Sound quality on What About Now

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the producer of The Black Keys produce that song? I remember reading Richie had said that, and when he first heard the song he "had to accept what it sounded like" but he grew to like it.

Rick Rubin will just **** it up even more. I'd much rather Bob Rock.

I'm With You could have been a great song but they managed to **** up with that horrible production and the second part of the pre-chorus being cut. Also Water and What's left of me didn't need those faked backing vocals and pointless drum machines..

Yeah I think the production on The Circle is OK. Lost Highway is even better on that aspect IMO.

I think he mixed it, not produced it, so you're right. I'm one of the few that loves the production on that one.

WAN is another very obvious victim of the loudness wars. The problem is of course with the way the album is mixed - not the overall production values. Check out the DR Database values for the album:

http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/inde...what+about+now

This is very fitting as John Shanks is just another pop album producer who wouldn't know any better. Sadly, this trend has been going on for a while in the music biz but now at least people are trying to notice the problem.

Except that they don't know what exactly the problem is. The issue is with the way albums are mixed nowadays. They are mixed very loud, leaving zero breathing room for the sound and resulting in a compressed, mushy, and wimpy sound.

And no, having Rick Rubin produce the album would not help whatsoever in that regard, as Rubin is probably the biggest reason why this trend has reached its pinnacle. He's the one big name producer who has fully embraced this terrible practice. Just listen to any recent RHCP album and pay attention to the horrible clipping issues. Or if you want a more obvious example, give a listen to Death Magnetic by Metallica. It's beyond myself how they put out an album with that atrocious of a mix.

With all this box set talk in the post below, I recently been listening to the songs during my morning runs. Although there are some real gems on there, most would agree collectively that the songs included on the box deserve to be there due to a lack of something or other.

Its my opinion that WAN has that same feel. It could have been disc 5. Actually, I really feel that ever since the box set was released, all studio albums after were just continuations.

Good songs, not great with no real substance.

What I'd like to see (well hear) is the next Bon Jovi album produced by someone who isn't a Rick Rubin or John Shanks, someone who could push Jon to try new ideas or really, push him to come up with better material. But there's the problem, I don't think Jon would want someone telling him his 6th take of something wasn't up to scratch or Richie's backing vocals are going to be mixed louder than he wants. I've seen some videos of bands who are given new leases of life by putting their trust in something different. And I think there's songs from WAN and the Circle that could have been better with a few simple tweaks.

Just a thought.

Aloha !

It's not just Jon who doesn't want to be told certain things. McCartney's career was kind of lost and he then decided to work with Nigel Godrich, famous for his productions with Radiohead. He was one, if not the first producer, to actually say no to McCartney when recording, and did inspire him to do things he hadn't done in a long time, or actually did for the first time. McCartney initially didn't like working with him and threatened to go look for someone else until he eventually realized that the outcome was a lot better than he expected. The result was a record hailed by critics as a return to form without sounding dated or like a nostalgia act and earned him three Grammy nominations.

With Bon Jovi the songs are there, but the fact that Jon can't sing for shit anymore and his unwillingness to actually be risky and not try to cater towards an audience that doesn't care for the record in the first place won't change a thing unless Jon finally admits that over time the song that have stood up the most are the ones closest to his early material. I also think that Jon feels comfortable working with Shanks as he's the guy who knows very well how to tweak his voice to get the best out of him. A new producer means trusting someone with the secret that his voice is doctored beyond belief.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

I'd like Bon Jovi go back to the old school way of making records.

Just laying down multiple tracks as a band with no more digital enhancements.

I really love the new Album! The most Songs have a perfect Sound, I love them A few parts here and there sound a little bad, but its no matter, I love this Sound... OK sure Jons voice is not the best anymore, even he gets older. In 90s his voice was really stronger, but the new Album is good I think