Overall, the album sounds less produced than Shangri-LA DEE DA. I still hear "pro-tools'' written all over songs like Hollywood Bitch and Wonderful, and I don't have that feeling with any of the new ones. I also feel like more of these songs will be playable in concert. The vocal effects and overdubs do not bother me. That's just how Scott is and has been for years now.
Yeah, there is a lot of editing going on. It's funny, sometimes I don't hear it, then someone mentions it, it's all you can hear. There's a Third Eye Blind record like that, especially you can hear the pitch correction all over the place on there.
Here's my question to Doug about layering from May of 2007, and Doug's response:
Me: I have noticed that Scott's main vocals have become increasingly layered, especially in Velvet Revolver, and I wondered if there was any particular reason? He has a very strong voice when he doesn't layer, such as Slither, or early STP.
Doug: You know I was just telling this singer that I'm working with today(I'm in a session right now) that I hate the fact that sw has gotten way into layers and layers of vox tracks. Harmonies and doubles of melodies. We end up with like 20 vox tracks sometimes. He's just gotten into it really in the last 4 or 5 years. I think it's cause he would rather have fun experimenting with BG vocals then do the hard work singing a really brilliant single lead vocal. There is nothing better the one really wel sung lead vocal. But its hard work. Harmonies are easier and funner for him. He also thinks it sounds "bigger" to have that many tracks but its actually the opposite in my opinion.
On this new VR record you will hear a lot less of that vocal layering. For 2 reasons. 1 Brendons back and he's better at telling sw things he's not wanting to hear then I am. And 2) I think he's just getting away from it naturally. He's realizing that more is not really better.
