Repetition vs Consistency: where to draw the line?
Repetition vs Consistency: where to draw the line?
Yeah good point. What's debatable is how well each respective artist can make their formula work after so long, and for each individual, the mileage varies. I know some people love AC/DC's style, and more power to them!Venomboy wrote:
In the Chris Broderick/George Lynch video posted here, Lynch makes a good point about wanting to try new things and not be formulaic. Some people can't repeat themselves and always move on. There's also the record companies that insist on a sellable formula. Tensions arise and the record company usually wins. I think some artists are comfortable with the formula too.
But I also think there's a way for a band to have its signature sound shine through on each release while still releasing new material: Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest come to mind. As much as I like Ratt, I can't really say that's the case with them, although I believe that most the songs themselves are well-composed.
Repetition vs Consistency: where to draw the line?
Maiden and Priest always did things a bit different so their longevity doesn't surprise me. They really commit to each record and try to do something different.
With Ozzy, Sabbath did some really bizarre stuff and the "traditional" song structures were in a handful of songs like Paranoid and Never Say Die. With Dio they got a bit more focused but added cool and odd bits. With 13 I feel like they're trying to recapture the past and it feels like a copy. Same thing with Metallica. On Death Magnetic they tried to do something thrashy but to me I hear the Load band trying to play faster.
With Ozzy, Sabbath did some really bizarre stuff and the "traditional" song structures were in a handful of songs like Paranoid and Never Say Die. With Dio they got a bit more focused but added cool and odd bits. With 13 I feel like they're trying to recapture the past and it feels like a copy. Same thing with Metallica. On Death Magnetic they tried to do something thrashy but to me I hear the Load band trying to play faster.
Repetition vs Consistency: where to draw the line?
For the sake of completeness, here is the rest of the AC/DC albums. I again was kind of less concentrating while listening to the last 2 albums, so I may be a bit wrong. I also put some final thoughts below:
I listened 2 HTH and BIB Friday, but I decided to listen to them again today.
Highway to Hell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhzV9pVAUr8
This is Bon's last album. The guitar tone is at least 98% of the BiB sound. Is it me, or is there something a bit different about these songs than previous albums? The opening of Beating Around the Bush reminds me of the famous riff in Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well.
Back in Black: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN2vDLdYmRo
I don't know what else needs to be said.
Now it's For Those About to Rock We Salute You: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MehMVUIh38g
The title track is the only song I've heard on this album. I can see where you are coming from about AC/DC sounding the same. These songs could have been part of a BiB double album and not seemed out of place.
Next is Flick of the Switch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5zVpcBtaQA
The song Rising Power sounds a bit NWOBHM. House on Fire has a bit of a different tone. FotS has them sounding back to normal. On Nervous Shakedown, the rhythm guitar seem a lot more bassy and crunchy than normal. For some reason Lanslide reminds me of Saxon. The rhythm gtr is again varied on DitH. While listening to Bedlam in Belgium, I noticed another aspect to the AC/DC sound: the sound of the backing vocals in the chorus sections. On Brain Shake, Brian's voice sounds a bit different.
Now is Fly on the Wall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TCRSk3u ... 6B&index=1
There was something fucked up about the way this album was mixed. The vocals are too low and/or the guitars are too in-your-face. This was so distracting that I couldn't objectively listen to the album. I would like to hear a properly mixed version of this album so I can properly evaluate it. From what I could gather, the songs were different than regular. The guitars on Stand Up remind me of Wheel in the Sky by Journey.
Today starts with Who Made Who: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMtJ0Bn1cUA
This is the soundtrack album for the movie Maximum Overdrive. This is is a more or less a compilation album with 3 new tracks(title track and 2 instrumentals). The first inst, DT, didn't sound like AC/DC until near the end. The FotW song Sink the Pink is still badly mixed here. The FotW song Shake Your Foundations seems to have a better mix here. This is a song that doesn't sound like AC/DC. The second inst, Chase the Ace, has the AC/DC rhytm tone, and the lead tone sounds like Angus near the end. I'm surprised HtH wasn't on here.
Next is Blow Up Your Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfZtlxE43YM
Heatseeker is a faster tempo than normal. Meanstreak is an atypical song except for the vocals. The songs from Go Zone on have a different guiar tone on them. I think this might have been a permanent change. Also, Brian seems to be singing at a higher pitch.
The Razor's Edge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEdBE5f0H_U
This is the other AC/DC album I own. I bought it based on the 2 singles(Thun/Mon), Thunderstruck moreso. Like I said before, I think I played this twice at the most. I was right about the change in guitar tone, but they go the older route on Are You Ready. BJ Does go back to normal on Mistress for Christmas. Is it me or does the guitar on the main riff of Money Talks resembles BJ's voice? This also seemed to lack guitar solos, or good ones at least. That and the guitar tone mean I won't likely be relistening to this.
Today starts with Ballbreaker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h_5C2oC7uA
Hard as a Rock sounds more like the old AC/DC. Same with Cover You in Oil. The intro to The Furor has them doing the WitS thing again. Hail Caesar has BJ singing in his normal range. Ballbreaker is also another "old AC/DC" song. This album has them mixing up things in terms of guitar tone, song styles, and BJ's voice.
Next is Stiff Upper Lip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3B5aZ3uVXw
Again, it starts off good. BJ's voice is normal pretty much throughout here, as is the guitar tones. There are a few different song styles though.
Finally is Black Ice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IteFWmEyMq4
Again, this starts out good. Anything Goes reminds me of some other song. Stormy May Day is the first time I heard slide in an AC/DC song I think. I think I can say the same thing I did about SUL.
It's kind of hard to describe things like this through text. Also, it would be better if I could go and A/B songs with each other, but that would be to much of a pain.
The main point I want to make is that while there are a lot of similarities in their songs, there are also quite a few differences. I can't say that they made the exact same album for 35 years, but I guess if the similarities are aspects that do annoy you, you can't really do anything about it, and I can't change your mind either. And that wasn't my intent. I just wanted to see if I agree or disagree about the "same album" claim.
I listened 2 HTH and BIB Friday, but I decided to listen to them again today.
Highway to Hell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhzV9pVAUr8
This is Bon's last album. The guitar tone is at least 98% of the BiB sound. Is it me, or is there something a bit different about these songs than previous albums? The opening of Beating Around the Bush reminds me of the famous riff in Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well.
Back in Black: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN2vDLdYmRo
I don't know what else needs to be said.
Now it's For Those About to Rock We Salute You: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MehMVUIh38g
The title track is the only song I've heard on this album. I can see where you are coming from about AC/DC sounding the same. These songs could have been part of a BiB double album and not seemed out of place.
Next is Flick of the Switch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5zVpcBtaQA
The song Rising Power sounds a bit NWOBHM. House on Fire has a bit of a different tone. FotS has them sounding back to normal. On Nervous Shakedown, the rhythm guitar seem a lot more bassy and crunchy than normal. For some reason Lanslide reminds me of Saxon. The rhythm gtr is again varied on DitH. While listening to Bedlam in Belgium, I noticed another aspect to the AC/DC sound: the sound of the backing vocals in the chorus sections. On Brain Shake, Brian's voice sounds a bit different.
Now is Fly on the Wall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TCRSk3u ... 6B&index=1
There was something fucked up about the way this album was mixed. The vocals are too low and/or the guitars are too in-your-face. This was so distracting that I couldn't objectively listen to the album. I would like to hear a properly mixed version of this album so I can properly evaluate it. From what I could gather, the songs were different than regular. The guitars on Stand Up remind me of Wheel in the Sky by Journey.
Today starts with Who Made Who: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMtJ0Bn1cUA
This is the soundtrack album for the movie Maximum Overdrive. This is is a more or less a compilation album with 3 new tracks(title track and 2 instrumentals). The first inst, DT, didn't sound like AC/DC until near the end. The FotW song Sink the Pink is still badly mixed here. The FotW song Shake Your Foundations seems to have a better mix here. This is a song that doesn't sound like AC/DC. The second inst, Chase the Ace, has the AC/DC rhytm tone, and the lead tone sounds like Angus near the end. I'm surprised HtH wasn't on here.
Next is Blow Up Your Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfZtlxE43YM
Heatseeker is a faster tempo than normal. Meanstreak is an atypical song except for the vocals. The songs from Go Zone on have a different guiar tone on them. I think this might have been a permanent change. Also, Brian seems to be singing at a higher pitch.
The Razor's Edge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEdBE5f0H_U
This is the other AC/DC album I own. I bought it based on the 2 singles(Thun/Mon), Thunderstruck moreso. Like I said before, I think I played this twice at the most. I was right about the change in guitar tone, but they go the older route on Are You Ready. BJ Does go back to normal on Mistress for Christmas. Is it me or does the guitar on the main riff of Money Talks resembles BJ's voice? This also seemed to lack guitar solos, or good ones at least. That and the guitar tone mean I won't likely be relistening to this.
Today starts with Ballbreaker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h_5C2oC7uA
Hard as a Rock sounds more like the old AC/DC. Same with Cover You in Oil. The intro to The Furor has them doing the WitS thing again. Hail Caesar has BJ singing in his normal range. Ballbreaker is also another "old AC/DC" song. This album has them mixing up things in terms of guitar tone, song styles, and BJ's voice.
Next is Stiff Upper Lip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3B5aZ3uVXw
Again, it starts off good. BJ's voice is normal pretty much throughout here, as is the guitar tones. There are a few different song styles though.
Finally is Black Ice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IteFWmEyMq4
Again, this starts out good. Anything Goes reminds me of some other song. Stormy May Day is the first time I heard slide in an AC/DC song I think. I think I can say the same thing I did about SUL.
It's kind of hard to describe things like this through text. Also, it would be better if I could go and A/B songs with each other, but that would be to much of a pain.
The main point I want to make is that while there are a lot of similarities in their songs, there are also quite a few differences. I can't say that they made the exact same album for 35 years, but I guess if the similarities are aspects that do annoy you, you can't really do anything about it, and I can't change your mind either. And that wasn't my intent. I just wanted to see if I agree or disagree about the "same album" claim.