Late '70s Rock on Vinyl

This is the sequel I promised in my previous post, Early ‘80s Rock On Vinyl. In preparation for this exercise I did a little research on the top 200 albums from what I define as the “golden age” of rock, bookended by the Sgt. Pepper’s and Thriller albums. The result was this chart:

I used this as a visual reminder to keep my biases in check of who the big artists of the time actually were, and made my review selections accordingly.

Fleetwood Mac “Dreams”

The mastering on the domestic copy I have is harsh and “spitty”, a common syndrome on Australian pressings which seem to have been subjected to a practice of boosting the high-mids, possibly to compensate for a “dub” source tape that was expected to have some generational high-end loss. Regardless, the single still manages to convey lots of transparency – the individual instruments have clarity and separation. Big dynamics add life to the choruses thanks to the vocal harmonies. The parts are mostly natural-sounding, the drums are pleasantly effected but this doesn’t get in the way of translating a realistic performance to the listener. No doubt the quality of this sound recording was one of the reasons it sold bucketloads and won a Grammy, an achievement like this doesn’t happen by accident.

Frankie Valli “Grease”

The sound is solid and beefy without much congestion which is something of an achievement, especially considering there are brass and strings in the mix. Top end extension is present on the drums, keeping the whole mix lively. The vocals by comparison sound lispy at the start, as if too much de-essing was applied. The guitar and brass are well-arranged, adding punch and excitement to the track, and the instruments overall sound real and natural. This really is the epitome of a “polished” production, the sounds and arrangement work to maximum impact without sounding contrived and artificial. There are fewer examples of this than you think.

Eagles “Heartache Tonight”

The dreaded beat box snare slap at the start of the song doesn’t annoy me as much as I expected it to, as if hearing it poorly or from far-off makes it worse – or maybe it’s hearing the other instruments distinct and present with plenty of separation counterbalances it. Not that I would call this a top-tier rock recording: these are the sorts of details that grace a large section of the seventies catalog. Sitting down and really listening I notice the slap sound only features at the start, the slide solos and the final verse. The recording is bass-shy which gives the instruments an artificial colouring, something of a signature for Bill Szymczyk’s work with this band, and true also of the Hotel California album. Not amazing but certainly not unpleasant, either.

Pink Floyd “Another Brick In The Wall, part II”

Glorious bottom end from the first note onwards, the kick drum tight and solid, same for the bass. Clean guitar parts and distorted sit nicely together in the mix, as does the Hammond organ. The mix is dynamic, punchy and three-dimensional, elegant and spacious, a sonic masterpiece. It’s a surprisingly obscure fact that this album won a best engineering Grammy, which from what I can hear now was thoroughly deserved.