Nirvana...In Utero..."Steve Albini mix": the definitive thread.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Stefano G., Oct 15, 2017.

  1. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    So you are saying, you (or I) know more so than the people who actually made the remix?

    Listen to Albini's interview. He explains it. Wouldn't he know?
     
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  2. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    Who knows. And who knows why Ludwig made the decisions he did. I always raise my eyebrow when loudness is attributed to an artistic decision. It was so much of an artistic choice that it drove rock into extinction.
     
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  3. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    That was my point. The gradual change started around this time. DR9 is acceptable, but I wouldn't call if optimal, especially when it was part of a downward trend.
    Perhaps not coincidentally, a lot of people would attribute Rock's last gasp to be that very year.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2018
  4. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
     
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  5. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    I have to wonder if people calling DR9 acceptable has more to do with the fact that things continued to get worse, so that now DR9 has become acceptable. If DR9 was as bad as things got, I doubt it would be found to be acceptable.

    To me, DR9 is not acceptable.
     
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  6. WonkyWilly

    WonkyWilly Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paradise, PA
    Albini made it clear on multiple occasions that he hated what Ludwig did to "In Utero".
     
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  7. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    I agree. When people have different opinions about music, it's probably their fault for having a faulty paradigm to begin with.
     
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  8. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Not specifically the loudness. Just that the master accentuated the vocals and bass.
     
  9. James Bennett

    James Bennett Forum Resident

    Your argument is unclear, but, regardless, just want to point out that Albini does not make money for every copy sold. He charges an upfront fee for every session and does not take points for each unit shifted. So that part of your argument doesn’t hold water, at least.
     
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  10. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    Interesting that your intention seems to be shooting me down, to focus on such an insignificant thing. Regardless, Albini's self-interest need to be taken into account, which was the real point that I was making. I'm sure he was paid for the remastered edition, which might include promoting it. As others have pointed out, he's said other things less than glowing, as well.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2018
  11. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    I'm sure in 2023 we will get the 5.1 Giles Martin remix to further stir the pot....
     
  12. baconbadge

    baconbadge Chooglin’

    Location:
    Queens, NY
    GREAT interview. Thanks for the link
     
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  13. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    While we are on this topic, I have a few questions:

    1. Since the Deluxe edition of In Utero retains the "Suggested Bass and Treble Positions," do you think this is merely because it was on the original artwork, or do you think it actually improves the sound of the DE, CD 1? I'm guessing the latter.

    2. Do you think that setting the "Suggested Bass and Treble Positions" listed on the original CD mastering actually improves the sound?

    3. The DE lists Steve Rooke as the mastering engineer. Does that mean he mastered the entire two disc set, including the new 2013 remix by Albini?
     
  14. baconbadge

    baconbadge Chooglin’

    Location:
    Queens, NY
    "Suggested bass and treble positions" sounds to me like another way of saying: "we're not happy with the mastering on this record." I remember a Ramones record I had (Halfway To Sanity?) that said "PLAY LOUD" on the back cover. Never a good sign.
     
  15. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    Not necessarily, Robert Smith famously wrote "this music has been mixed to be played loud SO TURN IT UP!" in the Disintegration liner notes.
     
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  16. baconbadge

    baconbadge Chooglin’

    Location:
    Queens, NY
    I dunno, still sounds like an afterthought to me. Just my opinion.
     
  17. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    You may be right, the history of this album is bizarre.
     
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  18. Kerm

    Kerm Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    You can prefer the new mastering. I quite like it too. I think the confusion was earlier in the thread when you were incorrectly referring to the 2013 Remix of “Dumb” and “Very Ape” as having been the original Albini mix for the 1994 release. That’s all I was attempting to clarify: that those newly created mixes were alternates, created in 2013, and should not be part of the conversation about what Kurt, the band, Albini, Litt or Geffen wanted in 1994. The 2013 mix is not part of that discussion, at all.
     
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  19. Cyaneyes

    Cyaneyes Forum Resident

    The suggested bass and treble positions are for the tone controls of an electric guitar, if you're playing the songs. Not for playback of the album on stereo equipment.
     
  20. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    Where did you come by this information? It would be most helpful if there was some explanation as to what the 2013 Albini Mix is supposed to represent. Albini refers to much "pressure" from "industry outsiders" to influence the final product. Who's to say what came from where or when? We're entering into a very guarded area of the recording process in which definitive answers are very hard to come by unless one was there.
    In reference to the cello on Dumb, it is true there was a cello on Something In The Way and on Unplugged In New York. But if one looks at the Albini mix of "Heart Shaped Box" as compared to the Scott Litt doctored version, it is much sparer and stark. Much how the cello-less "Dumb" sounds. And it serves both songs better, imo. One has to at least imagine it was something that was debated at the time, not just an afterthought by Albini.
    And even if it is solely a product of Albini''s choices, perhaps he was saving the project from some of the influences that were in Kurt's ear at the time. I always thought the choice of Scott Litt was incongruous, regardless of Kurt's infatuation with Automatic For the People.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2018
  21. ivor

    ivor Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I don't have time to look for a source right now, but I thought the suggested bass and treble were a joke.
     
  22. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I am so confused.
     
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  23. James Bennett

    James Bennett Forum Resident

    The above is, again, the correct information as to the different mixes, masters etc of all editions.
     
    Echoes Myron likes this.
  24. Vinyl Fan 1973

    Vinyl Fan 1973 "They're like soup, they're like....nothing bad"

    It may not be what Cobain originally wanted, but he’s not around to hear the new mix. Who knows? He may have preferred the 2013, we’ll never know.

    I certainly prefer it.
     
  25. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Well, one of them he approved of.
     
    Kerm likes this.

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