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Var. influences, etc.



I guess I feel that earlier in their career, like the Beatles and others,
they reflected their influences, both inherent and perhaps from a selling
point of view (I'd argue that them making psychedelic music during psychedelia
probably wasn't a bad idea at the time!), and as their music developed and 
evolved, it gradually resembled less and less that of other people.  In fact,
it didn't even resemble their own music that strongly!. Again, the Beatles 
FINISHED product had this particular effect. (Having heard all I've heard, 
though their musicianship improved over the years, the rough cuts show a 
more gradual evolution than George Martin's craftsmanship presented as their 
finished product to the world.  And, hey, that's fine too. More power to them.)

Live recording:  Most electric guitars both bass and 6 string are miked.  
Direct feed into the sound board has its own particular sound.  Unless played
clean, electrics uniformly sound bad. A good example of clean sound into the
soundboard would be Sparks on the original album, electric guitar, right
channel.  You can kinda hear the roundness of the strings, for want of a 
better description... Obviously effects can be added after this, but given
all the interactions of guitar, amp, and speaker, normally it's miked off
the amp .  In the studio, for example, the Beatles had verrrry low levels. 
I suspect the Who's studio level were higher for the harder rock albums,
(i.e. Who's Next and Quadrophenia) , and even 
the first album (that interesting tone the Rick/vox combo that Townshend 
gets I strongly believe comes from slightly blown speakers!) (The Kinks 
[ahhh... the plot thickens now!] were known for this trick).

Most sound guys want low stage levels, and most musicians want high ones.
The low stage levels allow the mix to sound the same most places in the 
audience, whereas having high stage levels makes one "overall" mix close up
and a different one further back.  And yet a third one where the sound
guy sits... The best live mix I ever heard in my life by a country mile
was the Rubinoos opening for ELvis Costello or Patty Smith or somesuch, back
in 1978 at the then Paramount in Portland.  It sounded like the goddam record.
If someone could bottle that mix, everybody would enjoy much better live
stuff. (Years later they would return to perform the theme song to Revenge
of the Nerds!)

JW