Musicians: Should they be whipped or gently nurtured?

[babycart Baldhead Growler Find all posts View Profile Close babycart]

The Beatles released 12 lps and a couple of eps in roughly eight years. In the same time, Oasis made five, most of which were shit.
Obviously much of that was because people couldn´t get enough of the Beatles, and they started out in an era when pop hadn´t crossed over to rock and AOR. They must have signed contracts guaranteeing a certain rate of product as well.
But it seems that in the 70s an album a year was pretty standard, even for artier groups such as Soft Machine, whereas over the last couple of decades artists seem to get given much longer to hone and polish their artistic statements.


Do creative artists work better under the whip, with deadlines and contractual penalties, or are they better off left to their own devices? I´m beginning to suspect the former is the case.

[ginghamkitchen Cliff Pilchard Find all posts View Profile Close ginghamkitchen]

It's worse now because they all know they've probably got forty or fifty year careers ahead of them. Oasis are apparently about to reform, having split up, what, about six weeks ago? Musicians need poking with sticks to churn stuff out - there's too much focus on spending years putting together a magnum opus instead of just concentrating on the everyday business of banging out tunes. If The Beatles had gone at the current rate, they would have released 'Abbey Road' in 1986 and it would have a load of syndrums and Pino Palladino bass lines on it.

Cue tiresomely predictable Beatle hater comments about how that would have been better.

[Xann Ugly Custard Find all posts View Profile Close Xann]

My personal experience is that bands with tighter budgets and deadlines made better albums.

Given too long to make an album, listening to tracks again and again knocks objectivity. People get bored and tweak unnecessarily.

Though it also depends on the individuals involved I think.

[alanmck Jazz Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close alanmck]

...Pino Palladino bass lines on it.

now that, I'd like to hear...

[ginghamkitchen Cliff Pilchard Find all posts View Profile Close ginghamkitchen]

[Paul-K aka Eric Adams Find all posts View Profile Close Paul-K]

the tighter the deadlines and the less equipment to mess about with makes people get the best with what they have got. Take Hendrix for example. 3 albums in 2 years under Chas Chandler, though he left half way though the second year. then after that he just doodled in the studio.
i think musicians need to be prodded, but then after 3 years left alone for a bit.

[jb stanislas Animated Egg Find all posts View Profile Close jb stanislas]

I think if you give them contractual obligations and deadlines to make a certain number of lp's, you end up with records composed entirely of white noise like Metal Machine Music.

[ginghamkitchen Cliff Pilchard Find all posts View Profile Close ginghamkitchen]

I think if you give them contractual obligations and deadlines to make a certain number of lp's, you end up with records composed entirely of white noise like Metal Machine Music.

That happened ONCE.

[babycart Baldhead Growler Find all posts View Profile Close babycart]

I think if you give them contractual obligations and deadlines to make a certain number of lp's, you end up with records composed entirely of white noise like Metal Machine Music.

Or endless noodly funk jams by prince. or an entire series of library records.

It´s interesting though. Presumably in 1973 not many people in the music press thought "Oh Christ, not another Soft Machine lp, that´s the second this year", but they´d be seen as a psychedelic sausage factory by today´s standards

[Paul-K aka Eric Adams Find all posts View Profile Close Paul-K]

Its interesting what got released as contractural obligations. it just wouldnt happen now unless it was on private labels or online.
imagine a Katy Perry jam album? or a Coldplay jam album...

[eine Lonely Jelly Find all posts View Profile Close eine]

Savagely whipped and then gently stroked and then savagely whipped and then firmly held and whispered to. It's the English way.

[medlar Chocolate Rain Find all posts View Profile Close medlar]

Let's ask the might Quo, who cannily managed to make the same album over and over again, thereby sustaining a long and successful career.

[ginghamkitchen Cliff Pilchard Find all posts View Profile Close ginghamkitchen]

I like the fact that Quo, fifty years in, have recently made their first feature film.

Bula Quo

Looks good.

[medlar Chocolate Rain Find all posts View Profile Close medlar]

Francis Rossi said, "Making the film in Fiji was a fantastic experience and we couldn't help but be inspired by our surroundings. We had no plans to write an album as well as filming our parts for the movie, it just happened."

[Sie Vulture Zapatta Schmidt Find all posts View Profile Close Sie Vulture]

Thanks GK for posting my favourite Alan Partridge clip.