Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

David Byrne Once in a Lifetime SNL


Recommended Posts

For "Stop Making Sense", there was an 8-song album release of a subset of the song performances from the movie. I had both the full soundtrack recording (and later the DVD) in addition to the 8-song album, and I noticed at least one place in the 8-song album where they cleaned up something in the audio of the performance. The audio we hear on the youtube video of Byrne's recent SNL performance may have had similar audio fixes applied to it. If anyone recorded the live broadcast on SNL, it might be interesting to compare their audio.

 

 

SNL is know to cleanup various things between the live NYC showing and the SNL being shown in other timezones.

 

From my time as a recording engineer I've worked on number of live albums. Like one VERY famous group that by the time they were done on the drums and audience from live recording was left. Another big group had switched record label and old label said you owe us you live album. We listen to forty reels of tape with the pianist/producer of the group and even he said there is nothing usable too many screwups. He tried to negotiate with the old record company said they'd do a studio album to complete their contract. Record company said screw up we want the live double album, well they got it and it floppy right from the beginning. I was a roadie for one of the members of Derick and the Domino after the band broke up and with him when that live album came out. I asked him one day why that live album is so bad. He rattled off a list of the drugs each was into and then just said... you expect us to sound good??? To end on a good note. The Band's Rock of Ages live album only has two bad clarinet notes that were fixed later that album is as live as a live album can be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 34
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

There is a live album performed by a band of famous musicians who only came together to perform as a band for this live album We are each famous so we built this band expecting everyone to care. The original compositions and a cover of a famous song are all mediocre. Only one song even has an audience caught on tape. They probably recorded everything in an empty auditorium or wherever because almost everything recorded live was unusable.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With all that moving around with nary a rustle noise or grunt to be heard I'm thinking thats live lead vocals and most of the rest is tracks.

 

It's possible they did so on SNL but I doubt it and the live show is definitely 100% live.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some drums appear to have a pickup mounted on the drum body with no visible mic. Other drums are close mic'd. Even for the drums with a mic on them, the sound made on that drum is of very short duration, and repeated dozens of times during the song. If there is a screw up in a few of the drum hits for one player, just replace them with a harvested copy of a hit by that player at some other time during the song. This is easy stuff.

 

There are no cymbals for any of those drum players (not until someone else comes in from off the stage, later in the song). Cymbals would have such a sound of longer duration, with decaying volume, which would make it more difficult to do such a "patchup". And since the drums that do have mics are close-mic'd, their gain will be low, and the amount of bleed into them from vocals and other noises will be very low. A harvested "good hit" could be taken from a different time in the song, a time when no one is singing, and no one will be able to tell that a patchup had been done, by listening to the final mix of what got posted on youtube.

 

The 3 vocalists are close-mic'd, there are no horns, and no drum kit with overhead condenser mics, which would suck in the a ton of bleed from every other musician on the stage.

It looks like they are using in-ear monitors, with no stage monitors anywhere in sight.

The guitar, bass, and keys are using wireless send to amplification or a mixing console off stage.

The hand-held cymbals brought on stage in the middle of the song appear to have some sort of wireless send.

 

I have no proof they did any patching or fixing to create the version posted on Youtube.

All I am saying is that with the setup they have, it would be 100% possible for them to do this - and still leave the energy of the live performance in the result.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing I did notice is that for the majority of the SNL it appeared the full band weren't there i.e. I wondered if some of them were side or backstage and were playing along live as well. Or I just can't count :D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...