Motown and especially to me Philly songs have very nice arrangements that are very well done. Thom Bell once said that he arranges music with little sounds and phrases going on in the background. He referred to this as "the inner ear". When I read that quote in some long forgotten black publication, I knew right away what he was talking about.
As a teen listening to stereo records [[on a Sears Roebuck record player with stand alone stereo speakers) in the basement of my parent's house I got a kick out of hearing those "inner ear" sounds of Bell and others. The only problem is I've always wondered why you can sometimes barely hear those parts. I could get much better enjoyment out of the experience if they were not mixed so low.
These days, I've become skeptical about buying CDs as I've noticed mixes that have changed from when I first heard a particular song. The levels of certain instruments and background singers are all over the map on the same CD title by the same artist.
So, why are the mixes for a CD varying from one CD to another? Is anyone messing with the mix? When a record is mixed, who is in charge? Who decides to make this loud and this low? To me, a lot of Philly material has background stuff mixed to low. Is it a Ralph Terrana or Joe Tarsia who decides on sound levels or does the producer inform the engineer how they want a piece of music to sound?
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