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What do you think of production work on Parade? Do you think Parade sounds great or it could have been better?
i'm not talking about songs,i'm talking on production i feel first 4 songs while great ,sound like they are mixed in a hurry. Cowbell is too loud on a second song for example and too me album starts to sound much better with the last few songs like Girls and Boys,Mountains,Venus De Milo and Kiss | |
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The cowbell is too loud FOR YOU, not for Prince.
We all know how the first four songs were done, and that in itself is unique and different from previous albums. There's a feel to the whole album. You can hear bar stools squeaking in "Sometimes It Snows In April". It's very "in your bedroom at night" but it works. | |
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I agree that I think some of that 'rushed production' adds some appeal to the album. It kind of fits in with the arty/bohemian feel of that period. Toejam @ Peach & Black Podcast: http://peachandblack.podbean.com
Toejam's band "Cheap Fakes": http://cheapfakes.com.au, http://www.facebook.com/cheapfakes Toejam the solo artist: http://www.youtube.com/scottbignell | |
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It really wouldn't be what it is if it were any different. ..."holding someone is truly believing" |
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Re - the cowbell.
I actually suggested that on a different thread, but for a different song on this album. I think the cowbell really disrupts the flow of Life Can Be So Nice. It's just nuclear bomb loud and so unneccessary. I rather like the percussion on New Position. (Off memory, you may actually be referring to a steel drum & not an actual cowbell. I'd have to relisten). Parade is probably my favorite Prince album. I think the string and horn arrangements are majestic, but they don't sit quite right in the mix in a few spots. Also, at times the song transitions are gimmicky. And while they ultimately work for the most part, a few are executed VERY poorly. The effect of jumping from the raucous Life Can Be So Nice to the uber-delicate Venus de Milo is meant to be jarring, (like the end of Queen's song Sheer Heart Attack into All Dead on News of the World). But when listening closely, it just wasn't executed smoothly. It sounds/feels like a post production afterthought. Overall, these are relatively minor quibbles, the album is a masterpiece. Oh and Ernest , I agree. the squeaking in Sometimes It Snows is magic. [Edited 9/28/09 19:28pm] | |
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yes Fenwick you got it ,not cowbells,steel drums
bother me its too loud in the mix and lots of great things are going on in the song "New Position " so it Steel drum sounds like somebody turned it up in the mix by mistake and never bother to correct the mistake | |
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Personally...I think 'Parade' is P's BEST production job. Ever. And I don't think it's close. Occupy Alphabet Street!
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And I'd HARDLY call the transitions gimmicky. They're perfect. The segues through the suite that opens the album flow like the Siene. And the french that introduces 'Do you Lie' is pure charm. Occupy Alphabet Street!
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ernestsewell said: We all know how the first four songs were done No we don't.RIP  | |
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The production on Parade is perfect.
Only a newb could ask such a quastion.. lol 
How can 1 be a Prince fan and not love everything about the Parade album...? Parade is fantastic, a work of art,  
a shame the songs Girls & Boys, Mountains, Anotherloverholenyohead weren't big hits in the USA - and only minor hits in Europe too, I guess the world just didn't understood Prince's music, the same way the world didn't understood Lovesexy 2 years later. From Dirty Mind..... up to Lovesexy.... these 9 albums are holy treassures to me.  Prince 4Ever. | |
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Fenwick said: Re - the cowbell.
I actually suggested that on a different thread, but for a different song on this album. I think the cowbell really disrupts the flow of Life Can Be So Nice. It's just nuclear bomb loud and so unneccessary. I rather like the percussion on New Position. (Off memory, you may actually be referring to a steel drum & not an actual cowbell. I'd have to relisten). Parade is probably my favorite Prince album. I think the string and horn arrangements are majestic, but they don't sit quite right in the mix in a few spots. Also, at times the song transitions are gimmicky. And while they ultimately work for the most part, a few are executed VERY poorly. The effect of jumping from the raucous Life Can Be So Nice to the uber-delicate Venus de Milo is meant to be jarring, (like the end of Queen's song Sheer Heart Attack into All Dead on News of the World). But when listening closely, it just wasn't executed smoothly. It sounds/feels like a post production afterthought. Overall, these are relatively minor quibbles, the album is a masterpiece. Oh and Ernest , I agree. the squeaking in Sometimes It Snows is magic. [Edited 9/28/09 19:28pm] Oh no, now I hear the cowbell all the way through "life can be so nice". Never picked up on it before, once noticed it almost ruins the tune.. Reminds me of Sheryl Crow's "all I wanna do" there's a wood block thing that ruins it once you know it's there. I think the production is brilliant on Parade, I am not aware of how they recorded it though?? Where's Roadhouse Garden? "Still Crazy 4 Coco Rock" | |
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jackmitz said: Personally...I think 'Parade' is P's BEST production job. Ever. And I don't think it's close.
 | |
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jackmitz said: And I'd HARDLY call the transitions gimmicky. They're perfect. The segues through the suite that opens the album flow like the Siene. And the french that introduces 'Do you Lie' is pure charm.
Hey Jack I agree. For the most part they work beautifully and add to the album's majesty. The flow of the first four songs is perfection. It's only in a few areas that I think he rather fell in love with the idea of the transition a bit too much and did not execute, (which is why I use the word gimmicky, because it's all over the album). But again, this is a very minor quibble for me. This is P's masterpiece in my eyes. | |
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toejam said: I agree that I think some of that 'rushed production' adds some appeal to the album. It kind of fits in with the arty/bohemian feel of that period.
Totally agree - I love the raw feel of the album. It just wouldnt be the same any other way. | |
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aiden said: Fenwick said: Re - the cowbell.
I actually suggested that on a different thread, but for a different song on this album. I think the cowbell really disrupts the flow of Life Can Be So Nice. It's just nuclear bomb loud and so unneccessary. I rather like the percussion on New Position. (Off memory, you may actually be referring to a steel drum & not an actual cowbell. I'd have to relisten). Parade is probably my favorite Prince album. I think the string and horn arrangements are majestic, but they don't sit quite right in the mix in a few spots. Also, at times the song transitions are gimmicky. And while they ultimately work for the most part, a few are executed VERY poorly. The effect of jumping from the raucous Life Can Be So Nice to the uber-delicate Venus de Milo is meant to be jarring, (like the end of Queen's song Sheer Heart Attack into All Dead on News of the World). But when listening closely, it just wasn't executed smoothly. It sounds/feels like a post production afterthought. Overall, these are relatively minor quibbles, the album is a masterpiece. Oh and Ernest , I agree. the squeaking in Sometimes It Snows is magic. [Edited 9/28/09 19:28pm] Oh no, now I hear the cowbell all the way through "life can be so nice". Never picked up on it before, once noticed it almost ruins the tune.. Reminds me of Sheryl Crow's "all I wanna do" there's a wood block thing that ruins it once you know it's there. I think the production is brilliant on Parade, I am not aware of how they recorded it though?? Where's Roadhouse Garden? When I started a thread about this a few weeks ago, the cowbell in this song is what actually drove me to create it. To be honest, I probably would not have bothered to start a thread about the other issues because they are so incredibly minor. But I had taken a break from this album after worshipping it for 20 years and I couldn't believe I had never heard caught the cowbell volume before. I got half way through the song to the bridge and thought, my God is that thing loud. Same as you, once I focused on it, it almost makes the song unlistenable. Ultimately, this album is as close to perfection as it gets. Compostion wise, to me this is Prince's best album no contest. Production wise, there are just a few things I would change mentioned above. | |
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. [Edited 11/20/09 8:00am] ..She's Just A Baby..but she's my lady..my loveR..my only friend!..true love that will last!..PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND..WHAT SHE SEES IN AN OLDER MAN..they never stop 2 think that maybe i'm what she's looking 4..THEY NEVER TAKE THE TIME..2 look in her mind | |
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For me the production in Parade is excellent, the whole album just flows so smoothly. One of my favourite Prince albums definitely | |
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I think it's a fairytale album. Promising from beginning to end. Smooth transitions in the first 4 yes but I like the later wake up calls and different flows which make it interesting. I never saw the movie but the cd is great piece of work. I like the whistley part in Life can be so nice, never noticed the cow bells. I'm not keen on the chord changes when he talks about the clarinet playing part. But I never really listened a lot to that track Though the music changes are great, it was a little bit busy for me. "Free URself, B the best that U can B, 3rd Apartment from the Sun, nothing left to fear" Prince Rogers Nelson - Forever in my Life - | |
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TheEnglishGent said: ernestsewell said: We all know how the first four songs were done No we don't.From Wikipedia: The first four tracks were recorded in sequence with Prince laying down the drum track to all four in one take. Then he laid down the bass, guitar, etc, in the same fashion. They can almost be considered a suite, having a very continuous feel. | |
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I think it's kind of an odd album because it sounds a lot better than SOTT and lot of the material after Lovesexy too.
It has, of all of his albums, one of the most distinct "sounds". | |
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Parade is a masterpiece  | |
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