4nowneway said:

That's pretty much the case these days.

My girlfriend complained about the vocals being too low in the mix when we listened to "The Word" in my car the other day.

what's LRC?


Lovesexy's production, Parade's, SOTT, Musicology, 3121... they are all purposely fucked up by Prince to get that punk ass "Prince" brand of sound. He intentionally mixes his songs in an often irritating way... he always has! Listen to "Hot Thing", listen to "Fury"... it is all similar. Check out Prettyman

The mixing of Alphabet St is weak, but once you let it creep in past your preconceived standards... it's uniquely Prince.

The only one that is not mixed "prince"like is.... Rainbow Children. That one is done unlike any Prince album to my ears.

PS I'm listening on a Denon receiver with NHT speakers with a subwoofer that is tuned to a natural degree of bass. And I do not tweak the bass or treble... I listen to it flat and natural.

Are we talking production or engineering here?
The "sound" of the album is engineering.
The placement of "sound" is producing.

As far as this topic, I was kinda thinking the same thing a few days ago. The sound of the album to me was kinda weak.
That said, I think it's mostly an engineering thing but there are production issues as well.
I had Flaming Lips new CD single on, The W.A.N.D plus b-sides (great BTW), and 3121 back to back on my CD player. And granted the music is vastly different, the sound and production were miles apart as far as one sounding incredible and the other (3121) sounding not so great, comparitively. Nothing to do with the quality of songs either way just the "sound" of the whole thing.

Novabreaker said:

Thats a damn shame!

ufoclub said:

The Gold Experience sounds like nothing else either. I really don't know what it is all I know is it sounds full and loud. I believe someone has said he did it on purpose. I don't know what it was but I love the sound of it and every song except 1.

My friend is a producer who has done work with Kool Keith, Analog Brothers and others.
He says drum beats on 3121 are outdated.
[Edited 3/27/06 8:33am]

My friend is a producer and he says that Horny Pony sucks.

OuzoPower said:

Thank God.

Novabreaker said:

It aint about trends, it's about cool, interesting music.
Of which, I think this album lacks.
The problem is "keeping up with newest rends".
Is this something someone wants?
This maybe where the problem lies.

Just shared this thread with the hubby. He suggested that anyone who is bothered by the production on this album just pick up the phone and give Prince a call. Ask him to send you the master tapes so you can remix it yourself.

Problem solved!



But seriously, the mix is the way he wants it. You KNOW Prince wants (and gets) what he wants -- good or bad he's firmly in control.

And there it is!

HalluRain said:

That does not make it correct. The mix in some places are too harsh. It's really that simple.

HalluRain said:

i dunno. it could be that in the recording process, he was really psyched up about the new record, but in true prince fashion, by the time it got to the engineering phase, he'd gotten tired of the music and just wanted to get the thing ready to go whether the sound was 100% or not.

I agree - production on his albums since 1996 (Emancipation onwards) has been much worse, creating a muted 'plasticy' effect.

3121's production is very similar to NPS and Chaka's Come 2 My House.
His best produced album to date IMO is Symbol - it sounds amazing full blast even now.

He used to use echoes and the production had a clear, light, airy feel - now it just sounds too muted and not 'live'. It could be the loss of analogue recording as that can create a 'fuller' sound than digital.
It also seems that the instruments may have been recorded directly to computer and not played out loud and recorded through mics, losing that full sound effect.

It is a real shame as this muted 'plasticy' sound really spoils the impact of the music IMO.
[Edited 3/27/06 12:24pm]

for instance "power choruses" ... <<< but damn he sho nuff layers his voice a lot. is it a lack of or expression of 2 much confidence?

I'm quite surprised at this thread. Speaking as someone who has had a lot of experience with sound and mixing songs, the mixing on this album is not bad at all and great is some places actually, The Dance is pretty much perfect.

Now Musicology was HORRIBLE mix-wise, but 3121 is excellent.

DMSR said:

I dont agree at all (IMO) I have this album on right now and its sounds great to me
Cant please everyone I suppose eh?

TheFreakerFantastic said:

I'd agree with that + would start this from Emancipation too. It's almost like Warners were helping him out on the production / engineering side of things.....

Symbol, Diamonds & Pearls and Gold Experience sound better than Musicology and 3121. I'm not commenting on the quality of the songs or the musicianship, just the quality of the sound itself. They're more balanced, fuller, richer, more punchy.

lynx said:

Some songs are mixed just fine like the dance, others are weak like Black Sweat.

DMSR said:

"Lolita" is trying to be "Soft and Wet"...NOT "I Wanna Be Your Lover".

Thang said:

You're right. Prince doesn't have a very strong voice, he can't carry those choruses on one single recorded line alone. He has proven otherwise, as the live-based recordings from the Purple Rain -era demonstrates, but then again there are a lot of outtakes with scratch vocal arrangement circulating amongst the fans that clearly showcase that he can't pull it off most of the time just by singing one single line.

I thought it was just me. To me the mix is kind of muddy. The sounds arent seperated enough. Especially Incense & Candles and THe Dance. The strings on The Dance are cool, but not defined. Its like all the sounds are one big hazy swirl. Throughout the album the bass(not neccesarily the bass guitar, but the "lows") is not well defined. That being said, Im enjoying the music on the album. Ive listened to it at least 2x a day since I got it. I just wish it was mixed to be more listener friendly.

The issue here really is the mix. Since the "Emancipation" album, I've felt there to be a poor sense of integration sonically. "Fury" in particular has far too many disparate elements mix-wise.

jjam said:

Agreed.

I agree fully.
The production sucks. In fact the record has the production quality of a kids record. The synths are not at all worthy of using the word "Synth" to explain the sound. I'm not sure what planet he's on, but clearly the man doesn't take any advice from anyone but himself. Prince hasn't had a professionally produced sounding record since Batman. The music sounds amature at best. "Fury" is being hailed as a throwback to classic Prince, but even Rollingstone says that it's close, but no cigar. The reality is that Prince's music is what it is today and it hasn't really been great since the late 80's. Most of his recordings have bee pretty forgettable. It's probably the most tragic thing I've experienced in my life as a music fan. Prince changed my life in the 80's and truly gave me the gift of really great art. His stuff is canned now. It's not art. Art is the cover of Around The World In a Day and the complex, abstract, and amazing writing that went along with it. Art is the photograpy on Sign O the Times and the music that had social, political and cultural value that his music doesn't have today. Purple Rain defined perfection of this art form. 1999's sound paved the way for a lot of the dance music you hear today. All The Critics Love You In New York was an early hint to house music. Today you have "3121". The cover artwork is cheesy at best. The back cover, fonts, and layout is second rate. The lyrics are bad and the style is forced. I don't think Prince will ever make an amazing record ever again. There has been one disappointment after the next. It's seriously tragic. He's good live, but that's if he actually plays his own songs and if he plays more than 20 seconds of a song. God! Please find Prince and give him back!

mschirmer said:

You had me for most of the post but I really dig Rainbow. I'd love to have that as an instumental cd.

I hear the same thing, but I think Prince's production has always been spotty.

Dirty Mind--okay, those are demo tapes.

Controversy--Great

1999--uneven, the title track & LRC aren't very clear. kinda noisy

Purple Rain--Great

Around the World--rough, like 1999

Parade--Great

Then I think it's all pretty flawless (if dated) production-wise until...

Rave--So Far So Pleased. Seems to be recorded at too high a volume.
--Every Day is a Winding Road. Like the tape is saturated

TRC--Pretty good overall

News--Good

Musicology--The rock tunes are noisy. The funk tunes are fine.

3121--Uneven
[Edited 3/28/06 16:29pm]

Finally some Prince fans who are living in the real world!

Graycap23 said:

Uhh Yep.
I don't like the production but I will say it's a much better listen on headphones. At least you can the hear the little musical nuances that make it better and more interesting.
Rainbow and NEWS are it for me. Some as far 3121 goes, I'll put it to those standards.