To me, a lot of '80's production deserves all the hate it gets, but there's just as much awesomely produced material as well. Also, there tends to be 1-2 year trends in the 80s where a general "style" of production takes over for a bit - example: 1980-1981 - still sounds "normal" mostly 1982-1983 - a lot of records sound extremely sterile and "robotic". A perfect example would be the Ramones album Subterranean Jungle 1984-85 - a lot of albums from this period actually sound pretty great. Big drums started taking over, but the rest of the production was often still as good as the amount of work they put on the drums. Queen's The Works, Metallica's Ride The Lightning, The Ramones' Too Tough To Die, Yes' 90125, KISS' Animalize, etc. etc. etc. 1986 - the worst year for music production. Even good sounding records still sound bad. 1987 - A mixed bag. A lot better than '86, but there's a big tendency for things to sound "plastic". 1988-89 - Much better. Back to the general standards of 1984-85, except not as good. Massive drums in this era.
It's really hard to say. Creative and thoughtful use of synths, etc., (e.g. Kate Bush) could help establish a legacy. Also, minimalist use of synths never did anyone any harm - but syndrums never did anyone any favours (in my opinon). I don't mind George Harrison's Gone Troppo - I don't find the use of the then current production style excessive - but what I do find over-the-top is all those soaring synths on The Monkees' Pool It (just as bad as on Starship's No Protection).
I'd agree with this in principle, though I think there is some bleed between the years, and would add that there was the contributing factor of artists toying with digital recording before its maturity in that middle period as well.
For me it seems to be a hit or miss thing depending upon the specific album and artist. Sometimes that "80's sound" works, sometimes it doesn't. I guess it all depends how it is used...a means to an end, or the end itself. Unfortunately, I often hear people malign the 80's in general based upon a handful of artists or albums. I think there was a lot of great music made in that era, and most of it is not too hard to find.
Honestly, people still harping on drum machines and keyboards haven't heard the worst of today's pop. There was always some sort of soul and a sign there was a human involved in this production. Nowadays, the lazy stuff (hense, I'm not saying ALL music relying on it, just some) that is pro-tools and autotune sounds far worse. Not only that, a lot of the pro-tools and autotune stuff is so distorted that it's almost painful to listen to and I don't even consider myself a big audiophile. Synths were around in the 80s but they served a purpose, nowadays people just use pro-tools because its cheaper than hiring session musicians, and you can hear just how soulless and icy the production of a Lorde song (who writes clever lyrics, but the production of her music is practically all distortion and pro-tools) compared to the layers in the background you would hear on say, Depeche Mode or New Order or Pet Shop Boys (the latter rarely used anything outside of keyboards and drum machines from the get-go, but yet the production on their records was always ace). It sounds cheap That said. I think Daft Punk gave us one of the best albums of the decade... but there's a big difference between acts like them who emphasize on making electronic music, and dime-a-dozen pop stars who are just eschewing session musicians and using pro-tools because it comes out cheaper.
Corporate didn't exist in the 80s? Tears for Fears and Simple Minds were every bit as stale as Nickelback, though you couldn't pay me enough to listen to any of that crap...
I completely agree. I just meant that, to me at least, I can kind of separate the 80's into different eras of "sound", in general at least.
I think Lorde was the first to make that icy soulless-ness a virtue in mainstream pop. She's Martin Hannett's long-lost spirit child.
I was gonna go thru each one and name a record that fits the bill, to help prove the point. But I think I can just leave it at: 1987 - The Replacements "Pleased To Meet Me" ("THIS IS A DIGITAL RECORDING") I don't know if I think it's their greatest production on their worst.
I think this is the crux of the matter, many artists simply used synths and sampling and digital effects to replace bass, guitar, strings, choirs, etc., .This approach led to many car wrecks amongst classic 60s/70s rock bands going really wrong during the late 70s through the 80s. Then there was the Kraftwerk/Neu/Harmonia approach which birthed synth bands doing digital ditties (depeche mode, erasure, omd, etc.,) or the Tdream, Cluster, Schulze approach which was looking to create a new language which birthed industrial and heavy electronica(Suicide, Cab Voltaire, early Pere Ubu, Tuxedomoon, TG, etc.,)
Nah, to be properly '80s it needs to have tuneless verses full of synth stabs and squiggles. Real suitable-for-montage stuff.
The only twist to that POV - the Mellotron was used in large part to replace or emulate orchestras, choirs, etc. But it never almost sounded cheesy. It sounded wicked.
i remember hearing colour of spring (talk talk) for the 1st time. felt in love with the sound instantly the 80s ended there for me!
In which case it sounds like a clipped sample of a piece of sheet metal being whacked against a garbage can.
I respectfully disagree. I enjoy Phil's sounds on both his solo work and with Gabriel and others and feel it is iconic and not at all dated. Attempts to imitate it are another story though.
60s veterans like George and Neil Young did very badly with synths. I love Simple Minds and a few other 80s bands, but they knew how to utilize the new technique in creative ways. Overall, I agree that much early 80s music generally sounds OK and has aged well, but around 85-86 producers lost the plot. LOUD drum machines, synth bass...ugh.
Perhaps I overstate a bit, and certainly I can't complain about his work with Gabriel, but just listen to the drums on "Another Day in Paradise". That clipped crash-bang might be OK in a Front 242 number but not so much in a smooth piece of radio pop.
Funky, hilarious song. Great rhythm guitar. It's a world away from extremely dated stuff like Duran Duran and Phil Collins.
And don't forget Depeche Mode, the band which made synths sound as great as the heaviest rock'n'roll bands.