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TheInfection Group: Members Posts: 23 Joined: Dec. 2001 Posted: Feb. 11 2002, 06:39 I recently bought Platinum and I can understand why many people like this album. But it isn't the best thing that Mike has done. Somehow the soundscape would have been much better if he would have used real instruments, rather than bland and today very much aged synthetizers (I hate the horns in the third track!). I like the songs. They are so 70's but there's something very good about them. Funky, even. Regards, TheInfection Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Feb. 12 2002, 20:01 The horns are actually real (though only the arrangers and not the performers are credited). Most of the sounds on the album are quite heavily processed in various ways - the drums are a particularly good example - which leaves some things sounding quite far from natural. The overall sound of the album is what I guess could politely be called bright and less politely be called thin, brittle, or worse... As for the synthesisers, I feel that they're much more imaginitively used on QE2. Back to top

TheInfection Group: Members Posts: 23 Joined: Dec. 2001 Posted: Feb. 13 2002, 02:50 Are they? Well, the horns still sounds like crap. I don't actually mind the drums and other percussion (like the ones in the beginning). And I like how Wonderland slides into Punkadiddle. Regards, TheInfection Back to top

mirwais57 Group: Members Posts: 188 Joined: Jan. 2002 Posted: Mar. 11 2002, 05:27 platinum is very cool. all 8 tracks. punkadiddle is the best. it has a really cool bassline. -------------- http://www.mp3.com/57_13/ http://www.angelfire.com/electronic2/57_ttpo_13/ NB: Avatar = Mirwais himself. Back to top

Baggiesfaninessex Group: Members Posts: 682 Joined: Mar. 2002 Posted: Mar. 11 2002, 17:24 Platinum marked a change of direction for Mike's career. It is much more assertive than his previous albums; the result of a new found self-confidence. It also marks a time when punk and new wave was sweeping the UK and US and Mike probably felt obliged to go for the jugular! Side One of the album is fantastic - I don't care if the horns sound processed on Charleston; it displays a time when this was what New Technology was all about; before the Fairlight and subsequent computer enabled mixing. It has a certain charm. Side Two unfortunately displays a lack of ideas (or perhaps, too many ideas!) and indecision, hence the different releases in the UK and US. Woodhenge is a nice concept but ultmately a dirge. It ended up as a B side to the Blue Peter single and would have done nothing to increase the sales of the album. Side One is worth the purchase price alone and Mike/Virgin should have released Airborne or North Star as the B Side (or better still, a double A side with Blue Peter); I'm sure both Album and Single sales would have increased as a result. Cheers. -------------- “A dog is not intelligent. Never trust an animal that's surprised by its own farts.” - Frank Skinner Back to top

raven4x4x Group: Members Posts: 1535 Joined: Jan. 2002 Posted: Mar. 28 2002, 03:59 Platinum is a very good album. Very bright and energetic, and the side one is an excelent long instrumental bit. Side two has Woodhenge, which is kind of creepy and evil, perfect for a movie soundtrack. Into Wonderland isn't really bad, but not all that good. Sally wasn't much better, i'm afraid. Then, we have Punkadiddle, which rocks. A lot! That intro dosen't really fit in with the rest of the song. I really like Punkadiddle. I got Rhythm is also very good, with a very nice bells bit at the end. I would love to see this album live. It's his most simple 70's one, but also one of the best. -------------- Thank-you for helping us help you help us all. Back to top

New Incantation Group: Members Posts: 85 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: Sep. 09 2007, 10:46 1.  Airborn Interesting, if rather "bright" introduction with varying tempos and good melody driving the track. An altogether positive intro that lays the foundations for....   2. Platinum my favourite track. Drums & lead guitar dominate the rhythm section giving the piece a very raunchy rock feel to it.   3. Charleston I can't quite put my finger on it, but this track "irritates" me. Perhaps because it sounds too "sampled" and too bright for my ears. Although I did like the wandering piano, mandolin and the "ghostly" background vocals.   4. North Star So close to being my favourite Platinum track; has a good and unusual "disco" beat while the lead guitar does all the work with the melody and the drums regulates the rhythm. And the chorus & guitar riff near the end is really the topping on a delightful piece of cake.   5. Woodhenge Dark, moody, menacing, building to something that ultimately fails to deliver, as if Mike had forgotten how to finish the ending with a bang rather than a whimper.   6. Into Wonderland(Sally) Into Wonderland is totally out of place, upsets the balance of the album completely: more of a drunken pub karaoke windup and made me hit the "Next Track" button asap. I Much preferred the originally "Sally" taken from my 1979 lp version which at least felt embracing and mildly inkeeping with the mood of the album.   7. Punkadiddle Good guitar riffs and nice bit of "Oi" chorus to embrace all things punk. But I think adding a rather bogus "audience applause" at the end of each riff felt a bit tacky. Probably my 4th favourite track.   8. I Got Rhythm A nice melodic "closure"; gentle on the ears and offers a return of muscial normality after the mysterious experimentations of Side B, which for me didn't work too well at all. 7/10 for Side A 4/10 for Side B 6/10 overall Back to top

larstangmark Group: Members Posts: 1759 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: Sep. 09 2007, 13:04 I've always wondered what's up with the drums on this album. A booming, clumsy sound. Even sounds a little off-beat at times. My guess is that the whole of side 1 was put down to a metronome first, and the drums were added last. It could be Alan Schwartzberg that plays drums on side 1. It sure doesn't sound like Moerlen or Morris Pert. -------------- "There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste" Mark E Smith Back to top

arron11196 Group: Members Posts: 826 Joined: April 2005 Posted: Sep. 09 2007, 16:47 Meh. Honestly... Drums don't sound good enough? I'd like to see you create some interesting effects or "something different" with the technology Mike had available at the time. RE: Thin and brittle from Korgy, yeah i can see what you mean, but I think that adds to its charm. Just like the drum sounds, and the whole concept... Its like ripping apart a play by shakespeare because everyone hated the 3rd act and because most people got bored at some point. It's still a work of art in its own right... and you choose whether or not to accept it or not. To say that the drums sound crap... well, thats great! *hands a drumkit* you do better. -------------- Arron J Eagling Everyone's interpretation is different, and everyone has a right to that opinion. There is no "right" one, I am adding this post to communicate my thoughts to share them with like-minded souls who will be able to comment in good nature. (insert the last 5 mins of Crises here) Back to top

larstangmark Group: Members Posts: 1759 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: Sep. 09 2007, 17:26 Quote (arron11196 @ Sep. 09 2007, 16:47) Meh. Honestly... Drums don't sound good enough? I'd like to see you create some interesting effects or "something different" with the technology Mike had available at the time. Drums sound better on his other albums, including the one he put out before Platinum. Ever heard of over-production? -------------- "There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste" Mark E Smith Back to top

arron11196 Group: Members Posts: 826 Joined: April 2005 Posted: Sep. 09 2007, 17:46 I have, but as I said, maybe that was the point. -------------- Arron J Eagling Everyone's interpretation is different, and everyone has a right to that opinion. There is no "right" one, I am adding this post to communicate my thoughts to share them with like-minded souls who will be able to comment in good nature. (insert the last 5 mins of Crises here) Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Sep. 09 2007, 18:05 Actually, a lot of the most valued items for recording drums these days would have been available to Mike then. A lot of engineers prefer the sound of drums recorded to analogue tape (mostly because of the compression and mild distortion it gives when saturated) and most of the industry standard microphones, or earlier variations which are often regarded as better than the new ones (Shure SM57, Sennheiser MD421, Neumann KM84, AKG D12...etc...) used for drum recording were available back then. A great deal of the sound is down to how the drums are tuned and how they're played. The kit and the kind of heads also play an important role. The acoustics they're recorded in contribute a great deal to the sound too. It was very fashionable at the time Platinum was made to have everything sounding very dry, while earlier in the 70s (and in the late 60s), it was more common to record in a more live sounding room and to work with the reflections (an example of that taken to the extreme would be Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks). The current fashion is generally more in line with the early 70s approach. Really, all manner of sounds would have been possible; they chose that one. As Arron said, we have to choose whether we accept it or not. Back to top

larstangmark Group: Members Posts: 1759 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: Sep. 09 2007, 18:20 Quote (Korgscrew @ Sep. 09 2007, 18:05) Really, all manner of sounds would have been possible; they chose that one. As Arron said, we have to choose whether we accept it or not. I'm not losing sleep because of the drum sound on Platinum, and I've never given any thought to wether I accept this particular drum sound or not. I wasn't asked about it at the time (just as well, I was 7 years old at the time). I'm just very interested in music production and I don't really care if I bore Arron or other users with my posts. -------------- "There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste" Mark E Smith Back to top

arron11196 Group: Members Posts: 826 Joined: April 2005 Posted: Sep. 09 2007, 18:40 Its not a case of boring me, from my end, its more a case of most of the "fans" comments that I read are derogatory or nit-picky. If you dont like a certain style of production technique, then fine, but to slate Mikes' choices here is to slate his compositional and productional ability, which is why, i said before, if you think you can do better, here's a drumkit. -------------- Arron J Eagling Everyone's interpretation is different, and everyone has a right to that opinion. There is no "right" one, I am adding this post to communicate my thoughts to share them with like-minded souls who will be able to comment in good nature. (insert the last 5 mins of Crises here) Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Sep. 09 2007, 21:34 Ah, come on, see, being nit-picky and derogatory is fun! We all need something to complain about, we all need an escape valve for our venom and spite sometimes, and better it be a piece of music from some awful rich musician than a member of our family. I'm modestly sure that nobody in this forum is mediocre to the point of being here solely for being derogatory and nit-picky about all of Mike's work. It's safe to assume everyone here admires him and/or his work somehow, and hey, after all, we're giving attention to his work. That's, I think, much better than if the album had fallen into complete oblivion. Personally, I don't think it's the case of having to do better. I think it's a question of "yeah, Mike, your album couldn't possibly have had a more LATE 70's sound, guess you can't run away from that fact", and be gone with it. On a more or less related note, I also think Q.E.2 has a very, very epochal sound. I guess that has to be with the "trying to make Richard Branson a happier, richer man every day" attitude, which more or less decreased with Five Miles Out. Oh, yes, I think Platinum is definitely dated, but it's my third favourite 70's Mike record - only behind Incantations and the almighty Tubular Bells. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Sep. 09 2007, 21:40 Quote (larstangmark @ Sep. 09 2007, 23:20) I don't really care if I bore Arron or other users with my posts. I'm curious about why you said that. I was simply trying to say that you either like it or you don't - the producer makes his choice, the listeners make theirs...we don't have to agree with it. Maybe 'accept' was the wrong word; 'like' would have been clearer. It seems like you don't really like that sound...I can't say it's one I would pick either. I was basically agreeing with you, yet it seems like you've interpreted it almost as an attack and I can't figure out why. On the subject of criticism, I don't necessarily think you need to be able to do better yourself to be able to criticise (I know this has been debated a lot before...). George Martin could never have made music that was better than what the Beatles made (well...not in their style anyway; he is of course a very capable composer), yet he was able to tell them when they were going wrong and offer suggestions to make it better. While we may or may not have people of George Martin's calibre here, I do think most people here do know what they like to hear and know when things are not quite right. Sometimes when working on music intensely, people temporarily lose that ability; I don't think it should be ruled out that sometimes one of us might hear something which Mike missed. Of course if someone says "anyone could do that", that's different...that's when I say "go on then." But still, give me a drum kit and I'll come up with something more to my taste (though I must say my drum tuning and miking abilities are far better than my playing abilities...but then Mike didn't play the drums on Platinum - does that make my effort better than his by default? ). You may find it worse or may like it better - the same choices come into play. So come on then...let me at those drums! Back to top

larstangmark Group: Members Posts: 1759 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: Sep. 10 2007, 06:38 Quote (Korgscrew @ Sep. 09 2007, 21:40) I'm curious about why you said that. I guess I came across as a bit grumpy last night. It wasn't your post as much as Arron's. It contained the phrase "meh", which made me silently freak out behind my keyboard. "Meh" to you too, Arron! -------------- "There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste" Mark E Smith Back to top

arron11196 Group: Members Posts: 826 Joined: April 2005 Posted: Sep. 10 2007, 09:36 My meh was letting people know that i was frustrated at the frequency I see people on here slate Mike's work, full stop. Yeah, there is room for criticism, and yeah, we do need something to complain about, but we're not a bunch of old haggling women (sorry to women, but even you arent like that) and there's simply no need to create this much bad feeling. As i said before, if you don't like the way something sounds, then fine, but to call it crap, i'm sorry, that just sounds wrong. Not only are you criticising the music but then also his production choices... as if you could do better. So he didnt do the drums, someone else did... even still... you be a better producer, larstangmark. Come on, lets see it. -------------- Arron J Eagling Everyone's interpretation is different, and everyone has a right to that opinion. There is no "right" one, I am adding this post to communicate my thoughts to share them with like-minded souls who will be able to comment in good nature. (insert the last 5 mins of Crises here) Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Sep. 10 2007, 10:02 He never said that the drums sound crap...booming and clumsy, yes, but not crap. It seemed he was mostly just wondering why they sound that way. I'm often the first one to complain about excessive negativity here, but I don't really see a lot of it in the newer posts in this thread (perhaps a little more in the older ones; do bear in mind they're from 5 years ago). I don't see anything wrong with saying the drums sound booming and clumsy - that's an opinion and I don't have any problem with the way it was expressed. There are some times when I get the feeling that things are being said in an extreme way just to get a reaction, but I don't really feel that was the case here. However, this discussion seem to be rapidly descending into a series of taunts which really aren't going to help get anyone's point across, but are going to have me reaching for the lock button...it will be nice for the discussion to continue, but only if people aren't at each other's throats. Back to top

larstangmark Group: Members Posts: 1759 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: Sep. 10 2007, 12:29 Quote (arron11196 @ Sep. 10 2007, 09:36) So he didnt do the drums, someone else did... even still... you be a better producer, larstangmark. Come on, lets see it. Think for a while about the difference between criticism and complaints. For god's sake, I'm not asking for my money back or anything. -------------- "There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste" Mark E Smith Back to top

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