Jeff Buckley "grace" question

[platypipros]

Originally Posted by kelldammit

speaking of sounds on that album, in particular, i love the guitar during the intro/1st verse of dream brother. it's so gorgeous in such a subtle way. wonderful tone, and huge-sounding, but easy to overlook on casual listen. it totally sets the vibe for that part of the song.
i also really like the snare sound...it's not crisp or snappy. at first i thought it lacking, but it's grown on me...it's still punchy and has impact...and fits nicely with everything else. i think the cymbals are a bit hot for my tastes early on though...but, damn, what a bunch of great songs, and what a great way to cap an album off.

dream brother is an interesting track, the subject matter exspecially. Lyrics are about a friend that wants to leave his pregnant lover and how that relates to his father Tim Buckley. Tim has a song entitled Dream Letter...listen to it. Strange similarities inthe first 30 seconds of the song.

[rewt_]

Originally Posted by Janesaid2me

Ummm...i dont know what to say here about the original question but i think this album as a whole is one of the most overlooked albums....seems that some people forget to mention in their list of super albums...

sometimes it's forgotten, sometimes it's mentioned a lot, it depends on who you're talking to. i am probably the only one who feels this way, but a lot of times when i read/hear comments about jb, people blow him up to the point where i'm turned off by his music. the honesty and intimacy of a lot of his work makes it really easy to make a personal connection to it, which from everything i know about jeff, he would have liked. when i hear people going on and on about him in certain ways though, it seems contrary to his attitude and approach. i dunno, it kind of misses the point, and i like the cd a lot better when i take it out of that context.

i'm not talking about the forum here, i'm talking more about general listeners. i'm just thinking out loud anyway. but yeah. hard to deny that he captured some ridiculously intense feelings in song, and he had a mystique about him that was really intriguing, even before his death.

[underworld]

yeah, i kinda dig the fact that he's not all over the place like some other artists .... he kinda retains some "specialness" in that way. i like aimee mann for a lot of the same reasons... and maybe there's some general similarities in the brooding, dark emotion in their songs ... but if aimee mann every became like britney spears... man, i would totally have to kill myself.

i guess that's the cool thing about art and music (as an art) ... as artists, we do it to express ourselves, yet as patrons, we have a lot of liberty to interpret art in our own way. maybe that's why we like to sing along to "Lover .... " ... it's a open door where we can tap into a certain emotion ... and it feels good.

[Alexi]

.....any thoughts on what reverbs were used?



I heard that Mr. Wallace used Yamaha units in the past.......any information out there?



greetings



alex

[doorknocker]

I recently listened to 'Grace' again on my new 'vintage' Studer CD player and once again was totally blown away.

I bought the 'Deluxe' remaster when it came out and first thought that they did a great job but listening back to both the original CD and the remaster on the sonically very revealing Studer it became clear that the original CD is WAY better sounding.

In fact, much of the emotional impact of the music is lost or at least lessened on the remaster. It's not flat-out crushed like a lot of new CD but it's pretty clear that much of the dynamics are lost for the sake of more volume and a 'sweetening' of the sound that's totally unnecessary IMO.

I got a screenshot somewhere of the waveforms of both versions, can't find it right now but I'll post it. Example: On 'So real' the kick drum is really.. well...kicking in when the chorus starts. On the remaster the kick is already maximized from the start of the song and thus the dynamic effect of the chorus is lost. The original CD has such clarity and as another example, the driving, hi-passed acoustics on the title song sound much rounder and warmer on the remaster but this really makes the song less driving and dimensional.

I mean, the music is so great that it will still come through but I just don't see any reason why this record was 'remasters' other than making money.

Jeff's mother, Mary Guibert, is quoted that the original CD 'suffered from overcompression'. That's the most ridiculous thing I'ver ever read because exactly the opposite is true.

[jumpnyc]

yeah I agree the re-master is nowhere near the original. It's a fascinating study of how each step can help make or break a project.

[Janesaid2me]

I have a feeling ill be listening to this cd alot this weekend....hahah as well as all his other work I have....if i have any incite after all that I will lend further comments then...I definitely agree that sometimes its better that he is overlooked, it almost ruins it when there is too much hype over any artist or thing in general. Hope ya'll have a good weekend listening to Jeff too...

[organik]

buckley is just sooo amazing. he is a major influence of mine.
my techer hillary johnson had the chnce to record a session with him and played me some of the origonal tapes through an ssl e series, to hear his voice un mixed and soloed;
really goes to show how much a great singer really can make such a difference. all she used was a u87 through a focusrite red series pre on her session with him.

i had read an interview about mixing grace and he does like to ride the overheads a lot on the mix. he says he starts with the most dynamic louder part of the song first and then the rest. and i think he mixes with mix bus compression on at all times.
that guy shure knows how to get killer drum sounds.

everybody here wants you is another great song by jeff. the mix on that song is superb. so clean and thick. the bass is buttery smooth

[slipperman]

Originally Posted by Alexi

.....any thoughts on what reverbs were used?



I heard that Mr. Wallace used Yamaha units in the past.......any information out there?



greetings



alex

OK. Maybe we can put this one to sleep forever with the following list.

Jeff Buckley "Grace"

Produced and mixed by: Andy Wallace
Assisted by: Steve Sisco


Recorded at Bearsville Studios and Quantum Sound Studios
Mixed at Quantum Sound Studios Jersey City NJ between 12/06/1993 - 3/02/1994

Studer A800(2)
Lynx Timeline
Studer A80 1/2" w/CTC
Otari MX5050 1/4"
Panasonic SV3700

SSL 4056E loaded 48/TR

Drawmer DS201(3)
Orban 622b
Valley MaxiQ(4)
Valley Kepex(3)
Valley GainBrain(3)
Lang PEQ4
Lang PEQ2
DBX 165a(2)
Urei 1176
TubeTech EQ(2)

EMT 252
Lexicon 224XL
Quantec QRS
AMS DMX15-80
TC 2290
Eventide 949
Yamaha REV-5
Yamaha REV-7
Yamaha SPX-90
Yamaha SPX-90II
Lexicon PCM70
Lexicon PCM42 w/samp

UREI 813-C
Yamaha NS-10's
EV Sentry 100's
Bryston amps

Jeff and Andy were in and out of Quantum during the month of November 1993 finishing the tracking that had been started, and largely completed, at Bearsville earlier in the year. They were pretty much solely doing vocals and gtrs at this point.

The meat of the mixing was done during the month of December 1993. The recalls and remixes/additions continued sporadically between Feb. and early March 1994.

Last day of mix was 3/2/94.

Final album sequence was assembled at Quantum on 3/29/94.

Finis.

SM.

[Eide]

Originally Posted by slipperman

OK. Maybe we can put this one to sleep forever with the following list.

*site bookmarked*

[evangelista]

For what it's worth -

I asked Matt Johnson about the tracking of "Lover". The drums are all live, no overdubs, and he only used one snare. Though he can't be certain, he is almost 100% sure that there were no samples triggered in the mix.

Ivan

[garysjo]

Originally Posted by evangelista

For what it's worth -

I asked Matt Johnson about the tracking of "Lover". The drums are all live, no overdubs, and he only used one snare. Though he can't be certain, he is almost 100% sure that there were no samples triggered in the mix.

Ivan

Great drumming on that record! I saw him live last year playing with wainwright, really great player.

[emkay]

Originally Posted by Blindside

What's up guys. On the track "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" I noticed that the snare sound is one of the best I've ever heard. I also noticed that the rim clicks are set back in the mix with quite a bit of reverb, and when the snare comes in for fills and such, it seems more up front and placed differently. Is it just me? I was wondering if anyone knew if they maybe used two different snare drums, or what the technique was. Also what mics were used on drums.

Furthermore, I think that the production on that song is some of the best I've heard and is definitely the best on the album. Anyone agree?

That still is one of my favourite albums in recent memory, I miss him as an artist. I know that one time that I saw a televised concert, that great drummer was playing a small DW kit. By small I mean, single rack, single floor, snare and a 22 or 24 inch kick. He seemed to replicate alot of the album sounds. Don't know what the FOH engineer was using though. And how about "grace" or "everybody wants to know you?" That tune could be a huge R and B hit for someone! but man they better be able to sing!!.......peace