We all know just how amazing a great record can be. It can be the buoy that keeps us from sinking during hard times, the anthem that accompanies us through the great times, or the expression of a feeling that words alone just don't cover. Making a great record is a goal to which many artists, engineers, and producers aspire – and for good reason. It's one of the few ways in which artists manage to, almost magically, capture something sublime and become a gateway to feelings normally outside of our reach.
But what makes a record great? In the past few issues, we've explored all the steps that go into creating a great record, from the planning phases through post production. This issue, we'll delve into just four of the many ways in which records can be great, using a collection of classics to illustrate each case. By no means is this article intended to crown the greatest of the great records: its purpose is simply to use a few of the many superb recordings out there to showcase a few approaches used to forge a great record.
1. Talent and musicianship.
Some performers are simply head and shoulders above the crowd. They bring a level of musicianship that's worthy of the superlatives bestowed upon them, and their recordings are a way of bringing that talent and skill to the public. Here are a few examples of how virtuoso performances can form the foundation of a great record.
Mariah Carey: Mariah Carey
With her 1990 debut album, Carey quickly established herself as one of the world's premiere pop vocalists. Her effortless control of a five-octave range spanning from alto through coloratura soprano, including awe-inspiring use of whistle register – as employed throughout an infectious list of pop songs – created a record that almost immediately cemented her place among the pantheon of classic spins.
The Vaughan Brothers: Family Style
Released just a month after Stevie Ray Vaughan's death in 1990, this record was the first and only studio collaboration of the brothers Vaughan. Its ten tracks exhibit how naturally the two play together, highlight how Jimmie's playing influenced that of his little brother, and provide a rare glimpse into the late Stevie Ray's musical maturity and poise outside of his typical 1-4-5 blues-rock environs. With both blistering playing ("Long Way From Home," "Telephone Song") and infectious, true pop songs ("Tick Tock," "Hard To Be"), this gem chronicles the latest point in the life of a guitarist revered to be among the best ever.
The Buddy Rich Big Band: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
In his own time, Rich was widely regarded to be the best jazz drummer in the world. This 1966 recording chronicles his own prodigious playing as well as that of his band. It contains the original recording of Channel 1 Suite (which went on to be one of Rich's most performed numbers given the success of this first outing) featuring Don Menza's incomparable solo on tenor saxophone, as well as a fistful of noteworthy and vivacious solos from Rich himself that display exactly what a superlative drummer he really was.
2. Albums with a concept.
Some of the most memorable albums of our time have resulted when an artist creates an album's worth of songs with a concept that allows it to be greater than the sum of its parts. These records use songs as puzzle pieces to form a cohesive audio mural which treats the listener to an audio experience that transcends a simple collection of individual three-minute pop pieces.
Willie Nelson: Red-Headed Stranger
Prior to this 1975 release, Willie had built a reputation as a talented songwriter in the Nashville music community, but hadn't yet established himself as a major-league solo artist. Based on a character he used in his children's' bedtime stories, this album was in many ways the polar opposite of many of the country records being released at the time. It was recorded with his working band, in a local studio, without the help of an experienced producer. Despite its lack of the traditional Nashville gloss treatment, its remarkable song cycle and sparse, intimate production hooked listeners and catapulted him into the national spotlight.
Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon
Arguably the most revered concept album of all time, and the longest-living album on the Billboard 200 (1,500 weeks, almost 29 years), Dark Side's ten songs explore the nature of the human experience – delving into birth, religion, consumerism, conflict, ethnocentrism, and death. With only one real pause (the side change between "The Great Gig In The Sky" and "Money"), the record rolls from birth through death over roughly 43 minutes of painstakingly crafted audio. Advanced and inventive recording techniques made possible the sound effects that help to carry the album, most notably a bass drum that plays throughout the album simulating the beat of a human heart.
The Who: Quadrophenia
A concept album in more than one aspect - in its lyrical story, its included soft cover short story written in the protagonist first person, as well as its exploration of quadraphonic production. The lyrics tell the story of modster Jimmy, from first social frustrations to his exile from home and subsequent disillusionment, despair, and redemption. The production is among the first of a very few quadraphonic releases before the format died. While the quadraphonic approach didn't succeed in the marketplace, it did manage to push the envelope of what was possible in audio and pave the way for future surround sound offerings.
3. Innovative approaches.
Every so often, a record comes along that completely changes the game, introducing a clear demarcation of before its release vs. after. These albums achieved something not sonically conceived of prior to their own existence. The impressions made represent sharp changes in direction and vast broadening of musical horizons.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced
It's hard to argue that rock music wasn't fundamentally changed by the arrival of Jimi Hendrix, with his Fender Stratocaster and stacks of Marshall amplifiers in tow. This 1967 debut release brought the incendiary, feedback-laden Hendrix's reinvention of the electric guitar, as seen at that year's Monterey Pop Festival, into homes around the world. With Are You Experienced, the former Little Richard and Otis Redding sideman single-handedly ushered in a new era of electric guitar playing and rock showmanship that's informed the style of countless musicians since.
Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats: Rocket 88
Even though this band never actually existed (the performing band was Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm), it's not hard to make the case that this single was the first official "rock and roll" release. Its entire approach was new for the time, with its loose, ragged sound, sparse instrumentation, and lyrical focus on cars and girls. Making use of the first distorted guitar sound (guitarist Willie Kizart's amplifier was damaged on the way from Mississippi to Sam Phillips's recording studio, but used anyway), the impact of this record was felt far and wide. Even Ike Turner's piano intro was appropriated, wholesale, by Little Richard in "Good Golly Miss Molly."
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
Despite his long-standing status as The Beach Boys' musical cornerstone, Brian Wilson's audio genius went largely unrecognized until the 1966 release of Pet Sounds, which would go on to open the ears of musicians and fans around the world. His use of unique instrumentation, employment of the Phil Spector-esque "wall of sound" approach, and careful attention to album cohesiveness as a whole, created a new standard to which popular records continue to aspire.
Outkast: Stankonia
2000's release of Stankonia, the fourth effort from Atlanta's critically-acclaimed hip-hop/pop adventurers, was a bold and ultimately commercially successful album that drew from the building blocks of their previous releases. To complement the creative songwriting and performances, Outkast continued to explore live playing combined with programmed percussion and sound effects. The result was an album that had a solid foundation in hip hop, built off a long line of innovators in the genre, while also breaking into soul, funk, and even psychedelia. Stankonia not only paved the way for future genre-busting music from the duo, but served as a bold and unflinching statement to hip hop.
Got an album you’d like to add to the FastForward “Great Albums” list?
Send an email to FastForward@discmakers.com and list the album and the reason you think it's worthy of inclusion. We'll post your responses next issue!
4. Great songs and great arrangements.
Innovative approaches, superlative musicianship, and diligent effort to create a greater album than the sum of its parts are all viable courses to arrive at a great record, but no route is more direct than a cohesive onslaught of just plain great songs presented with smart, dynamic arrangements. A truly great song can have significant cultural significance, and an entire album crammed full of great songs that go well together can be a transcendent experience. We love them and play them constantly, and because they're always on, they inadvertently entwine themselves into the fabric of our lives. After even a long absence, they swiftly transport us back to sharp recollection of the memories to which they're tied.
The Beatles: Rubber Soul
This fourteen-song album represented, for many, the first buds of The Beatles' expansion beyond the sweet pop sounds of their first releases. While their songwriting prowess, even in its nascent stages, is undisputed, and while they never completely depart from their early successes in pop music, Rubber Soul marks their graduation from a primary focus on performance and marketability to one rooted in innovation and artistry.
U2: The Joshua Tree
Ever the socially conscious, globally aware ensemble - U2 broke from their 1986 recording sessions to headline Amnesty International's A Conspiracy of Hope tour. While a more structured, more impactful sound was a goal at the outset of their sessions - their stint on that tour infused purpose and strength into the songs and performances featured on this 1987 release. Drawing from a wide field of influences and incorporating themes of poverty, justice, politics, and freedom, U2's fifth studio work has informed the work of contemporary artists for more than 20 years.
TLC: CrazySexyCool
All 56 minutes of Atlanta threesome TLC's sophomore release are packed with great songs, fantastic arrangements, tasteful use of instruments and samples, and top-notch production. With songwriting and production help from over a dozen R&B luminaries, CrazySexyCool dominated the airwaves beginning in late 1994, capping its run with a 1996 Grammy for Best R&B Album. Such an outstanding collection of songs and arrangements congealed in 1994 to create one of the most influential R&B records in recent history.
And so we close our series by noting that at the core of every great record is a purpose. There's something that needs to be recorded or created. There's a void that only a particular sound, song, musician, or album can fill - and someone has identified the importance of filling it. To have any chance of making, or otherwise being part of, a great record - you'll need to have your eyes and ears open to spot and capitalize on those kinds of opportunities. You'll also need to make a very long string of exceptionally good decisions. A certain portion of audio excellence is chance, but the more you know about what can make a record great, the better your chances of making one yourself. Until next time, keep the red light on...
We all know just how amazing a great record can be. It can be the buoy that keeps us from sinking during hard times, the anthem that accompanies us through the great times, or the expression of a feeling that words alone just don't cover. Making a great record is a goal to which many artists, engineers, and producers aspire – and for good reason. It's one of the few ways in which artists manage to, almost magically, capture something sublime and become a gateway to feelings normally outside of our reach.
