Why do people try to be different and say Revolver is the best album when Sgt. Pepper is more widely recognised as such?
No. It’s usually just a statement about the strength of the songwriting.Sgt Peppers has long been lauded as the greatest Beatles album in part because of its production. It was a massive undertaking and product of months spent in the studio crafting songs and blending them into each other. It has a “concept,” high-art cover and was beautifully packaged. It’s also the first Beatles album that was released in identical formats at the same time across the world. Sgt Peppers hit stores in the USA, and the UK and other countries in late May 1967 with the same track listing making it the first universal Beatles album and the first time the US market hadn’t been short changed by a Beatles release.People forget that when Revolver was released in the USA, it wasn’t the 14 song album the UK (and most other markets) enjoyed. I’m only Sleeping, And Your Bird Can Sing and Doctor Robert were dropped, turning it into a briefer, and weaker, 11 song experience.When people compare Revolver favourably to Sgt Peppers, they’re comparing the songwriting of the UK release. Revolver has 14 songs, all of which are outstanding. There’s not a weak song on the album and Eleanor Rigby and Tomorrow Never Knows are brilliant. Sgt Peppers has 13 tracks, one of which is a short reprise and several of which seem a bit more disposable. McCartney’s whimsy is strong on Pepper and songs like When I’m 64 and Lovely Rita rub some people up the wrong way. Harrison’s only contribution to the album was Within You Or Without Out, which many consider inferior to Love you To, his Indian-inflected contribution to Revolver.The cult of Sgt Peppers has been driven by its packaging, its production, its concept and the love of George Martin, who adores it so much he’s written an entire book about the recording process. But if you compare Sgt Peppers to the UK release of Revolver, you can put forward a good argument that the songs on Revolver are stronger and it’s a better all-round display of the Beatles songwriting talents.
What exactly do they mean when they say an album has a good production? What are the technicalities that they look for?
Production used to mean arranging such things orchestral music, hiring session musicians, and getting the best performance from all involved. Think of George Martin. He’s a good example of an old-school producer. Today, it mostly refers to the quality of the recording, although a producer should also be trying to get the best performances possible from the musicians/artists.When people say, “This album is really well-produced”, they’re talking about the overall sound of the record. You should be able to hear each instrument clearly and undistorted, however high or low it is in the mix. When you don’t achieve this, the recording will be called “muddy”. The recording should sound natural, and the instruments sound like real instruments. Of course, there are recordings where a different effect is desired, but you still want to hear everything that’s going on clearly. It’s difficult to describe in words, but you know it when you hear it. A good, well-produced recording has depth and three-dimensionality, clarity, and is exciting to listen to whether it’s Snoop Dog’s performance of Gin and Juice, or Dione Warwick’s performance of I Say a Little Prayer.Whether you’re recording acoustic instruments like a Jazz trio or a symphony orchestra, or amplified and/or electronic instruments, while the approach to recording is different in each case, the result should be an amazing-sounding record. That’s why artists choose their producer carefully. They want someone who makes the kind of records they want to make. The goal is that, when you play that recording on a high-fidelity system, the result for the listener should be goosebumps. I guess the bottom line is, a great recording of a great performance equals a well-produced record. You’ll know it when you hear it. If you have a friend with a stereo, ask them to play some examples for you.
When people say an album or mixtape has been "leaked" what do they mean by that?
well the ancient romans described it when a record was so hot that it melted and leaked/dripped/dropped on the floor
On iTunes:...When a song says "Album Only" does it mean that if you buy the album you get the song?
It means you have to buy the whole album in order to download the song that you want.
What happens if your song or album goes platinum?
The RIAA puts you on their website. And the rest is up to your record label.Platinum sales (in the USA) are awarded by the RIAA for an album or song that sells one million units. If sales increase to 2 million then it can be certified multi-platinum and if it increases to 10 million, it’s classified as a Diamond album.Every month The RIAA website publishes a list of albums and singles which have achieved gold, platinum, multiplatinum or diamond status. Here’s the list of what did what in March 2017. RIAA's March Gold & Platinum Awards - RIAA (All the Right Reasons by Nickleback went Diamond, The Marshall Mathers LP2 went 3X and 4X platinum, Steve Millers Greatest hits when 14X platinum etc)Then the record label goes into publicity overdrive. They update the wikpedia page and put out a huge amount of publicity telling everyone how many people have been buying their product. Most record labels also produce a fairly tacky looking award that looks like this……which they present to the artists, who either treasure them forever or forget where they left them. These aren’t officially produced by the RIAA and handed out, they’d made by the record companies for publicity purposes.The undisputed King of Gold record Albums is Elvis who has 90 gold, 52 platinum, 25 multiplatinum and 1 diamond album. Garth Brooks has the most Diamond albums of anyone with 7 in total, just above the Beatles on 6 and then Led Zeppelin with 5.The current crop of modern pop stars dominate the singles list. Rihanna has 29 multi platinum singles, above Taylor Swift on 19, Katy Perry and Kanye West on 13 and Lady Gaga on 12. Only one artist in the top ten is no longer releasing singles (Elvis again with 8 Multi Platinum singles).RIAA certification - Wikipedia
What does flop mean?!!! like an album???
"Flopped" means that it wasn't as great as it was expected to be. (To be put nicely.) Yes, it is true. Not the greatest album I've heard.... I love the voice, though.
Is the new Mastodon album, "The Hunter," meant to represent an element?
That was actually one of the first things I thought about, because the art and album name doesn't really suggest it, neither do the song titles. I was expecting this one to represent wind or air, but I have a feeling it won't be as conceptual. Leviathan- Crack the Skye represented elements, but they also had stories tied in, especially Crack the Skye which is a fully original concept, so The Hunter could have a story, just not an element. The album title was inspired by Brent's brother, who died from a hunting accident, so maybe some of the album will be based on that, like part of Crack the Skye was based on Brann's sister who committed suicide. Also, has anyone heard the new track Curl of the Burl? I'm liking it, more of a mainstream sound, but I think it's a great track. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dLaz5Fm9...
What does it mean when a bands album is called their black album or their white album?
It means they can't come up with a good name and they've taken the short route :p
What is the best Green Day album?
Well I can purely say 'Dookie' will be one of the best record they ever made. Kerplunk // Nimrod // Insomniac are actually marvelous but they didn't receive much recognition although they did achieve platinum record status but it didn't create a big impact on wider audience. American Idiot & 21st Century Breakdown comes a close second i suppose(American Idiot was Fantastic!!!).Frankly speaking American Idiot was actually a very superb work they ever did.it was actually a big bucket of awesomeness & 21st century Breakdown was their best chart performing album till now.I mean people should really hear 'Know your Enemy' // 21 Guns // Murder City etc.well as a matter of fact it was actually 'Dookie' who made Green day the talk of town.the initial bassline of 'longview' performed by bassist mike dirnt was amazing & MTV actually did a good work by showcasing it on their network.'When I come Around' & 'She' were equally supportive.Its actually been 20 years since 'Dookie' was realized (It's Dookie's 20th anniversary as on this date) and the band as well as Billie Joe Armstrong has made much progress by winning 5 Grammy awards;producing musicals on Broadway;successful world tours;making two documentaries about their life & records etc. I must say the band has matured over the period of time.Their trilogy titled UNO/DOS/TRE was actually a good project which experimented the blend of Pop Punk/Grunge/Garage Rock.People should actually listen to their older records as well are their new music.I agree that their music has evolved a lot over time & i guess it sounds perfectly fine. Lastly people should note that Green Day aren't 'sellouts'.just because you change your music style doesn't always mean that you are selling out.they are experimenting with their music and i think its ok for a band to modify or reinvent a particular work.I've been a rock aficionado since many years & I love Green Day's work & i must say they're actually talented.I also listen to Led Zeppelin // Black Sabbath // ACDC // Foo Fighters and other rock bands as well.What separates Green Day from other rock bands is their sense of style & their unique intellect in the history of punk rock.My Other Answers on Green Day.Deven Satam (देवेन साटम)'s answer to How has Nirvana influenced Green Day's music?Deven Satam (देवेन साटम)'s answer to Did Green Day break up? If so, when and why did they break up?Deven Satam's answer to Why are Green Day's songs political?
What does it mean that a song or album is overproduced?
It depends on the genre really.- In pop music it's basically what User-11421635133935263584 said, think of a track with a super-clean vocal with no breaths and loads of auto-tune, too many effects, basically lots of unnatural, unorganic elements which drown out the identity of the artist. All this after months and months in a board room deciding on how exactly to approach every last element.- in independent guitar-based music it can have a slightly more specific meaning, "using too many elements which are impossible to reproduce live." Rock and metal producers generally try to steer clear of doing this, because a live concert giving a more exciting experience than listening to the CD is really important to a band.- I even refer to some electronic music as overproduced. For example when juke/footwork started to spread out of Chicago, a lot of the stuff coming out from foreign producers having a dabble in it was too clean to sound remotely authentic. If a sub-genre has a history of rawness that should be respected as much as any other production element.