Maybe all the more reason to get his CD with PJ Crotty and his wife Carol Cullinan. It was produced by Crawford who plays the bodhran on a few tracks. The overall sound is very like Good Company [partly the same backing musicians] though PJ does a nicer job on the airs, including the 'Green Linnet'. I may have preferred it wihtout the backing but they did a very nice job on it.On 2002-12-22 08:40, Bloomfield wrote:
.......I particularly like the Young Tom Ennis set with james Cullinan (never heard of him before
The Old Stuff vs. the New (an anecdote)
-
Cayden
-
adriancarrington
- Posts: 96
- Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2001 6:00 pm
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: England
Hi, Bloomfield,
I'm just writing to express my sympathy with your post. You will also find a similar effect when comparing the original blues players with modern "hotshot" players.
There are stylistic differences in the approach of modern players, as you have observed, but do not underestimate the effect that working in a modern studio can have on the "feel" of a given recording. There is something about the process of working in a studio that can absolutely crush the spontaneous qualities, or "life" if you like, out of music.
You may come out of the studio with a beautiful recording from a technical point of view, but musically, the recording can be something of an artificial construction, often driven by the imagination of the engineer. This is fine if the engineer is a genius like Brian Wilson, for example, but often music is compromised by over production.
I've worked in a studio, and believe me, when you are listening to the same track over and over again, you can develop a kind of tunnel vision about how the music should sound, and it is easy to become obsessed about one particular aspect to the detriment of others.
In my view, more earthy music styles such as folk, ITM, blues or whatever are particularly vulnerable to studio annihilation.
Combine this with the fact that those early guys were such damn good players, straightforward in their approach, playing to entertain rather than impress (usually, I guess!!), and the reasons why new stuff can seem rather "lacking" seem to become clear. Thank goodness some of the new stuff IS good, at least!
Best wishes, Adrian
I'm just writing to express my sympathy with your post. You will also find a similar effect when comparing the original blues players with modern "hotshot" players.
There are stylistic differences in the approach of modern players, as you have observed, but do not underestimate the effect that working in a modern studio can have on the "feel" of a given recording. There is something about the process of working in a studio that can absolutely crush the spontaneous qualities, or "life" if you like, out of music.
You may come out of the studio with a beautiful recording from a technical point of view, but musically, the recording can be something of an artificial construction, often driven by the imagination of the engineer. This is fine if the engineer is a genius like Brian Wilson, for example, but often music is compromised by over production.
I've worked in a studio, and believe me, when you are listening to the same track over and over again, you can develop a kind of tunnel vision about how the music should sound, and it is easy to become obsessed about one particular aspect to the detriment of others.
In my view, more earthy music styles such as folk, ITM, blues or whatever are particularly vulnerable to studio annihilation.
Combine this with the fact that those early guys were such damn good players, straightforward in their approach, playing to entertain rather than impress (usually, I guess!!), and the reasons why new stuff can seem rather "lacking" seem to become clear. Thank goodness some of the new stuff IS good, at least!
Best wishes, Adrian
-
ChrisLaughlin
- Posts: 2054
- Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2001 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
Peter -
I was wondering about your statement about not liking the tracks with Frankie Gavin. Is it that you don't like them because you don't like Frankie's playing? Is it because you don't like Frankie Gavin as a person? Or is it a combination of both?
I have no emotional involvement, whatever your answer may be. I'm just curious.
You may e-mail privately about this if you wish.
Best,
Chris
I was wondering about your statement about not liking the tracks with Frankie Gavin. Is it that you don't like them because you don't like Frankie's playing? Is it because you don't like Frankie Gavin as a person? Or is it a combination of both?
I have no emotional involvement, whatever your answer may be. I'm just curious.
You may e-mail privately about this if you wish.
Best,
Chris