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But now we’ve got a new machine
The second part of the Sound & Vision interview with Dweezil Zappa on his Machine Head remix. Part 1 was here.
Mike Mettler: Did you reference, or at least get to listen to, the previous quad and 5.1 mixes of Machine Head as reference points for your Atmos remix?
Dweezil Zappa: I didn’t have access to those mixes at the time I was working on the remix—it was really just the stereo mix from the original album. And it was funny, because there was a bit of back and forth when the band was getting the stereo version back from me. On a few songs, they kept referencing some other version and I was like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I guess there had been a version released that [Deep Purple bassist] Roger Glover remixed.Mettler: Yeah, there was a 25th anniversary 2CD set of Machine Head [released on Warner Archives/Rhino in 1998] that had his stereo remix on it.
Zappa: Yeah. So, sometimes, they were saying, “Oh, you know, it doesn’t have as much bass as the other mix.” They were referencing certain things I wasn’t hearing, and then finally they were like, “Oh, no, we meant Roger’s mix.” I was like, “Oh, I don’t even know what that is.” A lot of times, they were referencing the differences of the new stuff compared to Roger’s mix, and not even necessarily the old, classic [original] mix.
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Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
bonjour le problème c’est que mixé plusieurs fois ne changera rien aux chansons que l’on connait depuis longtemps…. et que de toute manière je n’achèterai pas car c’est une opération mercantile! avez vous vu le prix?
July 2nd, 2024 at 06:58I much prefer Roger’s Remix than the latest one.
July 2nd, 2024 at 07:10@ me too!
July 2nd, 2024 at 11:06AHAHAHAH!! Wasn’t he aware of the RG version!!??
Ridiculous.
Le mix changera le sound, qui sera plus claire et expressif. On peut ecouter chaque instrument clairement. Le prix, oui, c’est un probleme. Mais show business est la commerce, n’est pas? On doit gagner d’argent. Pardon pour mon francais…
July 2nd, 2024 at 11:38That’s a matter of philosophy, Leslie. Roger’s remix was careful to keep the original aural impression of MH intact, I personally found it a bit underwhelming at the time (not a great fan of remixes done by people who participated in the original mix in any case, that is why Ian Anderson did not want to remix the Jethro Tull catalog himself), it seemed more like a glorified remaster to me (things like Richie’s alternative solo in SOTW excepted). Dweezil assumed a different vantage point for the remix and cites the original mix only in places.
Now I know that there are a lot of people out there who want a respectful remix to be just that: a glorified remaster. And that is alright. But having Dweezil ‘reimagine’ how MH could have sounded has its own merit. Isn’t it great to have both options?
To me, the Dweezil remix ranks among the best remixes of a classic rock band I know – up there with what Giles Martin did for The Beatles -, it has revealed aspects of MH to me I had not known before. He has made that album sound more organic and warm while Roger’s remix reinforced its slightly clinical original sound – Roger’s remix is a child of its time and a bit über-hifi to my ears.
But I’m happy to have what is my favorite hard rock record of all time in as many sonic variations as possible.
July 2nd, 2024 at 12:56@5
July 2nd, 2024 at 14:09sure, in 20 years maybe a futuristic trap ambient dub version, why not?
I have yet to find a person who did not immediately realize it was DP when listening to the Dweezil mix, like within 5 seconds or so, have you? Casual listeners of DP don’t even hear a difference to previous mixes at all.
That said, I‘ll buy that “futuristic trap ambient dub version” too, is there any place I can already preorder?
July 2nd, 2024 at 23:05Roger Glovers remix was far superior. We actually had different guitar solos sections, keyboard parts, drum fills extended endings, etc. this latest remix is more like a cut and paste rehash of God knows what.
July 3rd, 2024 at 04:26Have to disagree with # 5. They’ve been my favorite band since 1973 but I just can’t see buying something I will put on the shelf and not listen to.
July 3rd, 2024 at 07:34I have yet to find a person who did not immediately realize it was DP when listening to the the ‘Ace Frehley’ remix of ‘Space Truckin’.
I think I prefer it to the Zappa mix.
July 3rd, 2024 at 08:34Just talking in general here & this is NOT a dig at Dweezil or the MH remix. The way things are going as in no respect to an artists copyright etc with AI & other conglomerates, it would not surprise me that in the future anyone will be able to record their own musical part to an artists original compositions. Nothing is or will be sacred anymore. There is no respect from the zealots of the big corporate machine. Where will an original artists music end up? Well we know where as it is already being gobbled up by them. Sad indeed. It was good while it was genuine though. We certainly have lived in the best of times in that regard. Cheers.
July 3rd, 2024 at 08:40Yo,
@11 said…
qt.”Where will an original artists music end up”?…
Well…Queen just sold their establishment for 1.2 Billion US-of-A dollars…
It appears that at some point people sell-out for the best offer…And the piggy-bank looks great !
On the basis that “your” tune has “made it” at some-point-in-time, think of it as a pie that you can sell slices of, especially if it itself is a slice of a large pie called an album…
That said, Copyrights & other protections are available, though anything to do with the legal system is typically bollox, & simply an official exchange of corrections for a price.
It’s the bootlegger’s that don’t share their earnings, but you get free advertising from the deal.
Peace !
July 3rd, 2024 at 10:14It’s alright, you don’t have to buy it, but it entertains me!
July 3rd, 2024 at 13:56Im also keen on the ‘Re-Mix’ version of ‘Highway Star’ by ‘Type O Negative’
They have have taken the original – tweaked it here any there, taken a few things out, put some vocals, drums & guitar back in – and voila
My favorite so far
July 3rd, 2024 at 14:20Type O Negative could have done a great version of When A Blind Man Cries – right up there depressive-dark alley!
July 3rd, 2024 at 17:56