What are you listening to right now?

[richidoo]

Justin Bieber - "Purpose"

This is an excellent album. Santa brought it for my wife. From an audio production perspective it is very innovative and a serious effort to move the SOTA of pop music as he did pre-pube. This will pave the way for the sound you will hear for the next 5 years. Excellent recording quality, excellent mix, space, mastering. It is not as dynamically compressed as most pop songs, although on some tracks his voice is smashed while the background instrument accompaniment is big and spacious with great tone. They use compression consciously as a tonal texture. Overall his voice tone is sharp, harsh, autotuned like a mp3/synthesizer as you would expect, but the rest of the instruments are smooth and nice. It's not a dance album per se, although a couple dancey pop hits, one even has a contrived compressor pumping bass beat, so last summer, but that's just one short section of the song; after 8 bars the fake pumping dramatically disappears and the huge textured satisfyingly musical bass comes in 2 octaves lower, loud as fuck, shake your soul.

The whole album is one thematic work of art. It's meant to listen to the whole thing like a concert, imo. Kinda reminds me of Madonna's Ray of Light, but more urban, more contemporary and far more sophisticated musically and in the technical production. Overall the art is very genuine, sincere, and musical. I didn't say mature or spiritually inspiring, although the production and sonic stimulation did bring a few tears of adrenaline, always fun. Lyrics have graduated from 8th grade level of his last record to college freshman, but it's somewhat better than most pop songs. The lyrics are mostly positive and respectful from what I can gather in the first listening. There are some digs at his old squeeze Selena Gomez, but they are funny to this perennial hound. One tune samples has late nite talk show explanation of his bad behavior over the years, kind of self indulgent. But immediately his producer hits you again with an atom bomb of musical emotional production mastery, which redeems his famously immature client instantly. The last tune has JB gushing out his religious awakening rhetoric, but again the producer uses that just as context for a musically meaningful technically impressive blast of sound and music effects reminiscent of a 1945 Bud Powell solo piano coda.

The vocal "production" is extremely good, I didn't say his tone quality. The editing and timing of the vocal performance is superb. Most of that is him, he really is very musically talented. He has the IT factor x 1000. But now he has a producer to make JB seem more polished and slicker. Some of the editing has him singing humanly impossible phrases and runs in perfect timing and perfectly in tune as if he was a human piano or more accurately sampling synth. But it isn't trying to "fake" anything, it's intended to sound like a human robot as a production novelty - ear candy. It is humble in a way, he is willing to allow his producer (himself) to tease and pull on his voice like playdoh to make an artistic statement with the cutrting edge editing technology. Would Sinatra allow that? Yes, I know, he wouldn't have to, but the ego is strong in all these male pop stars and rarely do they let someone embellish their voice and persona in this way, a way that makes JB seems like a much larger and more significant artist than most of us would dare to suppose. Some people won't like the edited vocals, but it is pretty slick, imo. Much more sophisticated than typical trashy pop vocal editing that is trying to fake something it is not. Like I said before, a feeling of genuineness and autheticity pervades the album. This is the voice of the producers, not Justin, but he hired them and approved the mixes, so he gets the credit too. He has always had that sense of musical power that makes all his immature mistakes and flubs sound charming or whatever. But his vocal style is innovative and still relevant. It's still him. Of course there is artificial tone control, unprecendented vocal electronic effects, but it is mostly tastefully done, for a pop album intended to sell 50 million copies. I can recommend it for what it is. Highly produced, much anticipated rebirth of the biggest pop star of the decade. He and Katy Perry saved pop music and ended the reign of rap in 2010. If you buy it pickup two 18" subwoofers.

One tune "We Are!" mixes hard slow LA street rap with a rich reggae feel. It is infectious. (Don't forget the subs!) JBs vocal timing is extremely on, kudos to the vocal editor for making this swing hard, or was it a live take? (no)

The wiki says there are 22 producers. I guess that could be true if a different party came in for each song.

It is published on Def Jam Records, cred.

There isn't much major key simple pop formula stuff here. It's all pretty sophisticated harmonically and rhythmically. He has a good ear, or his editor does, j/k - there's only so much ProTools can do. Much of this great performance is JB. But two major players on this album are perfection and the innovative imaginative producer, whoever that really is. It's obvious that Justin knew what he wanted it to sound like and someone helped make it happen according to his desire. He is big enough now to control his sound and destiny and he continues to surprise and make excellent musical and business decisions.

Don't forget the subs!

[tmazz]

Beethoven: Ode to Joy

M&K Realtime Direct to Disc LP

[richidoo]

mono LP

[richidoo]

  LP

Branford 1.0

[richidoo]

  LP

[tmazz]

Rich you have been diving deep into the vinyl jazz archives as of late.

This of course is a good thing in my book. 

[tmazz]

Over the course of the past two days I have gotten through the first six CDs of the Ansermet set I got for Christmas.



This covered Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. The sound on this set so far has  been outstanding. At one point my wife came into the living room quite annoyed and wanted to know why I was playing records when all those new CDs she bought me for Christmas. 

[pumpkinman]

Foghat ~ Foghat.......1972

[richidoo]

Rich you have been diving deep into the vinyl jazz archives as of late.

This of course is a good thing in my book.  

Thanks Tom. It's fun to hear the old sides again! Julie likes to sit and read while I listen so we are enjoying the new Revel speakers together.

[richidoo]

LP

[richidoo]

LP

[tmazz]

Rich you have been diving deep into the vinyl jazz archives as of late.

This of course is a good thing in my book.  

Thanks Tom. It's fun to hear the old sides again! Julie likes to sit and read while I listen so we are enjoying the new Revel speakers together.

It's nice that you guys can share that. 

[tmazz]

Disc 7: Alexander Borodin - Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3, Prince Igor, In the Steps of Central Aisa

[tmazz]

Mannheim Steamroller: Fresh Aire I

  American Gramaphone HDCD

[tmazz]

Micky Dolenz: Live at B. B. King's

Tidal Streaming