Every home should have (more than) one: The Live Album to rule them all ...

[gweimer]

Stereo and intense panning lose out to engineers afraid of phasing killing volume. Unfortunately most money-making music is disposable, but its dictates still hold sway over lots of people trying to make recordings of substance, because it could always be "just that one little thing" that helps a song find an audience. I like hard pans, too.

One really cool trick I learned, and used, was to record the same guitar track with two mics in the studio, out of phase with each other.  When you do the final mix, you split the signal to either side, with the end result sounding like the guitar coming at you from both sides, with space in the middle.  I think if you listen to the first Captain Beyond album with headphones, you can hear that.

[Highlander]

I was thinking of putting the CD in the tray upside down? 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLv7viCMGo8&feature=kp

Er... wrong guitarist, but...

[uwe]

Ouch. Is Page severely out of tune or is it art? Poor Keith Relf. That said, looking at stuff like this, he just wasn't the frontman or vocalist Mick Jagger or Roger Daltrey were.

[Highlander]

Fascinating choice... both charismatic singers but neither could be considered vocal greats, unlike the singer this thread might be about...

imho... Page is overrated... talented... very talented... but overrated...

[gearHed289]

Fascinating choice... both charismatic singers but neither could be considered vocal greats, unlike the singer this thread might be about...

imho... Page is overrated... talented... very talented... but overrated...

Overrated as what? Guitarist? Songwriter? Producer? Rock star? 

[uwe]

Page is an excellent guitarist, all these weird chords he does, and he has an ear for a tune too. His production is a matter of taste (never liked the Zep productions that much, but I'm a minority). He's not in Blackmore's league as regards overall fretboard dexterity, rhythmic precision and the ability to combine weird scales (though Page is no slouch in that department). Page's improvisations tend to waffle after a while, he doesn't stay focused.

But he'd still be a great guitarist if all he had done was that eruptive lead break in Whole Lotta Love (once the beehive buzzing is thankfully over!), that thing is iconic and has a great sound. I never thought much of his Stairway to Heaven solo though, pleasant, what the song calls for, in good taste, but a bit on the safe side. A lot of people could and would have done something similar.

[westen44]

Not a Zep fan or a Page fan.  But that guitar break in "Whole Lotta Love" is truly spectacular. 

[gweimer]

Not a Zep fan or a Page fan.  But that guitar break in "Whole Lotta Love" is truly spectacular.

It was one of those songs that simply begged to be cranked full blast in the car with the windows open.

[westen44]

It was one of those songs that simply begged to be cranked full blast in the car with the windows open.

Definitely.

[Pilgrim]

I remember the hard panning in Whole Lotta Love and on that album.  FUN!

And I love the transition from Heartbreaker to Livin Lovin Maid.  BAM!

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Incidentally, I'm current in the mixing/overdubbing stage with a local band whose music is very hard to describe: kind of like Mr. Bungle but with three female and one male singers, one of whom has the most SULTRY jazz alto you've ever heard (not the guy!), but they also have a song with a slide whistle and one that the drummer plays his kit with plastic shakers, definitely NOT the usual fare for here or anywhere. I'm planning on doing some EVIL things with the keyboards and guitars in regards to panning. We cut rhythm tracks live and laid down scratch vocals (actually recorded everything live and only kept what was needed/good and will be dubbing the rest). I sacrificed isolation for vibe and groove, and the drum tracks still are great: timely thread for me.

[uwe]

And I love the transition from Heartbreaker to Livin Lovin Maid.  BAM!

Yeah, that startled me too when I heard it the first time all those decades ago. Wonder how those new 2014 remasters of Zep's albums will turn out.



Those 1991 mixes have grown long in the tooth. I could use a bit more John Paul Jones in the mix. It was only when that live triple CD "How the West was won" came out a few years ago that I could hear some of his busy bass work more distinctly. On a lot of Zep albums - for all his undeniable musical influence - his bass (unlike his keyboards when played) is sonically the stepchild behind Plant's banshee voice, Bonham's thud and Page's myriad overdubs.