What's your definition of "good producing"

[quentinc]

You hear this term thrown around alot when describing music, but I'm not sure what it means. I know what producing is, but I don't know how to differentiate between good and bad producing, while listening. Would someone care to explain?

Also, list examples of bands/albums that have very good production, or really crappy production.

[Unorthodox Yank]

You hear this term thrown around alot when describing music, but I'm not sure what it means. I know what producing is, but I don't know how to differentiate between good and bad producing, while listening. Would someone care to explain?

Also, list examples of bands/albums that have very good production, or really crappy production.

If you actually know what producing is, then you're a hell of a lot further along than me, and I'm technically what some people might call a producer.

The reason I say this is because the role of the "producer" varies so incredibly greatly from one record to the next, it's impossible to pinpoint any one definition of what a producer does. Some albums have producers that are in a much more hands off position, and some producers are alos handlers of al lof the engineering of the record (getting sounds, mic placement and usage, blah blah blah).

That said, I think that no matter the producer's role, the mark of a truly great one is that he (or she) uses the studio, instrumentation, or whatever other methods to make the songs sound as good as humanly possible.

As far as what's good and bad...I think it is entirely up to taste. Some people like songs that have all kinds of orchestration and instrumentation behind the actual song itself. Others, (like me), prefer a much more scaled-back approach.

Nonetheless, in MY opinion:

The best:
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
The Discovery Of The World Inside the Moone - Apples In Stereo

- I put these two together cause they're both Robert Schneider productions, and they both sound incredible.

Also:
Electrelane - The Power Out (this, along with a whole lot of other Steve Albini records, is a testament to the positives of non-orchestrated production)

Beck - One Foot In The Grave (Pretty much anything Calvin Johnson records ends up sounding jsut the slightest bit "off", but the thing is that it works for him...because basically all the bands I've heard him record have been "off". I'm actually willing to bet that you already own one of his reocrds: he did "Lonesome Crowded West")

Death Cab For Cutie - The Photo Album (Transatlanticism was a fluke...Chris Walla actually rules. This album is why. HE did a DAMN good job on "Picaresque" by the Decemberists as well

The Bad:

I know i won't be the only one, but I feel complelled to mention "Let it BE" by the Beatles. "The Long and Winding Road" is a punchline for a reason. Phil Spector is that reason.

Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism (AS much as I love basically anything else Chris Walla has done...I jsut hate the crap out of this record. It's a good example of what happens when you try and do way. too. much.)

Though he's popular, I've never really much cared for anything Nigel Godrich has done, either.

[Bob Morocco]

If you've seen 24 hour party people when Joy Division are in the studio with producer Martin Hannet they are trying to lay down the drums to She's Lost Control, he tells the drummer to, "play it slower, yet faster", as soon as you understand what that means you will know what a producer does, I have no ********ing clue as a general rule. If you haven't seen it yet see Some Kind of Monster about Metallica, there is a decent amount of producer/band interaction in it.

[chad]

The opposite of Bob Rock.

[Motterman]

I think a producer takes whatever the artists talents are and distills them down to their basic parts and helps them create an album that reflects the soul of the artist.

Some producers do this, but always want to put a little of themselves into the finished product... That's why you can always tell if "Dr. Dre" produced a record, etc. They have their own sound and influence.

I think Mutt did an excellent job on Def Leppard's Pyromania album.

[servotron]

The short answer is: in rock and roll, a producer is to the album what a director is to a movie. In hip hop or other non-live-music-based mediums (where the term "producer" is being thrown around the most these days) the producer is actually creating the musical track along with the direction of it and the "artist" is singing or rapping over it with their own style.

[bmurphyfl]

If I don't notice the production/producer, then I consider it to be "good producing".

[chad]

If I don't notice the production/producer, then I consider it to be "good producing".

Do you like "Rid of Me" by PJ Harvey? That album always sticks out for me as an album where the production is very apparent and really contributes.

[obie]

If the act has talent, a good producer lets that talent shine through.

If the act doesn't have talent, a good producer never lets anyone realize that.

[bmurphyfl]

Do you like "Rid of Me" by PJ Harvey? That album always sticks out for me as an album where the production is very apparent and really contributes.

I haven't heard any of it. Any chance of sending some of it over?

[chad]

good chance