Mitchell Froom: Discuss (33mks)

To give him a fair and balanced hearing, I'd also like to point out that "Woodface" by Crowded House sounds quite good, though I think it might have sounded better sans Oor Mitch...

TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."

Rumor (sic) and Sigh

by Richard Thompson. Buggered up a treat by M.F. Dull as ditchwater (the recording, not the music!)

I'm glad he's ditched him on the latest album. Simple production - sounds great.

Also, "Mock Tudor" (the last-but-one RT album), on Bong Load records (cool name, eh?) wasn't a Froom ego-trip, and sounds very fresh and enjoyable. I managed to get it both on double vinyl (with extra tracks) and cd, and the vinyl is definitely what to aim for if you can...

So, anyone else know of any other bands that have been 'Froomed to eternal damnation'?

TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."

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To give him a fair and balanced hearing, I'd also like to point out that "Woodface" by Crowded House sounds quite good, though I think it might have sounded better sans Oor Mitch...

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So TC, what would you have changed about Mitch's production values on Woodface? Fabulous sounding album BTW, and a clear influence provided by Froom, packaging a great collection of Neil Finn's songs in a more cohesive and bouncing manner than the arrangments on Temple of Low Men.

Maybe it's sounding suspect as you're playing it upside down up there!? Or is yer rig broke? - sounded fab on LP12 at release, and still sounding like a great album 12 years later on CD5/CDX/CDSII...

At any rate, Froom's work on Nine Objects of Desire rates in my book. Sonically, difficult on some systems... which tends to reveal inadequacies of a system that's not getting it right (in this case it's okay to blame the messenger!).

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

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So TC, what would you have changed about Mitch's production values on Woodface? Fabulous sounding album BTW, and a clear influence provided by Froom, packaging a great collection of Neil Finn's songs in a more cohesive and bouncing manner than the arrangments on Temple of Low Men.

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I'm more into sparse productions - I prefer to let a track breathe, not that I do much producing myself these days

Seriously, though, re-read and you'll see that I don't think "Woodface" is the best example to show of 'Froomism' - the Richard Thompson over-productions are the best examples of the worst of 'Froomism' - but the interesting point about the Suzanne Vega album you mention ("Nine objects of desire") is the darkness of the samples - though agreed that it takes a fine system to do the bass right on that album - luckily mine does these days, though move the speakers a bit and the bass can go all mad on that album).

In a nutshell, I think Mitchell Froom is just too heavy handed in his production - that's all - and the fact I own and enjoy albums which he has produced is more down to the quality of the music on them than the sound of that music. YMMV, but I prefer not to be bludgeoned by studio effects and really processed drum-sounds...

TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."

I have a couple of Suzanne Vega albums he's produced and the Richard Thompson one with mgbgt! I have always thought of these albums as having a mechanical buscuit-tin sound which generally results in me giving them a body-swerve. I recently changed my speakers and it's fair to say the bass on the nine objects album did sound quite impressive.Overall though, i think te production affects the end result too much - like guest vocalists on a Froom production (perhaps a slight exaggeration).

I find Froom to be a problem when he's operating with more mainstream (in style) artists eg Thompson and Vega. His work on the other hand with Cibo Matto, Los Lobos and the Latin Playboys side project is exemplary, quirky yet not overwhelming, adding without overlaying.It may be that the two styles of music lends themself more to the experimental/lo-fi production ascetics that Mitch loves.

Of course there can be too much quirky. Froom's own album Dopamine shows what happens when Mitch gets out of control. The whole thing has an overblown look at me, look at me feel to it. I always wonderd about the Tchad Blake factor, whether he exacerbated or inhibited Froom's production experiments. Given his own work on the last Low album, I guess the answer is it was all Mitch's own!

Giles

Giles,

I was well pissed off when I heard the latest Low offering. I think Albini is the perfect man when it comes to capturing what Low are all about. Tchad seems to have removed all the space and clogged it up with too much of everything. It's as though every sound has been pushed forward in the mix and it gives me a bloody headache.

I think Tchad's work on Ron Sexsmith's Whereabouts album is great though. I think without those quirky sounds and oddball miking techniques, old Ron would sound a bit bland.

It will be interesting to see what Tchad does with Travis in the studio. They are currently in Peter Gabriels studio making their next album.

Mickey.

Michael,
I know what you mean interms of the mix being not as clean as Steve Albini's. I thought the problem with Trust was that it wasn't as strong a set as some of their later stuff - things et, long division, christmas and the fishtank collabaration with Dirty Three. I was thinking in my last post more of the mess that Mitch Froom would have inflicted, and that Tchad hadn't screwed it as much as I thought he may have.

Giles

I don't know the works you're griping about but I have heard several david Lanois LPs and his production is just too glossy for me. Takes all the pleasant human characteristics out of the music. Last one I bought was Emmy Lou Harris and he just over produced it.