You are not logged in. Please register or login.
- Topics: Active | Unanswered
Re: Appetite for Self-Production
Wait that's a live french horn? I thought Pitman just said it was pro tools?
Pitman said the song came about when they were jamming in one of his first sessions at Axls studio, but Suzy Katayama played real french horns on the album version.
Re: Appetite for Self-Production
As for the car stereo, a number of people use that technique. As studio monitors kick ass, but sometimes you want to know what a song will sound like on normal equipment.
The accoustics in cars and vans are fantastic, music always sounds amazing!
I still think someone dropped the ball at the mixing stage though, theres a few moments on the album that are well dodgy. How the fuck do you go about drowning out the drums?? 
I think the madness of making the album there to see warts and all, the years of tweaking levels, adding and removing parts etc are all quite obvious when you listen to it.
I think you can plainly hear that someone has been fretting and fussing over each song, making slight adjustments to each instruments volume all the way throughout each song. The problem with that is mabye at some point you have it perfect, but when you are fussing over it for such a huge length of time, you lose perspective and cant focus on what sounds best and you continue tweaking away until that moment of perfection is long gone and it becomes a bit of a meandering mish mash.
For me that is the reason the mixing quality of the album meanders all the way through.
Re: Appetite for Self-Production
Another thing I'll be looking forward on Dre to comment was the premature leak of his first single, Kush. While this can be turned into a direct Better analogy, Dre's label actually responded to the rough mix making rounds by delivering a digital version of the real thing within days.
What GNR did was bitch and moan to no end, while they would've had an excellent shot at great publicity back in 2006. Granted, the story's never all that simple but it makes some interesting case studies how heavy hitters like Dre and Axl respond to filesharing.
Re: Appetite for Self-Production
monkeychow wrote:As for the car stereo, a number of people use that technique. As studio monitors kick ass, but sometimes you want to know what a song will sound like on normal equipment.
The accoustics in cars and vans are fantastic, music always sounds amazing!
I still think someone dropped the ball at the mixing stage though, theres a few moments on the album that are well dodgy. How the fuck do you go about drowning out the drums??I think the madness of making the album there to see warts and all, the years of tweaking levels, adding and removing parts etc are all quite obvious when you listen to it.
I think you can plainly hear that someone has been fretting and fussing over each song, making slight adjustments to each instruments volume all the way throughout each song. The problem with that is mabye at some point you have it perfect, but when you are fussing over it for such a huge length of time, you lose perspective and cant focus on what sounds best and you continue tweaking away until that moment of perfection is long gone and it becomes a bit of a meandering mish mash.
For me that is the reason the mixing quality of the album meanders all the way through.
I still get a laugh out of people thinking CD has the greatest production in history. The thought enters my mind whenever I hear a song from it(which is a rarity these days) because I'm cringing during certain moments and am blown away that even one person had the nerve to make such a claim, and quite a few forum junkies said it when it was released.
When that 2002 tour imploded, Axl should have rallied the troops and had them all go into a studio Soundgarden style and rerecord it within a few weeks. Imagine a song like Better being recorded in one or two takes instead of cut and paste hell and fucked with needlessly for years.
What GNR did was bitch and moan to no end, while they would've had an excellent shot at great publicity back in 2006. Granted, the story's never all that simple but it makes some interesting case studies how heavy hitters like Dre and Axl respond to filesharing.
That was such a cluster fuck and in hindsight, a sign of things to come.
Facts on the ground: A leaked GNR song gaining buzz and even charting in certain regions. Perfectly timed with an upcoming US tour that's gonna need help(a HIT single) to put asses in seats
Axl/Beta/who the fuck ever: We cant allow that! Cease and desist! Radio cant play it and don't let fans share it on the internet. This US tour needs an extra dose of bullshit to ensure failure!
Its so funny how radio supported the song more in 2006 than they did its legit single release two years later.
Re: Appetite for Self-Production
I still remember friends with no particular interest towards the album raving about Better. One of them was, "Guess Axl knew all those years ago that one day he's going to be relevant again."
People, casual listeners, actually liked the track. The naysayers can foam all they want, but in 2006, Better had a shot to become huge.
Re: Appetite for Self-Production
People, casual listeners, actually liked the track. The naysayers can foam all they want, but in 2006, Better had a shot to become huge.
Huge might be a slight overstatement although I do agree in general. If Axl and the rotating cast hadn't been so lazy and actually went into the studio and reworked the song, it could have been the band's 'Vertigo', especially in 2001-02.
That intro is just awful and its noise pollution on the radio. Period. Wasn't even worthy of being pasted on to a demo much less the official album. The song also suffers from an identity crisis as it just goes in several directions and feels like 2 or 3 songs merged into one listenable song. 2:18- 2:50 is just out of place and while it sounds great, does not belong. Go even further into the song with the whole "I never wanted you to be so full of anger......." and it just changes the previous vibe of the song.
Wasn't gonna be a hit in its current state, but I'll admit it blew me away when I first heard it in 2006. By the time it was released, had been tinkered so much it wound up being one of the worst songs on the album.
Someone can jump in and say he didn't want a huge pop hit so none of that matters. Good for him and them because it was mission accomplished.
Re: Appetite for Self-Production
I can remember playing Better to lots of different people back when it leaked. From colleagues (I used to be the manager at a recordstore) to my girlfriend's girlfriends(!). And lots of them raved about the track.
So I've always been of the opinion that had that song been released as a single and been treated (by the band and label) as a single, it could have been a hit.
I don't see it making much diffrence had it been the "demo" or the actual song we have now. To the average Joe, it's the same song.
The only diffrence between the two that I miss, is the slightly altered lyrics. Would have liked the "I know you know I know Better. You know I know you know Better"-part to have made the final cut!
