In the Rain – Midnight Oil – Malcolm Burn – 1996
- January 20th, 2013
- Posted in 2013 listening diary (nat)
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Unusual production on this track – especially when heard in the context of the Breathe album. It is track 8 on a 13 track album and sits between two of the heavier songs. It makes the sound of this short, gentle track all the more striking. It has a very distinct room sound, like a warehouse or similar large reverberant space.
The drums, which are restricted to kick and snare/tambourine, are very boxy. They almost sound like beating on a wooden crate or 44 gallon drum. There is no discernible bass guitar but in the first chorus there enters a low end root note sequence that could be bass guitar or piano, or both! It continues in the next verse and until the end of the track.
Off to the right there is a high plinky plink guitar part for the entire track, reverbed and distant in the mix.
The main chord sequence is driven by a reverbed guitar off to the left, playing single sustained notes. There is an echo on the guitar that is only noticeable at the end of the track when a palm muted sound is made. But the echo must be what is helping push that guitar back in the mix.
Essentially all the instrumentation is placed in this ‘warehouse’ sound that pushes it back in the mix, so that when the vocal enters after four bars it is very present and up front. It is the only vocal for the whole song – no doubles or backing vocals. It has a little reverb on it but not enough to push it back into the instrumental backing. The vocal is performed quietly, and with a cracked falsetto in the choruses. It creates an intimate feeling, especially when contrasted with the distant band, and even more so when heard in the context of the album.
The song only consists of two parts (verse and chorus) with an intro, 2 verses, chorus, verse, chorus structure. The song is not about drama or narrative but more about a mood or atmosphere and the production emphasises that – no drop ins or outs, no fade ins or outs, no changes in pan position, no changes in mix settings.
Overall a very unique sound that helps this track have a life of its own on the album.