Queen's first album production

Ziggy_SD wrote:

I think it was Brian that admitted they were forced to rethink their mixes when he noticed their records didn’t sound good in clubs. I’m gathering this may have been one of the reasons why they dropped Roy Thomas Baker in the late 70s.

I know a lot of people criticise the Mack sound of the early 80s, but I for one thought his fresh take on their overall sound was key to their success in that decade.

I’ve started to have a crack at remixing some of their earlier stuff and it absolutely benefits from modern mixing techniques. Now I’m Here, a track I always preferred live than the album cut, sounds completely different after I tinkered with it.

Feel free to share if you want some extra ears to hear it.

Bobemian, here you go!

https://youtu.be/bVCBfaTIm3g

Let me know your thoughts!

Ziggy_SD wrote:

I think it was Brian that admitted they were forced to rethink their mixes when he noticed their records didn’t sound good in clubs. I’m gathering this may have been one of the reasons why they dropped Roy Thomas Baker in the late 70s.

I know a lot of people criticise the Mack sound of the early 80s, but I for one thought his fresh take on their overall sound was key to their success in that decade.

I’ve started to have a crack at remixing some of their earlier stuff and it absolutely benefits from modern mixing techniques. Now I’m Here, a track I always preferred live than the album cut, sounds completely different after I tinkered with it.

The Game is one of Queen's best sounding albums, IMHO. Mack did a great job on that one.

Ziggy_SD wrote:

Bobemian, here you go!

https://youtu.be/bVCBfaTIm3g

Let me know your thoughts!

Good work. Do you remember the processes you used here?

Rick wrote:

The Game is one of Queen's best sounding albums, IMHO. Mack did a great job on that one.

True, AOBTD is a speaker killer when cranked up.

Makka, the secret is adding some light distortion on the bass and drums. Works wonders on all their 70s stuff.

But then by the same token, 50% of people would ask why have you distorted nice clear tracks :)

Ziggy_SD wrote:

Bobemian, here you go!

https://youtu.be/bVCBfaTIm3g

Let me know your thoughts!

I LOVE this! Thanks for sharing - it sounds SO much better. I'm not the biggest fan of Now I'm Here (I mean, I like it, but it isn't one of my favourite tracks ever or anything), but if THIS was how it sounded on the album I would be. So GREAT to hear the drums and bass. And the piano in there later on too.

I'd absolutely never thought about the mixes on any Queen albums if I'm completely honest. But I do know how important mixing is. And if I hadn't known, you've just proved it to me here! I now want to hear how much better other tracks could sound too!

[In fact as a teenager I thought I'd love to work recording music (I'd always played instruments, did a maths degree, but decided YEAHHH I do NOT want to be an accountant ta (& I'm terrible with money anyway) but I have zero self confidence. I volunteered at a recording studio for a bit a few years ago in my late teens and early 20's (which uncommonly in this age, still used tape) but though... they mainly wanted me to do their accounts, promote them online & answer phones (I was just a silly little girl in there with all the blokes I guess) and I was too shy to push myself into encouraging the blokes there to show me much stuff, I did learn you totally need complete self assurement when mixing music as you have to trust your own ears and I would have never had the confidence in my own ears to do anything like that, even if I'd had the talent, so hey - at least I learned that! They did say I could use any of the stuff there any time though, so I wrote myself a complete desk manual from what I learned and I did used to go there sometimes alone at 3am, have a go mixing stuff then ensure long before there was the slightest possibility of anyone else arriving that it was all set up just as it had been before, so nobody would have any clue I had ever been there, having a play, haha. Oh well. Me: the greatest disappointment to life there has ever been.]

Mixing stuff professionally, while fun, is a poison chalice. Because the possibilities are infinite (especially in the digital age) it's a huge compromise between what YOU think and what the 4 band members think. You get the best performances you can (in itself quite a task) and wrestle with the hardware (if you're lucky you can use your own set up). If they trust you, fine, but then you have the label (who paid for it) pulling you further away from your vision. And then 40 years later you have the internet saying it sounds shit.

"But then by the same token, 50% of people would ask why have you distorted nice clear tracks :)"

This is why we shouldn't reveal studio techniques!

"I LOVE this! Thanks for sharing - it sounds SO much better. I'm not the biggest fan of Now I'm Here (I mean, I like it, but it isn't one of my favourite tracks ever or anything), but if THIS was how it sounded on the album I would be. So GREAT to hear the drums and bass. And the piano in there later on too.

I'd absolutely never thought about the mixes on any Queen albums if I'm completely honest. But I do know how important mixing is. And if I hadn't known, you've just proved it to me here! I now want to hear how much better other tracks could sound too!"

Thanks so much for the feedback. I'm still experimenting with studio techniques and wanted to work with material that I'm fairly familiar with :)

I am currently working on another track that had great potential but it's mixing let it down... Fat Bottomed Girls!

Well make sure you pop it in the Fan Mix section.