Dave Grohl - Sound City: Real to Reel (soundtrack)

Next week will see the release of the soundtrack to Grohl's film "Sound City". These are the sessions that Grohl produced once the Neve console from Sound City was setup in Dave's own studio. He invited a bunch of guests who had recorded albums at Sound City in the past to participate in creating new music, these songs were all basically written in the studio and recorded as "live" as possible with minimal overdubs...and in glorious analog.

You can stream the entire album on NPR right now:
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/03/172990757/first-listen-dave-grohl-friends-sound-city-real-to-reel

Album cover:


The participants include Stevie Nicks, Paul McCartney, Josh Homme (Queens of The Stone Age), Trent Reznor, Chris Goss (Masters Of Reality), Rick Springfield, Lee Ving (Fear), Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) and others.

Track listing:

1. Heaven And All- Robert Levon Been, Dave Grohl, Peter Hayes
2. Time Slowing Down- Chris Goss, Tim Commerford, Dave Grohl, Brad Wilk
3. You Can't Fix This- Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffee
4. The Man That Never Was- Rick Springfield, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear
5. Your Wife Is Calling- Lee Ving, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Alain Johannes, Pat Smear
6. From Can To Can't- Corey Taylor, Dave Grohl, Rick Nielsen, Scott Reeder
7. Centipede- Joshua Homme, Chris Goss, Dave Grohl, , Alain Johannes
8. A Trick With No Sleeve- Alain Johannes, Dave Grohl, Joshua Homme
9. Cut Me Some Slack- Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear
10. If I Were Me- Dave Grohl, Jessy Greene, Rami Jaffee, Jim Keltner
11. Mantra- Dave Grohl, Joshua Homme, Trent Reznor

I'll pick this up at some point I'd imagine. I've got mostly everything else Dave Grohl has been involved with so this shouldn't be any different.

You know ill be all over this and the documentry too

Been looking forward to this one. The documentary is great, too.

This is also being released on LP with a completely analog transfer for the truest representation of what that console can do.

I listened to the whole thing yesterday and I'm impressed. While I figured on picking this up at some point, it may turn out to be sooner instead of later.

S.D. wrote:

This is also being released on LP with a completely analog transfer for the truest representation of what that console can do.

I will be getting the overly compressed, overly loud cd version. The way the music business tells me it's supposed to sound.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I will be getting the overly compressed, overly loud cd version. The way the music business tells me it's supposed to sound.

Unfortunately your joke comment ended up being prophetic. The soundtrack CD only has a dynamic range of 6 db making it a typically brickwalled mess. All the talk about sound quality in the film and using that classic recording console...only to ruin it in the mastering process. Grohl (who should know better) should be ashamed.

The LP will be the way to go with this one.

S.D. wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I will be getting the overly compressed, overly loud cd version. The way the music business tells me it's supposed to sound.

Unfortunately your joke comment ended up being prophetic. The soundtrack CD only has a dynamic range of 6 db making it a typically brickwalled mess. All the talk about sound quality in the film and using that classic recording console...only to ruin it in the mastering process. Grohl (who should know better) should be ashamed.

The LP will be the way to go with this one.

Did you honestly think they wouldn't brickwall this for the cd version? Kidding or not on my end, it's becoming the norm unfortunately.

What surprises me is that artists are not taking a stand against the practice. This would be a perfect example where Dave, who would seem to have a little pull in the music industry and obviously cares about the product, should be able to say, "Waitaminnit guys. This isn't supposed to sound this way and I won't let it!"

MetalGuy71 wrote:

What surprises me is that artists are not taking a stand against the practice.

Some do (and have it written into their contracts) but not nearly enough. Unless the artist insists on being involved in the mastering session the engineer is going to go by what the record label dictates.

Has anyone else picked this up yet? I've been listening to it over and over again since I got it. It's a really great soundtrack. One of the best and most consistant ones I've heard since 'Singles'.

They did a marvelous job writing some memorable rock tracks. It's got a pretty impressive guest list too. The only song I don't care for as much is the "punk" track 'Wife Is Calling'. It's not a bad tune actually, just a little more abrasive than the rest of the songs on the album and makes it feel a little out of place on an otherwise melodic, more mellow album.

I have yet to watch the actual documentary, so I don't know how these songs on the soundtrack tie-in with the film, but as it stands, it's a winner.

Since it's been a slow-going year in new releases for me so far this year, I could see this album making my Top 10 for '13.

There is alot of footage in the documentary on the recording of these new songs, interspersed with remembrances from the artists. The first half of the documentary focuses on Sound City, then the last half is Dave buying the Neve console (after Sound City closed), installing it in his own recording studio and then recording this new material.

Cool I need to get both the sndtrk and the documentry

I wonder what Mr Grohl will do next?

I saw somewhere on another board how someone claimed Grohl as a hypocrite about ProTools because they claimed Nevermind was done on ProTools.

What I know of ProTools is that it wasn't even available until 1991 (Nevermind was recorded in 1991) and even then only in 4-track format and only thought of as an editing platform. It wasn't integrated into commercial studios and used for tracking/mixing etc until sometime around 1997 when the 24-track version came out.

I also Googled and got the bit of trivia that the very fist #1 single that was entirely tracked, mixed and mastered on ProTools was Ricky Martin's "Living La Vida Loca" in 1999.

Am I wrong? Was Nevermind done on ProTools?

I have no idea of the recording history of Nevermind, but even if it was done using ProTools, how does that make Grohl a hypocrite? How much say, if any, back then would he have on the recording and editing of any Nirvana tunes? He was just the drummer back then. Noone listens to them.

And let's say he did get on board with ProTools early on in it's developement. It was new technology (like synths in the 80's), so why not check it out and use it. Is he not allowed to say, "Yea, I used it but I don't like it so I go analog now."

Sounds like a silly argument to me.

Quote :

how does that make Grohl a hypocrite?

Just that he apparently goes on an anti-PT rant in that new documentary of his....

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Quote :

how does that make Grohl a hypocrite?

Just that he apparently goes on an anti-PT rant in that new documentary of his....

Eh, I just don't get it. I don't think it's a big deal that he may or may not have used it in the past and now says it sucks. Who cares, right?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Quote :

how does that make Grohl a hypocrite?

Just that he apparently goes on an anti-PT rant in that new documentary of his....

Eh, I just don't get it. I don't think it's a big deal that he may or may not have used it in the past and now says it sucks. Who cares, right?

How else would he know?

Grohl doesn't really go on an anti-Pro Tools rant (and he has a Pro Tools rig in his own studio), however there is discussion by a few different people in the film about how there is a mindset difference when you have unlimited virtual tracks to record on vs. having a finite 16 or 24 or 48 tracks. These days with digital recording you can keep adding and changing and tinkering with a song over and over. When you are recording with a 24track machine you have a limited amount of tracks to work with, so it forces you into the mindset of picking and choosing the most important elements to make the song work. It creates an urgency that many feel is lacking with today's recording technologies.

S.D. wrote:

Grohl doesn't really go on an anti-Pro Tools rant (and he has a Pro Tools rig in his own studio), however there is discussion by a few different people in the film about how there is a mindset difference when you have unlimited virtual tracks to record on vs. having a finite 16 or 24 or 48 tracks. These days with digital recording you can keep adding and changing and tinkering with a song over and over. When you are recording with a 24track machine you have a limited amount of tracks to work with, so it forces you into the mindset of picking and choosing the most important elements to make the song work. It creates an urgency that many feel is lacking with today's recording technologies.

Good point. Sometimes the feel is watered down when too much tinkering occurs. Technology is great and can be awe inspiring and sometimes it can sterilize the outcome when everything little thing is perfected. A fine line, indeed.

Finally watched the doc last night. I loved it. Sometimes I feel like I got into the wrong line of work because the music making process is very intriging to me. The tech end, while I might not understand all of it, is facinating.

All music fans should watch this just to see the love and care that went into the recording process and the musicans that really care about the product.