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I know there have already been a few posts about Albini passing, but in honor of the GOAT, I was wondering which record he's engineered is your favorite or impacted you the most.
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Low - Things We Lost in the Fire
I’m thrilled to see this here. It’s one of my favorite albums of all time from one of my favorite bands of all time whose whole discography I believe isn’t widely enough appreciated. At least they ended on a high note with a string of excellent BJ Burton produced albums.
Oh god I forgot he recorded that album too.
I came here right away to mention Low. I'm totally shocked to see it at the top right now. Their transition from working with Kramer (Galaxie 500's producer) to recording with Albini when they went to Kranky records was a huge development for their sound. Some of the most haunting, beautiful, intimate songs. It sounds like they're in the room right with you.
With the passing of Mimi, this song off of "Secret Name", their other Albini-engineered album, is especially heartbreaking: Will the Night
Yes
It's this one by a country mile for me. It's materially different, sonically, to all their other albums. I love virtually everything they've done, but nothing feels as immense or as intimate all at once as this one. Feels like the gold standard for recording. I ripped the songs to use as reference tracks, despite knowing I'm never going to get close with my recording set up. But it's good to have something so perfect as your benchmark.
Surfer Rosa changed rock. No Nirvana and no Radiohead without that album
My vote too. Hugely influential album. That perfect marriage of band and producer that created a sound of a decade.
Absolutely. Surfer Rosa laid the groundwork for everything that Steve is known for.
I love Surfer Rosa, but supposedly Albini hated it, and they already had the sound with Come On Pilgrim.
What did Albini not like about it?
I'm pretty sure he had some beef with Frank. Listened to a long podcast with him and when they started talking about Pixies I half expected him to be like "this is where my career really got going etc, what a seminal masterpiece I can be proud of" but instead he was like "eh it's fine not great, kinda crappy college rock band, never liked them" pretty sure he mentions later in the interview that he was close with Kim though and loved The Breeders so I'm guessing he had some sort of resentment for Francis and was on team Kim
The fact that he hated it makes me feel more okay with still liking it
Hahaha, yeah right? I don't know what he didn't like, I mean, what's not to like?
1000000% right on. And in the most ironic Steve Albini way he didn't even like it
Idk if analog would have come back so strong w/out Albini and that album. All the other indie albums of the time still sounded very chintzy at the time
Analog hadn’t left in 1988.
Seriously. I was just finishing college and hardly any of my friends had CD players.
I remember thinking that I had never heard a record like that, drums like that before.
Impossible to answer - our tastes were very simpatico - so I'll just mention a few I've been inclined to revisit today:
Shellac - At Action Park
Shellac - Terraform
Slint - Untitled EP
Songs: Ohia - The Magnolia Electric Co.
The Breeders - Pod
PJ Harvey - Rid of Me
Crain - Speed
The Dirty Three - Ocean Songs
Low - Secret Name
Poster Children - Daisychain Reaction
Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Make Believe - Shock of Being
That Make Believe album - and really the band's whole existence - was such a weird, magical moment in time. Possibly the world's least obvious political rock band.
Wow I’d never even heard of two of those! Lots to dig into in the coming week
Pj harvey and especially the magnolia electric are magnifiscent albums. Farewell transmission is one of the best tracks ever made in my opinion
wow I didn't know he worked on Ocean Songs that's awesome
Magnolia Electric Co.
THIS is the answer
Oh was that one of his?!
Dude ugh yes
Jesus Lizard GOAT.
Rip.
Oh ya also a good one. Too many great albums to pick just one
PREACH
This is mine as well.
/thread
Personally, In Utero.
I had Nirvana’s full discography when I was younger and that one always stuck out as having some type of magic in the sound in comparison to everything else.
I always find it kinda odd that Kurt didn't like how clean Nevermind was. Like it's well mixed but I wouldn't call it clean and lifeless production wise. I think everything is still mixed beautifully with looooads of character and still sounds completely iconic. Personally it's still the best sounding record of theirs for me
Until it got ‘too’ popular, he loved the mix.
Exactly, and he chose the mixer from a list the label gave him, and obviously chose the one that was way lesser know and known only for heavy metal mixes and totally far from the other pop names on the list. So it's ironic that he actually did it to piss of the label but amazingly that combo was killer.
Should someone make a short list of "albums that albini actually liked"? ;)
He heard Butch Vig's first. That is rawer sounding. I'm not sure I prefer it but it's enough to be understandable. I'll say that Wallace mixes works super great for that album though. In Utero was shooting harder all the way for a rawer sound all together. No modern Mesa Boogie amps fpr example. To me I like that In Utero aesthetic better for Nirvana. Sound City works best for Holy Diver in my opinion.
But more on Nirvana I think I maybe like a Flick Of the Switch type mix instead of Back In Black for Nevermind. Back In Black and Flick of The Switch was recorded by same engineer, Tony Platt, and in the same studio and he mixed both the same. Then Malcolm Young demanded rawer sounding mixes after hearing Back In Black sounding mixes. He got that. Those Flick Of The Switch mixes are proto Albini-naturalism in my view. 1983.
This, and also, I prefer his mix to the commercially released mix. They both sound great, but I think the commercially released mix sounded a bit too much like the over compressed fatiguing "alternative" music of the late 90's (which I don't think is true for Nevermind). When I first heard the original Albini mix it felt like a breath of fresh air; just an awesome band in a room playing really well. If you haven't heard it I suggest you track it down and give it a listen.
I think only the singles were remixed.
Is his mix that you’re talking about the 2013 version or was there an original mix that he did?
Neurosis - Times of Grace.
Fuck yes
As their first album with Albini, hell yes; none of the others that followed would have been the same. But my personal favorite is The Eye of Every Storm.
Yea. Eye of every storm is a great sounding record. There is so much space in that production. And so dynamic. It fits the songwriting so well.
Times of Grace is so suffocating and thick. And then the mellower parts are so present. And I love the way Noah’s keys and sounds are mixed too.
This is also my pick. The band's bestial ferocity on this record combined with the immediacy of the recording makes every else feel weak in comparison.
It was kind of lightning in a bottle, and I don't think anything in the subsequent 25 years has matched it. Sure, there have been heavier records, and more brutal records, but nothing that equals the lumbering power that Times of Grace has. It's a musical behemoth crushing everything under its heavy tread.
Thank you. I could never put it to the words like you but this is exactly how i feel.
Breeders - Pod
Such a fantastic sound
Oh man, that record is fantastic. Huge fan of the Breeders
Probably this.
Sunn O))) - Pyroclasts
For me it’s Life Metal which I guess Albini recorded entirely on analog tape with Sunn O)))
I don’t agree with Steve about everything regarding digital and all that, but the tone he got with them using their massive tube amplifiers into his analog gear is undeniable. This is probably my favorite slow sludgey metal tone ever:
https://youtu.be/Ot7-ksghvBc?si=zlki2XnBmgow_a2c
He had no beef with digital, he just knew analogue well and felt no compelling reason to change.
I feel his budget being basically unlimited must have helped.
LICK MY LEGS
IM ON FIRE
So, so good! Raw and beautiful.
In Utero is my favourite but I’m gonna say Comfort by the band Failure just so that people can check it out. It’s from a year before In Utero and it fits right in. Amazing band
Not the best Failure album by far, but any chance to get people to listen to Failure should be taken.
I was a boy of 2 so I missed failure. Stole all my siblings nirvana cd by 1996. Just started comfort 5 mins ago. What is the best record?
The best record is Fantastic Planet; it’s on par with Disintegration or Dark Side, IMO. Magnified is amazing. The two post-breakup albums are very good. To be honest, the Albini album Comfort is the one I like the least. (Golden too, but they are leftovers, so duh.)
Fantastic Planet is amazing. All of their stuff is solid, but that’s just one of those records with a little extra magic in it.
A dramatically underrated band. Their Fantastic Planet record holds up today.
Ya I always think it’s like a prequel to OK Computer
Mcklusky Do Dallas
Such a banger of a record. Saw 'em on a reform tour a year(ish) ago and they were fucking incredible.
Alan is a cowboy killer...
Holy fuck I should have realized it was an Albini produced gem.
God damn is "Alan is a Cowboy Killer", an absolute fucking good time.
Magnolia Electric "Josephine"
He made God Luck Good Speed sound like Weedeater sounds live.
I love all Shellac records.
Blessed Black Wings- High on Fire
Goat-Jesus Lizard
Mclusky Do Dallas-Mclusky
Rid of Me- PJ Harvey
Sovereign-Neurosis
Malign Hex-Meatwave
Probably so many more.
Had no idea he did Weedeater
Albini did an AMA some years ago on a poker forum, and said Weedeater were the most-prepared band he ever recorded, and he was surprised by that because they're Weedeater. If my memory is correct (and it may not be), they recorded and mixed that record in only a few days, and got most of it on the first take.
My favorite Albini record is definitely Cloud Nothings - Attack On Memory, I found it in such a formative period for me. It has such strong songwriting that I think immensely benefits from Albini's raw production style.
Seeing them tomorrow live. I’m sure they will say something. Right there with you on this for it being informative.
Oooh is Heavy comforter playing? My favorite
I think so, ya!
Magnolia electric co - Songs ohia
Mama here comes midnight with the dead moon in its jaws…
Must be the big star about to fall
Long dark blues
WILL-O'-THE-WISP
My first and only recording teacher was Mark Rubel and they got me into audio. Then I was working in the warehouse for a live audio shop and someone started playing Songs About Fucking and I thought it was awesome. All the electricians started talking about how cool he is. I realized I wanted to do that because the EEs were cool and made more than anyone else. So I learned about electrical engineering and math. Then I got another degree. Now I teach and record and mix, do a little live audio make my own music and it’s great. I think about Steve and Mark every time I go to work.
Now I’m listening to sounds about fucking and realize a bunch is in Lydian mode and uses alternative tunings and I’m completely amazed at the depth of his work.
Mountain Battles by The Breeders. Sparse but huge. The sound of the band in the room but everything sounds perfectly imperfect.