
No other producer could have captured the "Big Country" sound. No
other producer could have polished U2 for the studio without taking
the raw edge off. No other producer could have taken a semi-techno-pop
band like Simple Minds (no "The") and made one of the *finest* albums
of the '80s in "Sparkle In The Rain", while still retaining that
particular quality that makes them special. Lillywhite is the
producer primarily responsible for the massive improvement in the
quality of drum tracks over the past four or five years, and for that
alone he should be held up for admiration - nobody prior really
cared a whole lot ("Just give him more mikes - stick him in a booth -
and give him a damn metronome!").
Davis Tucker
AT&T Information Systems
Denver, CO
P.S. - Simple Minds are without question the best band of the '80s (by
that I mean their first album date), and "Sparkle In The Rain" is just
a sign of their progression - whoever produces their next album, it's
bound to be fantastic. Let's just hope Eno (god bless him) doesn't pull
a "Remain In Light" on 'em.jeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson) (11/29/84)
I'm not sure whether the article complaining about criticism of Steve Lillywhite
was directed at me, for saying that I was glad U2 changed producers and I think
Big Country should too, as well as the guy who said that he hated the old U2
sound and thought that Lillywhite was ruining Simple Minds. Just in case it
was, I'd like to clear up any misunderstanding I may have caused.
I think Steve Lillywhite is a great producer and the sound he creates is one
of my favourite styles of music; in fact, he has probably produced more of my
favourite albums of the last few years than anybody else. The point I was
trying to make was that, although U2's "War", Simple Minds' "Sparkle In The
Rain", and Big Country's "The Crossing" were all among my top five albums
of their years and all by far my favourite albums from each group, I would
much rather see these groups change their style a bit than record another
album with the same sound. U2 changed their producer and recorded an
excellent album ("The Unforgettable Fire") in a slightly different style.
After his excellent, Lillywhite-produced third album, Peter Gabriel changed
his producer and approach and came up with an even better album ("Security").
Big Country stayed with Steve Lillywhite and the result ("Steeltown") sounds
mostly like "The Crossing" but not as good. This isn't necessarily
Lillywhite's fault. Big Country may not be capable of anything different.
I think they are, but they may need a different producer to force them to
change their sound, since Lillywhite is probably the only one capable of
producing the familiar Big Country sound. As far as Simple Minds goes,
we'll have to wait and see, but they've already proven they can make a great
album without Steve Lillywhite. "New Gold Dream" is not as good as "Sparkle
In The Rain", but it's different, and I hope their next album will be different
too.
As far as "Remain In Light" goes, let's not start knocking Eno either.
He took an ordinary early new wave band (sure, they were ahead of their time
in '77, but by the time of "Remain In Light", the times had pretty well
caught up with them), and turned them into one of the most important groups
of the eighties. "Remain In Light", recorded at the onset of the decade,
is probably the first time that new wave, funk, and progressive rock were
combined, paving the way for a large fraction of the best music that is
being recorded today. "Speaking In Tongues", which Eno was not involved
with, is disappointing by comparison. (For those of you who don't recognise
the album titles, Talking Heads is the group I'm talking about.)
To sum it all up, Lillywhite and Eno are both great, but a group has to
change their sound once in a while, and sometimes a new producer is the
best way to do it.
--
Jeff Richardson, DCIEM, Toronto (416) 635-2073
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{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!dciem!jeffelf@utcsrgv.UUCP (Eugene Fiume) (11/30/84)
Lillywhite strikes me as a better-than-average producer with a characteristic
"sound". I am not paticularly enamoured with this sound, though I think I'm
in the minority. Perhaps it's true that he is responsible for better-recorded
drum tracks, though I recall several Strawbs albums from the early 70's that
had nicely-mixed drums. However, much as I like the sound of drums, nowadays
they tend to be placed too far forward in the mix. Whereas in the 70's
virtually everything seemed too far back, I think everything is now too far
forward. It makes for exciting sounds that gives one's hi-fi a good
aerobic workout, but I personally want a smidgen more depth and a more
expansive "soundstage". As far a Lillywhite's recent work is concerned
(U2, Big C, Simple Minds), I find Big C's "The Crossing" most satisfactory
in this regard (and most others).
The Simple Minds sound I love is the one evident on their "Sons and
Fascination" album (my personal favourite). They were not a so-called
"synth-pop" group then, and I think they are now in danger of becoming
just another rocknroll band. Again, I'm in the minority, but judging by
their last album and by their last live appearance here in Toronto (in which
Jim Morrison--sorry Kerr--strutted his stuff at the expense of their music)
I can only hope for an about-face.
Eugene Fiume
U of Toronto
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