Precious Things by Tori Amos

An opportunity to compare a master (1992) and remaster (2015). The mix by Paul McKenna is great: well-balanced tonality, excellent use of soundstage, great presence, and full without being muddy.

On listening to the original, I suspected it was recorded on tape in the ‘90s and was pleasantly surprised to confirm this. The drums are the giveaway. Definitely pushed, which is the beauty of tape, giving them pleasant slight saturation.

Another example of good use of percussion to give the arrangement grove. I also felt the bass in the 1992 master is a bit anemic by modern standards, and the reverb felt “very ‘80s.” Listen closely to the 2015 remaster by Jon Astley, and you’ll notice the bass is boosted.

It also sounds that Astley used compression on the mid-high band to tame the reverb a bit and add a little punch, the trade being weaker dynamics during some passages. The remaster achieves the goal of being more modern.

Technical

Original:
Mix: Paul McKenna
Master: Ted Jesen, Sterling Sound

  • considerable drum verb
  • lows feel weak
  • excellent saturation on drums (tape?)
  • kick and bass are nicely separated
  • vocals get lost at times
  • vocal panning creates interest
  • piano fades up then out at end

Remaster
Remaster: John Astley

  • lows are much better “warmer” (tilt EQ?)
  • more presence overall (compression in mid-bands?)
  • percussion is more audible, adds to groove
  • less reverb brings Amos closer
  • possible EQ automation to keep HF in some passages
  • vocal clarity is improved
  • guitars are wider
  • volume automation may have been added

Dracul Gras by Periphery

I am suddenly a college sophomore riding in the back of my friend’s underpowered new millennia Trans-Am that smells of patchouli and white boy coco butter. Every time he gets out to buy another pack of Djarum Black his girlfriend, who says she can’t be intimate for health reasons, turns around to aggressively flirt with my geek ass. So, nostalgic.

I like it. Found memories of my awkward self. I know the preceding isn’t part of critical listening, but mixing and mastering are as much about attitude as everything else.

Adam Getgood (mixer) and Mike Kalajian (mastering) have done a great job of keeping it loud without distorting the mix, creating guitars that don’t phase and become fatiguing, and handling the different sections of the arrangement.

This style of music is challenging to produce at every step. Not only because everything is supposed to be turned to 11, which means nothing stands out, but also because there is a crowd of people ready to accuse you of dishonoring metal. (Notice that the bass is felt more than heard.)

The ethereal bit at the end is a nice touch, and an old school production technique to give listeners a break before heading into the next (head) banger.

Technical

Mix: Adam Getgood
Master: Mike Kalajian

  • kick and bass are locked together in time
  • guitars are wide (common for genre)
  • highs are a bit soft in early sections, increase at end
  • backing vocals sometimes buried by guitar (subtle)
  • pop on keys at about 4:12?
  • solo is very well mixed
  • outro in arrangement is interesting relief after intense track

Another Space Song by Failure

You know me well, friend. A favorite of mine, which goes to show that production is something is a matter of taste.

This whole album (Fantastic Planet, 1996) is dynamically squashed in the style common to the era. CDs weren’t new at that point, but everyone was still in a war to cram as much data as possible into the signal. Listen for the choruses—they shouldn’t be quieter than the verses.

The ‘90s were a bad time in the loudness wars. Listen to this track followed by the aforementioned Dracul Gras (2023) and you’ll hear how it has eased. Dracul Gras hits harder.

Try to locate the vocal. It’s heavily processed and not strongly in the center. Notice the bass is doing the heavy lifting in adding distortion, a sound I really like, and a technique that’s underused today. Less distortion on guitar and more on bass gives space to add those wide vocals and that ear candy in the mids.

Note too that the snare is rather far away, and the toms are unnaturally wide, which when combined with organic clean guitar playing creates the electronic but still rock sound big in the ‘90s. As if to say, “Yeah, the computers are happening, but we’re still analog, too.”

Technical

Mix: Casey Stone
Master: Tom Baker

  • very compressed (common for genre in this era)
  • toms are very wide (style choice)
  • bass is doing heavy lifting on distortion
  • vocal position is ambiguous
  • low-mid dip
  • drums are distant, especially snare
The link has been copied!