This is one of my favorite albums! Very cool to hear from JMJ.

Justin, do you remember what kind of acoustic guitar Beck was playing?

Thanks.

Todd

Realy love this album.

BUT, I suppose every one here knows that " Paper Tiger " and "Lonesone tears" are very special for us, French guys, 'cause they are so much influenced by Serge Gainsbourg's "Melody Nelson". The production, from tom sound, dry snare, fuzz guitars lines, picked crunchy bass , to reverbed unisson strings etc ... come directly from " Melody " ans "Hôtel Particulier".

Just in case ....

The album sounds nice but I preferred Midnite Vultures. "Debra" - now there's a killer sound.

As far as musical content, I found Sea Change very boring, lethargic and "samey." Probably Beck's weakest point, which makes sense since it's a depressing breakup era album. His other stuff is much more colorful, creative, vivid and energetic.

Hmmm...I'm not sure but I think plenty of comp and EQ was committed, because I don't think anything was "newly" compressed (for instance) at the mix. If anything, it was just "doubly" compressed. The final mixes went to 2 track tape, yes. We used those amazing giant Ampex 24 track machines that they have at Oceanway. Sorry, I'm not really savvy as far as a lot of details, I should ask Nige...
J

Mostly Martins and one older Taylor I think. One of the main guitars was a newly acquired pre-war D28. We also rented a bunch of stuff from Brett Allen.

Yup.

I can understand that. Vultures is my personal fave, but Sea Change has a real clarity of purpose and a very elegant/vintage recording/working method that's fun to talk about.

Hey Justin, wich vocal Mic was used? Seem like Beck is singing in front of me, unbelievable...
Thank's for all the details, you rock!
heh

This album feels like it may be Beck's peak to me. As much as I love a lot of stuff on the other albums, the consistent feel (or sameness complained about earlier) is very nice. It is a darker album, but that isn't a bad thing. Electro Shock Blues by the Eels is a terribly dark record and a lot of the tracks have a very similar feel, but it's one of my favorites. I do have to agree that Debra is pretty kick ass tho. Very Prince-like.

Justin, love your work with Beck and got to see you playing w/NIN for LITS in Lexington KY and for Wave Goodbye on the NIN/JA tour in Noblesville IN. Remember your name all the way back to getting introduced to Medicine in college. Still love those Medicine albums, Laner does some crazy stuff.

Last I'd heard Trent was close to finished on the new HTDA, but he had also talked about some new NIN this year. Any chance he's had you in the studio?

Viva Vultures!!

Vocal mic = C12 & 251.

NIN = I haven't a clue. Trent is elusive/reclusive and more than capable of doing everything on his own as he wishes. Would be fun, but I'm not holding my breath for it.

Thank you very much, gents!
JMJ

Definitely one of my favorite albums of all time.

Second that! This one really creep up on you and then won't let go. After countless listens, it just keeps digging in deeper. Maybe the most artistically authentic album of all time, in the way the performances of all involved captured and communicated Beck's emotions at the moment.

Justin; if you're still around, did you guys feel a sense that you were doing something beyond HUGE during the sessions?

Justin if there is ANY Way you could remember the name/brand/color/layout...whatever really of that digital reverb/delay I would be really happy! The sea change album is on my top 3 of the best albums I have ever heard. The production, the songs and the playing is simply amazing!
Thanks!

the19thbear: Really don't know, sorry. 10 years ago and lots of life has passed by since.

kennybro: I really did. It was an extraordinarily intense, all-consuming process. We all felt it. It's just one of those things you live and breathe, and when it's over, you feel that profound sense of emptiness mixed with satisfaction. Then when it actually resonates with the public, it's a huge vindication for a great deal of intensity and struggle.

J

Hi Justin,

Just wanted to add what a profound effect this album had on me personally.

I'm not generally into new music (listen to mostly '60s-'70s), but I bought this when it came out in 2003, and thought, "oh that sounds cool", played it a few times, then put it away.

A couple years later, I went through some very emotionally devastating experiences with my long-time girlfriend at the time during our break-up. I somehow went back to that album and and became filled with overwhelming emotions ... I remember just weeping and crying while listening to it, yet also having a sense of wonder and feeling uplifted at the same time.

It has since become one of the most important records in my life and I am so glad this album was there for me, when nothing else seemed right in my world.

Wow, that's truly amazing. So glad to hear things like this.

Maybe you'd enjoy coming to see us play some songs from this record here and there this summer? Details TBA.

I'll see you in San Francisco !

(life is great now !)

PS - just realized this was actually 2002 when it came out. can't believe it's been 10 years!

One of my favs ever

Such an amazing record. I only resurrect because this is one of those albums that pops up on the forum and reminds all the lovers to dig it out and devote some time to it again.

The fact that this forum is a place where the real players involved come out and discuss the details is such a special, cool thing to be a part of.

Thanks to Justin. It's clear from your playing that you zoned right in to the soul and spirit of this record. It always makes me feel the sadness of acceptance, with the flicker of hope for tomorrow still alive.

Awesome.

Sorry for the re-bump but it only hit me after reading three pages of this thread that Justin is the same Justin I recently watched on Pensado's Place!

This album is not only fantastic song-wise (soooo dark), but also the audio fidelity is incredible. One of my faves

bump for this great album & thread - one of my all time favourites. The Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs CD remaster is probably the best sounding CD I have ever heard. The regular CD sounds great as well but is over-compressed & suffers from "modern mastering"

What a great thread, album, moment.

I was really interested in the acoustic guitar. It sounds heavily EQ'd, but it also sounds right. The opening chords on "The Golden Age" are just so iconic. I never would have guessed it was a U47, sounds more like a 451. I guess you can just get to that place with a Pultec or a 550A or whatever.

I just bought a new Taylor today, and I'm really excited about guitar music, so I had to revisit this thread. I still don't have a Martin.

When I was picking out my specific guitar, I just kept playing "Guess I'm Doing Fine" over and over on all my candidates. There was one particular Taylor that the notes just really rang true on, and that was the one I brought home today.

Me and a buddy of mine did a road trip down the US westcoast during the summer of 2005 (from seattle all the way down to san diego, including going into the country to Arizona, Nevada...). We listened to seachange a lot on the cars stereo, we have just 'discovered' the album. It made the soundtrack to that trip. All the coast's beauty accompanied by this music - it was just magical.

The first mic I thought of when I heard the acoustic on "The Golden Age" was a KM54.

Remember that JMJ said that Nigel went to town on the rack of API 550As next to the console. And Darrell Thorp has been quoted (Working Class Audio podcast) as saying that Nigel and Beck are both guys who like to commit a lot of EQ and compression to tape.

I'd have to say, I'm not a big fan of "electronic" music, and aside from a few random songs (Devil's Haircut, etc), I've never claimed to be a Beck fan. But when I first heard a song from Sea Change when I was in a college art class in early 2003 (everyone always brought in CDs to listen to), I was floored, and I checked out the entire album and I absolutely love it. It's amazing to see it still gets a lot of love and I'm not the only one who loves the album to this day. Just a great album to put on to relax and wind down after a long day, like I would with something like Neil Young's Harvest, etc. The production is awesome too, always loved the sound.

This thread restores my faith in GS.

JMJ thanks!!!!

I love the fly on the wall vibe you can get when you read about players waxing poetic on the records.

Great stuff!

In an age of singles and hits, It is great to get a "front to back" album like this. Ok computer, pink floyd the wall and others are great examples of albums you can put on and it takes you on a ride. Very well put together, and one of my all time favorites. Great that Justin was here and was able to tell us so much about it as well.

Thanks to this thread, I checked out the album on Amazon's streaming player (I have an Amazon Prime account). So far I have only listened to it on my PC speakers (those cheap little $15 ones), but I love it. I bought the CD and it's on it's way. Can't wait to play it at home in the studio.