Draft:Weezer Recording Chronology: 2001: Difference between revisions

Draft:Weezer Recording Chronology: 2001 (view source)

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→‎The Green Album recording sessions, December 27, 2000–January 17, 2001

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 === ''The Green Album'' recording sessions, December 27, 2000–January 17, 2001 ===
+{{Main|Weezer (The Green Album)}}
+[[Image:Weezer The Green Album.jpg|Album cover|thumb|150px|right]]
+Starting on [[December 27]], [[2000]], the band, plus returning producer [[Ric Ocasek]] and engineers [[Ken Allardyce]], [[Alan Sanderson]], and [[Carlos Bedoya|Carlos "Loco" Bedoya]] recorded 21 songs at [[Cello Studios]], 10 of which making the album, and 7 being released as B-sides.
+Most of the below recordings started out as run-throughs by the band to get the drums and bass down, with the vocals and guitars being regarded as "scratch takes" and being re-taped, or in some cases, even taped over later. During recording, one of the assistant engineers would make DAT tapes of the day's work as backups, which were then copied over, where [[Karl Koch]] would make CDs of the sessions. In some cases, Koch was asked to make edits of the in-progress recordings so the band could test out different arrangements if needed (this process would go on far beyond recording wrapped up, with changes being made during or even after mastering in some instances).
+On [[January 31]], [[2001]], the individual tracks from the sessions at Cello would then be transferred into Lord-Alge's Pro Tools system in Miami for mixing. Mixing being done digitally allowed changes to be made to the tracks during mixing due to the unlimited amount of tracks at hand. Mastering initially took place on [[February 19]], though even more changes were taking place across different studios in Los Angeles, thus the mastering process was re-done several times, even during the band's [[Yahoo! Outloud Tour]] and extending into the band's [[Japan Tour (2001)|Japan tour]] that April, where Cuomo would be mailed mixes, masters, and album sequencings before they were finally finished later that month.
 {{Known recordings header}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Knock-down Drag-out]]||[[December 27]], [[2000]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Don't Let Go]]||[[December 27]], [[2000]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Knock-down Drag-out]]||[[December 28]], [[2000]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Don't Let Go]]||[[December 28]], [[2000]], [[February 1]], [[2001]]|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Don't Let Go]]||[[December 28]], [[2000]]–[[February 1]], [[2001]]|
 *[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA
 *South Beach Studios, Miami, FL|2:59|''[[Weezer (The Green Album)]]''|}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Cryin' and Lonely]]||[[December 28]], [[2000]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Break Up]]||[[December 28]], [[2000]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Simple Pages|Gimmie Some Love]]||[[December 28]], [[2000]], [[January 31]], [[2001]]|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Simple Pages|Gimmie Some Love]]||[[December 28]], [[2000]]–[[January 31]], [[2001]]|
 *[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA
 *South Beach Studios, Miami, FL|2:57|''[[Weezer (The Green Album)]]''|}}
@@ Line 25: / Line 33: @@
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Starlight]]||[[December 29]], [[2000]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Hash Pipe]]||[[December 29]], [[2000]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Oh Lisa]]||[[December 29]], [[2000]], [[February 1]], [[2001]]|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Oh Lisa]]||[[December 29]], [[2000]]–[[February 1]], [[2001]]|
 *[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA
 *South Beach Studios, Miami, FL|2:52|
@@ Line 38: / Line 46: @@
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Hash Pipe]]||[[December 30]], [[2000]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Crab]]||[[December 30]], [[2000]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Smile|Inside a Smile]]||[[December 30]], [[2000]], [[February 7]]–[[February 8]], [[2001]]|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Smile|Inside a Smile]]||[[December 30]], [[2000]]–[[February 8]], [[2001]]|
 *[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA
 *South Beach Studios, Miami, FL|2:39|''[[Weezer (The Green Album)]]''|}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Teenage Victory Song]]||[[December 30]], [[2000]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
 {{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Sugar Booger]]||[[December 30]], [[2000]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|4:04|"[[Island in the Sun]]" (UK retail CD #2)|}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Island in the Sun]]||[[January 1]], [[February 4]], [[2001]]|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Island in the Sun]]||[[January 1]]–[[February 4]], [[2001]]|
 *[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA
 *South Beach Studios, Miami, FL|4:04|''[[Weezer (The Green Album)]]''|}}
@@ Line 49: / Line 57: @@
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Hash Pipe]]||[[January 1]], [[2001]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[No More Disappointments]]||[[January 1]], [[2001]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Photograph|If You Want It]]||[[January 1]], [[January 19]], [[February 4]], [[2001]]|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Photograph|If You Want It]]||[[January 1]]–[[January 19]], [[February 4]], [[2001]]|
 *[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA
 *South Beach Studios, Miami, FL|||}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Crab]]||[[January 1]], [[2001]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[No More Disappointments]]||[[January 2]], [[2001]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[O Girlfriend]]||[[January 2]], [[February 4]], [[2001]]|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[O Girlfriend]]||[[January 2]]–[[February 4]], [[2001]]|
 *[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA
 *South Beach Studios, Miami, FL|3:50|''[[Weezer (The Green Album)]]''|}}
@@ Line 61: / Line 69: @@
 *???, Los Angeles, CA|3:07|''[[Weezer (The Green Album)]]''|}}
 {{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Knock-down Drag-out]]||[[January 2]], [[2001]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|2:09|''[[Weezer (The Green Album)]]''|}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Crab]]||[[January 2]], [[February 8]], [[2001]]|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Crab]]||[[January 2]]–[[February 8]], [[2001]]|
 *[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA
 *South Beach Studios, Miami, FL|2:35|''[[Weezer (The Green Album)]]''|}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Always]]||[[January 2]], [[January 20]], [[February 6]], [[2001]]|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Always]]||[[January 2]]–[[January 20]], [[February 6]], [[2001]]|
 *[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA
 *South Beach Studios, Miami, FL|2:05|
@@ Line 74: / Line 82: @@
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Starlight]]||[[January 3]], [[2001]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Break Up]]||[[January 3]], [[2001]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Teenage Victory Song]]||[[January 3]], [[February 5]], [[February 7]], [[2001]]|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Teenage Victory Song]]||[[January 3]]–[[February 7]], [[2001]]|
 *[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA
 *South Beach Studios, Miami, FL|3:04|
@@ Line 84: / Line 92: @@
 *"[[Hash Pipe]]" (UK retail CD single)
 *"[[Island in the Sun]]" (Japan retail CD single)|}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Glorious Day|Gonna Make My Move]]||[[January 6]], [[February 8]], [[2001]]|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Glorious Day|Gonna Make My Move]]||[[January 6]]–[[February 8]], [[2001]]|
 *[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA
 *South Beach Studios, Miami, FL|2:41|''[[Weezer (The Green Album)]]''|}}
 {{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|[[Always]]||[[January 7]], [[2001]]|[[Cello Studios]], Hollywood, CA|||Full-band version featuring Farfisa organ}}
-{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[I Do]]||[[January 17]], [[2001]]|Ocean Way Studios, Hollywood, CA|1:52|
+{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|[[I Do|New Song]]||[[January 17]], [[2001]]|Ocean Way Studios, Hollywood, CA|1:52|
 *"[[Hash Pipe]]" (US retail CD single/US retail 7")
 *"[[Hash Pipe]]" (international retail CD single)
-*''[[Weezer (The Green Album)]]'' (UK and Japan editions)|}}
+*''[[Weezer (The Green Album)]]'' (UK and Japan editions)|Later known as "I Do"}}
 {{Known recordings footer}}
+{{Karlification box|The Green Album was recorded At Cello Studios in Los Angeles, which used to be a part of Western Studios, where many albums were cut for artists in the 60's such as Frank Sinatra (1969's "Cycles"), the Mamas and The Papas and the Beach Boys, who recorded their masterpiece Pet Sounds there. The basic tracks were recorded to 2" 24 track analog tape, which was a challenge in today's day and age. the drums alone were miked up with over 10 microphones, each of which required a separate track. When one factors in the tracks required for bass guitar, rhythm guitar (often doubled in stereo or even tripled with a center track as well, lead guitar (also often doubled), guitar solos, and vocals, which generally required at least 3 tracks, it got pretty tight when it came time to add a spontaneous alternate guitar idea, or alternate vocal melody.
+(information as to what instruments and gear was used in the recording process is slated to be added to the "Equipment History" pages as soon as possible.)
+Anyway, over 20 master 2" reels were filled with various "takes" through out late December through the first 2 weeks of January. In some cases as many as 5 or 6 master takes were saved of a song, each representing a run through by the whole band of a song, that was deemed good enough to save. These run throughs were primarily for getting a perfect take of the drums, and where possible the bass guitar as well. Lead and rhythm guitars and Rivers's vocals were in there as well, but these parts were generally regarded as scratch takes - just there to fill out the sound as the band played the song as a whole. Later the guitars and vocals (and depending on the song, the bass) would be re-taped, using up free tracks until there wasnt enough to spare. Then, assuming they had gotten better takes of the bass and guitars, the original scratch tracks would be considered fair game for taping over with other things like the final vocals and such.
+Over the course of the recording, the assistant engineer would make DAT tapes of whatever was done that day, as safety back-ups and for reference. From these a "daily CD" was created by Karl, which was burned in whatever running order was popular that day, and each rough cd would range (as the recording went on) from songs that were in a very rough state to songs that had had a lot more work dont to them. The effect of listening to the CDs could be rather odd, as a polished sounding song would often lead into a rough instrumental of the next track.
+While recording was going on, Rivers was still writing, so in-studio demos would also be recorded, such as for "I Do". Also, Karl was sometimes instructed to do a rough edit of an in-process song on his computer, to help determine what it would sound like with or without a certain verse or solo or whatever. So these versions started to pile up as well.
+As the process went on this way, various early or rejected versions of the songs in progress would thus be preserved on the daily CDs. At the end of the recording process, Karl made a "best of the early versions" set of CDs, and destroyed the original "Daily CDs" (this wasn't ruining anything, as the masters were also on DATs and the 24 track tape. The concern was over the large amount of extra rough mix cds that started to pile up, and the possibility that one of them could slip out of the studio in the wrong pocket). The list below is drawn from this info, and represents every song that was worked on in this period, regardless of whether it actually got finished or made it to the album or whatever.
+While mixing the album in Miami Beach, additional recording work was done by "dumping" all 24 analog tracks of a song from L.A. into the Pro Tools computer based recording system, and with the unlimited additional space available in the digital realm, various last minute additional tracks were added as needed to try out small guitar touches, additional tries at getting the vocals better, or whatever was deemed necessary. When the song was truly finished in the recording phase, the digital tracks were all "flown" back down the hall via some really thick cables, back into Tom Lord-Alge's mixing desk, where he'd break it down and get to work. Often a song was completed late one night in the recording room, and a few hours later in the morning, Tom would show up and start work on the mix over in his mixing room. It was a hectic pace to say the least! The end result of the work in Miami was a pile of 1/2" digital mixdown tapes on reels.
+Compounding the sense of urgency was the upcoming Outloud Tour, which was starting by hell or high water on Feb 21st 2001.
+After Miami, the tapes went back to L.A. for mastering, the final process wherein the songs are put in order and given an overall E.Q. and such, so they sound cohesive as an album. However, during the short period between Miami and the start of the Outloud Tour, Rivers made a number of last minute changes and decisions, prompting work in some other L.A. studios to add touches here and there, and edit some songs, as well as do some B-side work. The mastering was re-done several times, even during the Outloud Tour. All during that tour and right up to the start of the following Japan tour, Rivers was listening to fed-exed in mixes, masterings and album sequences. In the end it wasnt over until well after the Outloud Tour was over, almost at the point when the band boarded the plane to Japan for the April tour. In the short period in L.A. before the Japan Tour started, Several more B-sides were polished up, and the running order and song choices of the album were finally made final.
+During the process of mastering, somewhere in April 2001, (when some songs were in fact still being edited and having last second mix fixes done), someone at a mastering studio thought he had the new weezer album and stole unfinished, incorrectly mastered copies of many of the soon to be released tracks, plus some tracks that were slated for b-side status. These tracks made it out as mp3s and were announced as "the new album", when in fact the order was wrong, the mixes were wrong, the mastering was wrong, and even what tracks that were included was wrong. It was a classic example of how difficult it was to keep an album under wraps in todays age of digital propagation and outright piracy, and led to a lot of unnecessary confusion. (the actual sessions were confusing enough as it was! In fact the wrong edit of "Always" even ended up on the UK single months later, due to some mislabelled masters.)|[https://web.archive.org/web/20140519062342if_/http://daveandnikolai.com/wzr/classic/03_Recording_History/WeezRecHist13.html Weezer Recording History, Page 13]}}