Rarities & B-Sides

[abw1987]

Yea, to be very honest, I don't really know why everybody's so excited about those versions.. The sound isn't good, there were a lot of technical problems, Myles really didn't sound that good vocally, like Macca stated. Might be the nostalgia.. But I'd rather listen to those crappy youtube video's from other shows where they played the new songs than to the Pinkpop versions.

I think it's obviously not about admirable technique, but more that the vocal performance sounded very impassioned and raw. One gets the sense that Myles fervently believes every word he is singing, and he's not afraid to belt it to high heavens. And yeah, I'm sure a lot of it was the novelty/nostalgia of the fact that this was still a very early performance of the song.

[psycosquirrel789]

Still sounds better than Elvis's production.

[Jim]

Still sounds better than Elvis's production.

Please, i beg you to do a better job. Sick of seeing 80% of your posts slating Elvis and the guy's production decisions, like you're some kind of music recording guru. So go and do a better job, then come back with your bad attitude.

I dont see why QUALITY always has to be such a barrier for some people when listening to music, especially when they're obviously live recordings. I love those versions so much because of the structure of the songs

[Macca]

Yeah the structure is much better, not denying that, but his vocals are still awful in them.

[psycosquirrel789]

Still sounds better than Elvis's production.

Please, i beg you to do a better job. Sick of seeing 80% of your posts slating Elvis and the guy's production decisions, like you're some kind of music recording guru. So go and do a better job, then come back with your bad attitude.

I dont see why QUALITY always has to be such a barrier for some people when listening to music, especially when they're obviously live recordings. I love those versions so much because of the structure of the songs

Oh, it's round 2. Stop quoting me.

[Timotheus]

Still sounds better than Elvis's production.

No. Elvis rocks..

[NytestrykerZ]

psycosquirrel789 being all cheeky with his sig. I don't completely agree but mad respect to him for being ballsy.

[Macca]

I don't think the absence of Elvis would've improved things any on BB and ABIII. The core problem is that the songwriting on they albums just wasn't as strong as on ODR. Whether or not Elvis has a big influence in the direction of the songwriting I don't know, but I know that better production alone wouldn't be enough to redeem these albums for me.

[Macca]

...I just noticed this thread has nothing to do with Elvis, how did we get on this topic anyway?

[Timotheus]

Psyco compared the audio from Pinkpop with the audio from blackbird, and he said he liked the Pinkpop one better

[psycosquirrel789]

Elvis rocks... haha yeah when you're not listening to his music.

psycosquirrel789 being all cheeky with his sig. I don't completely agree but mad respect to him for being ballsy.

hahaha Ballsy?? nahh, apparently I'm only giving 80% effort, now I can be 100%!

[Circles]

I don't think the absence of Elvis would've improved things any on BB and ABIII. The core problem is that the songwriting on they albums just wasn't as strong as on ODR. Whether or not Elvis has a big influence in the direction of the songwriting I don't know, but I know that better production alone wouldn't be enough to redeem these albums for me.

elvis is the one making them try to write metal but fail

[Andy92]

I don't think the absence of Elvis would've improved things any on BB and ABIII. The core problem is that the songwriting on they albums just wasn't as strong as on ODR. Whether or not Elvis has a big influence in the direction of the songwriting I don't know, but I know that better production alone wouldn't be enough to redeem these albums for me.

elvis is the one making them try to write metal but fail

I actually think their metal sound came due to them wanting to distance the Alter Bridge sound as far from Creed as possible during that time period. Blackbird is the most "non Creed" record in the catalog imo.

[Ubik]

He does apparently do quite a bit in pre-production on the structures and whatnot, but it seems a little strange to put any blame on him if you don't like the songwriting - Mark and Myles are seasoned musicians, these are their songs and their decisions. The only thing Blackbird and ABIII really missed was the balls to drop songs which weren't quite up there with the rest off the final cut.

[Andy92]

He does apparently do quite a bit in pre-production on the structures and whatnot, but it seems a little strange to put any blame on him if you don't like the songwriting - Mark and Myles are seasoned musicians, these are their songs and their decisions. The only thing Blackbird and ABIII really missed was the balls to drop songs which weren't quite up there with the rest off the final cut.

Yeah, AB III was the perfect record to release a b-side CD with like 6 months after the full album. That record could've been 11-12 songs with a 5-6 song EP later for bonus material.

[Vaux]

How could you forget this hardcore head banging song and solo spot from Tremonti:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/l-0X7KUxxC4[/youtube]

[Crumbso]

Sweet. Never heard that one. Don't really like the song but the solo is pure Tremonti. I've added it to the list.

[TenaciousBe]

You know, for those who like to slag on Elvis, you have to remember it's a group effort between he and each band he works with. It's not like AB just walks in the room, records their parts, and leave saying "okay, do whatever you want with it." The band works with Elvis to get the sound that THEY want, or I doubt the record would be released. Everybody offers their opinions and thoughts and ideas, and what comes out is a hybrid of everybody's vision.

There are certainly things that a producer could do differently to achieve a slightly different sound, but in the end, the band's influence is going to reign supreme. If you just want to flat out say "Elvis sucks," you're essentially saying that AB doesn't know how to make records.

[Jhenrid]

You know, for those who like to slag on Elvis, you have to remember it's a group effort between he and each band he works with. It's not like AB just walks in the room, records their parts, and leave saying "okay, do whatever you want with it." The band works with Elvis to get the sound that THEY want, or I doubt the record would be released. Everybody offers their opinions and thoughts and ideas, and what comes out is a hybrid of everybody's vision.

There are certainly things that a producer could do differently to achieve a slightly different sound, but in the end, the band's influence is going to reign supreme. If you just want to flat out say "Elvis sucks," you're essentially saying that AB doesn't know how to make records.

+1

[abw1987]

You know, for those who like to slag on Elvis, you have to remember it's a group effort between he and each band he works with. It's not like AB just walks in the room, records their parts, and leave saying "okay, do whatever you want with it." The band works with Elvis to get the sound that THEY want, or I doubt the record would be released. Everybody offers their opinions and thoughts and ideas, and what comes out is a hybrid of everybody's vision.

There are certainly things that a producer could do differently to achieve a slightly different sound, but in the end, the band's influence is going to reign supreme. If you just want to flat out say "Elvis sucks," you're essentially saying that AB doesn't know how to make records.

One of the smartest things I've read on here in a while.

Whenever they're finished recording an album, you always see the band posting on Twitter or wherever about how they "just got the latest mix, having a listen and giving my feedback." They are pretty clear on what they want their sound to be, and they don't release an album unless they've gotten it right.

It's not like Elvis is some kind of aural dictator.