The Motown Sound Mixing question: A lot of compression?
Don't know if this will cause much discussion but there has been something I've noticed for years about the way Motown's stereo albums sounded from roughly '64 to maybe early '66. In particular, when I listen to the stereo albums "Going To A Go-Go," "Four Tops Second Album," "Marvin Gaye- Moods Of," or "The Tempting Temptations" and "Getting Ready" among others, there is a quality I don't hear in the stereo albums from mid '66 on. Basically, it sounds like the stereo mixes used a lot of compression much like the mono mixes. I say that because I know compression has a way of bringing up little things in a mix that you otherwise wouldn't hear.
When I listen to "Just Another Lonely Night" by the Temptations- in the stereo mix, you can hear a tambourine slightly get louder or lower in the mix, depending on if its during a moment where there is a lot going on musically or a more quite passage. The instruments sound so well-defined to the point that the strumming of a guitar sounds almost live and up-close. On Jimmy Ruffin's "As Long As There Is L-O-V-E Love," with the stereo album mix, you can hear what sounds like someone's watch ticking on the intro- again, that's something you get when you compress a mix.
The greatest example of the sound I'm trying to describe is the "Going To A Go-Go" album. Listen to "Choosey Beggar" in the stereo mix. The drums and bongos THUNDER with striking force. The crash of the cymbals is enormous in sound. The vibraphones ring out loud and clear. The guitars are high in the mix too, and yet nothing overpowers anything else. Vocals and music are almost on the same even sound plane.
Albums that came out around mid '66 sound as if they were mixed and mastered a bit differently. The sound isn't as huge- the music is still crisp and sharp, but everything occupies a relative position in the sonic landscape.
Has anyone else noticed this too with Motown's stereo albums from this period?
