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Originally Posted by MColin28
I beg to differ there. Listen to ALL DMB Albums who SL produced VS all others. There's a HUGE difference in quality, production and arrangement! I think Cavallo was the closest they've come to the "other producer being able to produce DMB"....and it still wasn't up to par sound-wise. Steve just GETS IT; he understands they're a layered studio band. Tim doesn't have to knock your tits off with hard electric, Dave's vocal delivery carries the album, Boyd HAS TO SHOW UP, and Roi's subtle sax must live on in respect to Jeff playing it. I don't believe "plenty of other producers" can appreciate and execute that the way Steve does. AFTW is a flash of what DMB can do. However, it's not their best work....but I'll be damned if someone says it's not just about perfectly arranged and produced...
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I'm not sure pointing to other past producers of DMB really makes a good case.. the band really didn't think through those choices very well. But to think some other producer couldn't make a great record with them is ludicrous, particularly when you think about the credentials of the 'others' -
Ballard - Pop producer. Didn't care to try to figure the band out. Made the band do it his way, including songwriting. Bad choice.
Harris - essentially an engineer who was elevated to the role of producer. Not a bad choice but essentially just had to track existing songs. He learned a few things from Steve and his production is technically great, but also simply serviceable. Fair choice.
Batson - Techno and hip/hop. Trainwreck despite some classical training. To be fair, he was brought in to deal with a band at the height of their dysfunction, it seems. Had to help write stuff as well. Bad choice.
Cavallo - Rock guy. Didn't know how to use Boyd, buried him. Album was pretty solid otherwise. But still... not the right choice. Looked solid at first, but looking back, seems like it should have been obvious.
Busted Stuff didn't stand a chance in the court of public opinion, in many ways it's well produced, but the album itself feels uninspired and utilitarian in a sense. But as for Harris, look no further than Some Devil.. which is fantastically done. Would I have preferred to hear a Lillywhite produced Some Devil album? Most likely, yes, just because I love his production style on anyone he produces...and I'd bet it would be even better. That doesn't change the fact that Harris did a damn fine job on that album... and has grown into a pretty damn good producer in his own right. It'd be interesting to see what he could do with DMB at this point.
Look, you can't deny what Steve brings to the DMB table, and I'm not trying to argue against that.. I'd be perfectly happy if Steve is the guy from here on out. But of all the guys out there in the world making records, its silly to think someone else can't do DMB properly, particularly when the band isn't looking for songwriting help. They've made some very bad producer choices and there may be others similar to Steve out there that could do it. I'm open to it.. but you won't hear me bitch so long as Steve as behind the boards.