Well, I have to say I can see a little of your take on Breathe when I
think of my favourite tracks from it. I've had other Oils
albums underwhelm on a first listen, then grow to become favourites (once
I got over the shock of them not being what I expected), but Breathe does
continue to disappoint me every time I try to listen to it. However, I
do think the album finishes strongly. E-Beat, Bring On The Change,
& Barest Degree are all fantastic songs, though I really don't think the
production on the album does them justice. For example, the live version
of E-Beat from the 1998 Redneck Ramblings bootleg is, to me, a far truer
representation of the song's potential than what was on the
album.
To me, Breathe's production hobbles the best songs, and
makes the rest hard to even listen to. I could cut Breathe back into an
EP consisting of Underwater, Surf's Up Tonight, E-Beat, Bring
On The Change and Barest Degree (and Gravelrash as a bonus track), and
honestly not miss any of the other tracks. However, I am struck when I
listen to my bootlegs by how songs I can't enjoy on the album make much more
of an impression live.
Still, if "They released an album that
only had 5 songs I liked on it" is the worst I can say about the Oils, they're
obviously doing pretty good, and my views of Breathe only look harsh in
comparison to my love of the rest of their albums. But I would really
love to hear a remixed version of Breathe, with production values more in
line with the albums produced by Livesey and Launay. Still,
it says a lot for the Oils, I think, that the album that turned off
some fans with its experimentation also endeared the band to some
other fans with those same experiments.
Mike B
To: powderworks@
yahoogroups.com.au
From:
scissormansnip@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:02:02
-0700
Subject: RE: [powderworks] Malcolm Burn - Breathe
producer
I know there are a number of you who won't agree with me,
but for me for what it's worth, "Breathe" for me is the best of the
best. Before anybody sends me any hate mail, I know it's really a
subjective matter. It's no secret that Rob Hirst didn't care for his
experience making the album, but in the interviews on the "20,000 Watt"
DVD, he also says that "Breathe" reflects the mystery, emotion, and
ambience of New Orleans (which I'm sure remains there to this day,
despite all that's happened there). I didn't like, honestly, the things
I read about what Malcolm Burn did when he produced the record, but
still it remains that I have a totally different take on it than Michael
Blockwood (nothing personal of course), it doesn't feel "flat and
muddled" to me at all. I put it this way in my amazon review:
"For
me, the impact that the tracks have on me shifts (sometimes "Home" and
"E-beat" sometimes the first two)as the ones that affect me most deeply
change from time to time. It is never the same way twice whenever I play
it; it feels like it's always in flux, and has a remarkable afterglow
that lingers when I'm done hearing it. IT gradually grew on me in that
weird way where the sound and lyrics of each song crept up into my
consciousness, and before I realized it, I found that it blew me away.
Only two or three other CDs have ever given me this
sensation."
some people say it doesn't feel like the Oils at all to them, and I
know it's just me, but I felt the heart and soul of the band pulsating
in it throughout.
ok, so my question for Mr. Burn would be:
IS there any chance you would work with any of the members of the
Oils again, in their other projects? (likely not Rob, at least I would
imagine) and if so, would you do any of it differently? --- On
Mon, 7/27/09, Michael Blackwood
<blackwood_michael@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Michael Blackwood
<blackwood_michael@hotmail.com> Subject: RE:
[powderworks] Malcolm Burn - Breathe producer To:
koala.sprint@gmail.com, "Oils Powderworks"
<powderworks@yahoogroups.com.au> Date: Monday, July
27, 2009, 10:14 AM
1) Why is the mix of Breathe so flat and muddled? Rarely
does any one element of the instrumentation "pop" and catch your
attention, which seems an antithetical approach to mixing when
compared to the mix of every other Oils album, and to the way the
Breathe tracks were played live as well. (I hope this phrasing
doesn't seem rude, I just lack the musical vocabularly to describe
my impressions any other way.) 2) Have the
original recording tracks survived, and would you be curious to
see how one of the Oils "traditional" producers like Warne
Livesey or Nick Launay would approach the songs? Mike
Blackwood
To: powderworks@ yahoogroups. com.au From: koala.sprint@
gmail.com Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:59:31 +0200 Subject:
[powderworks] Malcolm Burn - Breathe
producer
Hi all,
Malcolm Burn has agreed to
answer some questions about his time with Midnight Oil, producing
Breathe in New Orleans. Breathe is the one album that divides fans.
It seemed to have brought a different audience to the Oils,
especially from the US, due to it's more mellow, acoustic
tones.
If you have any questions for Malcolm, let me know and
I'll put them to him. My questions are How did Emmylou Harris
became involved? How did you end up as the only external person
ever to co-write an Oils song? Why did you end up playing so many
instruments on the album? Was Rob so against this more acoustical
musical direction? Where there lots of discarded songs from the
sessions? If so, what happened to them?
He is on vacation
this week but will respond next week, so if you want to email in
questions this week, I'll compile them and post
his responses.
Cheers
Stephen
Attention all humans. We are your photos. Free
us.
|
Attention all humans. We are your photos.
Free us.