Most of us know the story. Steve Albini produced In Utero, but the record company had another producer, Scott Litt, clean up the two singles ("Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies") to sound more radio-friendly.
Here's the original Albini mix of Heart-Shaped Box:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fjzEZpqezM
The original Stevei Albini mix of "Heart-Shaped Box"
Moderator: Metal Sludge
-
Mister Freeze
- Platinum Artist
- Posts: 10713
- Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 6:11 pm
The original Stevei Albini mix of "Heart-Shaped Box"
skunklovestiger wrote: A comment like this needs a really useless piece of shit. Well maybe you are used to get fucked by your mother in the basement. It would be better if somebody just kills you useless asshole. Just killl yourself shithead.
-
HoldenSSV
- Showcasing for A&R Reps
- Posts: 606
- Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2023 5:39 am
- Location: Buckeye Nation
Re: The original Stevei Albini mix of "Heart-Shaped Box"
So Litt just turned down the guitars and drums a bit. Genius!
"Copying off of one person is called plagiarism.
Copying off of ten people is called research."
Copying off of ten people is called research."
-
Mister Freeze
- Platinum Artist
- Posts: 10713
- Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 6:11 pm
Re: The original Stevei Albini mix of "Heart-Shaped Box"
There's a little more to it than that. One of the comments under the video sums it up pretty well...
The two main differences are with the electric guitars and the lead vocal. For the electric guitar: so, there are two tracks. On Steve's mix, he has them together in the mix, more in the center. On the single version, they are panned with one predominantly in the left and the other in the right. I would imagine that Steve mixed them together because Pat Smear was not at this point a contributing member of the band, and so they were a trio. So, he didn't want it to sound like there were two guitarists because there weren't. The second guitar track does mostly doubling; it's more like an effect. With the single mix, they pan the two tracks (you can really hear it with headphones) for one main reason: by doing so, they can lower the volume of the guitars in the choruses. Steve's mix for the choruses features a loud, raucous guitar that dominates -- Kurt's vocal doesn't really "pop." This was the post-punk aesthetic that Nirvana and Albini were coming from (where the other instrument coexist with the vocals in the mix), but the major record label was probably having none of that. The other big difference is the volume of the vocals. They have been brought up and EQ'ed to really stick out and exist above the rest of the band.
So, which one's better? I think it depends on personal preference. Personally, I REALLY like the additional backing vocals added to the single mix. Those harmonies are haunting and they elevate the song to me. We know that Albini is famous for quashing backing vocals (he did to Kim Diehl on the Breeder's first album 'Pod'), but I think they really work here. Aside from that, Albini's mike is superior in every other way, in my opinion. The drums sound amazing on his mix (totally muddy on the single mix), and the guitars are just searing with the Albini mix.
But it makes total sense why the label "hated" Albini's mixes.
Personally, I noticed the differences more when listening in the car (as opposed to laptop speakers), especially the solo.
The two main differences are with the electric guitars and the lead vocal. For the electric guitar: so, there are two tracks. On Steve's mix, he has them together in the mix, more in the center. On the single version, they are panned with one predominantly in the left and the other in the right. I would imagine that Steve mixed them together because Pat Smear was not at this point a contributing member of the band, and so they were a trio. So, he didn't want it to sound like there were two guitarists because there weren't. The second guitar track does mostly doubling; it's more like an effect. With the single mix, they pan the two tracks (you can really hear it with headphones) for one main reason: by doing so, they can lower the volume of the guitars in the choruses. Steve's mix for the choruses features a loud, raucous guitar that dominates -- Kurt's vocal doesn't really "pop." This was the post-punk aesthetic that Nirvana and Albini were coming from (where the other instrument coexist with the vocals in the mix), but the major record label was probably having none of that. The other big difference is the volume of the vocals. They have been brought up and EQ'ed to really stick out and exist above the rest of the band.
So, which one's better? I think it depends on personal preference. Personally, I REALLY like the additional backing vocals added to the single mix. Those harmonies are haunting and they elevate the song to me. We know that Albini is famous for quashing backing vocals (he did to Kim Diehl on the Breeder's first album 'Pod'), but I think they really work here. Aside from that, Albini's mike is superior in every other way, in my opinion. The drums sound amazing on his mix (totally muddy on the single mix), and the guitars are just searing with the Albini mix.
But it makes total sense why the label "hated" Albini's mixes.
Personally, I noticed the differences more when listening in the car (as opposed to laptop speakers), especially the solo.
skunklovestiger wrote: A comment like this needs a really useless piece of shit. Well maybe you are used to get fucked by your mother in the basement. It would be better if somebody just kills you useless asshole. Just killl yourself shithead.