Bob Clearmountain pause in songs

The current thread on pauses in songs when the signer yells "stop" got me thinking about the "Clearmountain pause".

Jacob Slichter (drummer for the 90s band Semisonic) described in his autobiography this dramatic pause that Bob Clearmountain is known for adding in songs that he mixes. In Semisonic's case, Clearmountain mixed and added that pause to their song "Closing Time".

On what other songs did this guy add this pause?

(Here is the video for Closing time -- the pause is around 3:05)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdmLmIArqWM

 

I never knew that we owed that pause to Bob..

Surely there are a few in the material that he mixed for Bryan Adams?

 

A bump for an interesting looking thread!

 

First thing that comes to mind is "Alive And Kicking" by Simple Minds.
very effective.
Great mix also, but with his name, that is a given.
But is the dramatic pause really in the mix ?
I highly doubt that you can insert a dramatic pause merely by the mix.
Dramatic pauses often require the performance to be that way.

 

Bob Clearmountain engineered and mixed Never Tear Us Apart for INXS. I don't know if he's responsible but the song has a few dramatic pauses after they sing the title:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZZGwENyUNs

 

come to think of it, "Need You Tonight", which is on the same album and probably mixed by him too, also has a pause near the end.
And doesn't Suicide blonde have one too ? (again, not sure if he mixed the track but he probably has).

 

The video I'm used to has a slightly different mix than the album, but I think it's highly possible that the pause right before the guitar riff was a Clearmountain touch.

 

A good many studio tracks are recorded to a click or similar kind of time-keeping track, so having to add a pause after the fact ends up easier than trying to program in the correct feel of the pause to the click track up front.

 

There's one in the first track of Jonatha Brooke's "Linger" before every verse - it's track 1 of Steady Pull. In this case the rhythm doesn't stop, just all the instruments, so she can come in cold.

 

A quick pause @ 3:26 on Hall & Oates "Say It Isn't So".

 

Not necessarily. While he has done some great things he has done some real clunkers too. The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" & "How Beautiful You Are" immediately come to mind - both of his mixes are quite drab and boring, especially compared to the album versions. Perhaps because he didn't include "the pause"!

 

It's called the mute button. There's one for every track / instrument.
Pretty easy (and pretty common). Also known as a "drop".

 

Wikipedia entry on Bob Clearmountain now lists some tracks/albums he mixed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Clearmountain