shut up and listen

Distorted drums/percussion intro for one bar off to the left slightly – tambourine, snare/timbale, kick or tom thud. Bass joins in – busy and constant (like Billie Jean).

Strange owl like hoot off to the right occurring just the once on the 3rd bar…

When lead vocal comes in the bass drops out, replaced by electric guitar riff, EQed to sound like a radio with slight distortion. Vocal is hard right with a EQed double on the left, hard to hear at first but it gets louder and is easily heard in the chorus.

Chorus: elec gtr drops out, bass returns with new riff, real kick comes in with steady beat, keys stabbing double time on the beat, hard right. Lead vocal is doubled, as described above.

Second verse, the intro/verse/chorus pattern repeats: bass and percussion intro but this time real kick remains, with bursts of elc gtr panned hard left and double hard right, verse (bass and kick drop out, elc gtr comes in) chorus (bass returns, gtr drops out, keys stabbing)

Instrumental break: drums are less intense although real kick remains, bass riff from intro returns, elec guitar solos in bursts – panned right but shadowed by a double or verbed version off to the left.

Verse 3 breaks the pattern of first two slightly; starts with just the percussion and guitar riff, fuller and thicker than previous verses, lead vocal with EQed double comes in after 2 bars with a tambourine/lagerphone rattle on the off beats, a second guitar part, thinner and sharper, reinforces the first riff. The vocal(s) pause for a bar before completing the verse, at which point main gtr drops out as well as some percussion to increase the impact of final chorus.

Final chorus: as before (bass returns, gtr drops out, keys stabbing). Ends with intro bass riff, guitar bursts to the left, guitar riff ‘looping’, interspersed with vocals ‘Blood makes noise’. Fades out for 30 seconds – which is a long fade considering the whole song is only 2 and a half minutes!

Overall a very textural production. All instruments, including vocals, have been treated in some way to change their tonal character. Heavy use of the stereo field to help separate elements. It makes what is essentially a two part song (verse and chorus) much more interesting with the very first percussive intro grabbing the listener’s interest and then constantly switching the elements throughout. (By ‘switching’ I mean elements are either in or out. Nothing fades in or out nor does anything move across the stereo field.)

Opens with 2 bars of the simplest drum beat, and yet somehow it sounds so original. Think about it – how many bands, with a typical drum sound, would dare start a song with just drums playing 2 bars of this beat? It’s hard to identify but this drum intro sounds unique somehow… it’s just kick, snare and hats playing a straight 4/4 beat but that kick and that snare are so recognisable as being Billie Jean.

Then the ‘cat on the prowl’ bass line enters with a shaker on the off beats panned right. On the 5th bar of this there is a little whispered vocal ‘chicka chicka’ that is echoed and rapidly panned from left to right. Another 4 bars of just bass and drums and then the keyboard stabs enter, reinforcing the tonic note of the bass line. The stabs sound somewhere between an organ and backing vocals, probably a synth effect. They are back in the mix thanks to a generous serve of reverb.

When the lead vocal enters (30 seconds into the song!) it begins with stuttering hiccups and gasps which then punctuate the vocal throughout. High frequency reverb on the vocal which makes the sibilant words splash in the background; on ‘She’, ‘scene‘ and ‘said’ of the first two lines – ‘She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene, I said don’t mind, but what do you mean I am the one’. The next line ‘Who will dance on the floor in the round’ is harmonised with falsetto vocals hard left. And again for the final line of the verse.

Another verse the same as above and then the bridge. The bridge features the removal of the synth stabs being replaced by slow string swells, horn counterpoint panned right, whipcrack with reverb, and falsetto backing vocals building to the climax of the chorus.

The chorus is musically the same as the verse but with a new vocal melody. The instrumentation gets fuller for the chorus – the stabs hold for longer, a hand clap joins the snare, plus two hit tom fills, funk electric guitar and a doubled lead vocal. There are several vocal overdubs overlapping ‘hee hee’s and ‘no, no, no’ and they are either hard panned or pushed back in the mix sounding a little thinner (EQ).

The next set of verses feature a new synth part that reinforces the vocal and chord change. The vocal gets a bit more sophisticated with a new melody for ‘just remember to always think twice’ getting the falsetto double treatment and then the line ‘Do think twice’ appearing hard left, EQed to sound like a radio voice.

The next bridge has a high string part panned left and no horn counterpoint. The following chorus also has new string parts. The repeat chorus has a new funk guitar part and high horns (synth?) in counterpoint.

The instrumental break features the funk guitar that first appeared in the previous chorus, brought to the front of the mix, reverbed. High string stabs play counterpoint with the guitar solo.

The guitar stays for the rest of the song but drops back in the mix for the vocal to sing out the final choruses. Lots of vocal hiccups and ‘woo’s in the background scattered around the stereo field. The first line of the chorus then gets repeated like a loop ‘Billie Jean is not my lover’ with the funk guitar repeating the solo as the track fades out. A few ad lib vocals add interest to the fade out.

Overall quite a minimal track in terms of instrumental material. It is very clear – everything is easily heard, which i think is due to the bass line being almost the hook, so a lot of space has been left in the mix in order for us to hear every note of a busy bass line.

Notes: Apparently Quincy Jones didn’t like this song and argued for it to be left off Thriller. He also argued with Jackson over taking full production credit – apparently the demo Jackson did on his own sounds very similar to the finished Jones version so Jackson felt he deserved a co-production credit. Also, legend has it Jones got Jackson to sing vocal overdubs through a long cardboard tube – but i reckon that radio effect on ‘Do think twice’ is EQ. Lastly, it was apparently mixed 91 times by Bruce Swedien when usually he only mixes a song once – I dunno, sounds like Wikipedia bullshit to me.

Intro begins with thick vocal harmonies separated with hard stereo panning. Lead vocal enters in the centre with piano (slightly to the left) and bass guitar. Second block of harmonies (with piano and bass) are joined by drums with the floor tom panned left. Last part of the intro features lead vocal, bass and most drums in the centre, piano to the left, hi hats to the right. The last word of ‘I want to ride my bicycle’ is doubled with a falsetto and has reverb and a triangle hit panned right.

Verses feature a call and response pattern interspersed with stabbing drums, piano and bass marking the beat. The call ‘You say black’ etc. is a doubled ‘backing’ vocal while the lead vocal responds ‘I say white’ etc. There is quite a difference in sound between the call and response. The call sounds distant, a bit to the left and thickened by the doubling, almost like a chorus of voices while the lead vocal is very present and up front, with reverb panned right. It is almost call is on the left and response is on the right but not quite.

The chorus is musically the same as the intro but fuller with more strident piano and subtle electric guitar back in the mix.

The middle section switches time signature and features big droning guitar chords and piano flourishes before climaxing with lead guitar warbles and a nice bit of stereo backing vocal action; ‘Bi -‘ on the left is responded to with ‘cycle race’ on the right, the ‘Bi’s climbing three steps.

Another chorus but this time featuring a decelerando (slowing down) – technically a Rallentando.

A moment’s silence then a bicycle bell ‘solo’. Its actually several bells, carefully pitched and placed around the stereo field. The playing is timed without being rhythmic so that they build up to a crescendo. Then the electric guitar solo enters, with calls on the left and responses on the right. The drums and bass re enter as the solo calls and responses keep shortening in length to reach a climax.

Second verse much like the first but with electric guitar featuring more, as well as backing vocal accents as it builds to the final climactic chorus. Songs ends with the last part of the chorus acting like a coda with muted electric guitar line and finishing on the word ‘bicycle’ in falsetto and triangle hit.

Overall a very intricate and ornate production with a great deal of stereo placement. The call and response nature of the verses and guitar solo is emphasised by hard panning in the mix.

Booming drum introduction with a cracking snare. Boom. Ba-Boom. Crack! Boom. Ba-Boom. Crack! Shows off the big reverb sound that is characteristic of Spector productions and was totally unique at the time.

The overall effect is a BIG sound but with an ‘over there’ distant quality. When the other instruments all come in after the intro the instrumentation becomes hard to identify as everything gets a bit swallowed and blurred. There’s piano, strings, acoustic guitars maybe, bass of some sort and lots of percussion (castanets, tambourine, shakers, hand claps etc). Horns enter in the pre chorus. Backing vocals enter in the chorus and continue in the second verse as wordless oohs and ahhs. The instrumental break is lead by strings and includes oohs and ahhs backing vox.

Just before the climax of final choruses that fade out, everything stops and the drum intro is repeated. It’s a clever way to recycle the striking intro and remind us of the unique reverb sound of the song, and to set us up for the climax of the song.

As the climax fades out several drum fills are played. In fact the drums in this track are almost a lead instrument – the thumping heartbeat intro, the castanets, the cracking snare filling in the spaces between vocal lines in the first verse, the tumbling tom fill leading into the chorus, the steady beat that pins down the choruses, and finally the sputtering tom fills during the fading climax. Certainly in the mix the drums are given a lot of emphasis, often competing with the lead vocal.

The lead vocal also sounds distant but every word of the lyric is intelligible – as are the harmonised backing vocals. The lead vocal is absolutely belted out and the recording seems to be straining to contain it. Listen to the second verse Oh, since the day I saw you and how those high notes seem on the verge of distortion. And yet she still sounds like she’s way ‘over there’ somewhere, quite at odds with the close mic crooning of Sinatra and co. from the previous decade.

Begins with drums (tom fill) EQed to be soft and deep, a gentle tumbling intro to the song. Early 80s jangly guitar folk/rock.

Despite usual ingredients (electric guitar, bass and drums) it has a softness to it. The guitars have been recorded in such a way that the plectrum on the strings is a present sound, providing a rhythmic element. Distant (reverbed) wooden percussion enters in second verse. The reverb on drums is most noticeable in the bridge section when the guitars pause with single strums; Who you trying to get in touch with? snare/tambourine hit. In this bridge section the acoustic guitar strum stands out, panned left, and is responded to with an electric guitar strum panned right – call and response. Thin 60s electric guitar sound.

Apart from the bridges, the dynamics are fairly constant throughout. A noticeable use of hi hats and ride cymbal to raise energy levels. There is a lead in chorus for the final chorus repeats where the drums and bass drop out then build up to re enter.

The most remarkable thing about the track is the low baritone vocal. The first note is a low G ‘See…‘ (although I think there’s a low E in there too – ‘See the chains WHICH bind the men’). Such low singing is usually notoriously low in volume and in a live situation quite difficult to lift above a guitar/bass/drums ensemble. In this recording it sits perfectly above all the instruments so it has been carefully recorded and must have been compressed. In the middle chorus where the bass and drums drop out the singing sounds almost whispered or muttered, as if being told a secret. There is no really strident singing, even in the backing vocals during the main choruses. There is subtle doubling and harmonising throughout all the singing.

This makes the choice of a nylon string spanish guitar for the solo interesting, in that it is also an instrument of low volume and in that way is a perfect mirror and replacement for the lead vocal – even though it covers a much wider range of notes (interestingly, the chord sequence during the solo is different to the rest of the song).

Overall a controlled production that maintains interest despite minimal dynamics and a wall of jangly guitar almost from start to finish. For me, it is compelling to hear low volume instruments (soft low singing and nylon string acoustic guitar) sitting on top of electric rock instruments (guitar bass drums).

Notes: it is difficult to say that this sounds typical of Bob Clearmountain productions because he is deliberately trying to avoid having a signature sound. He aims to have each mix sound as if the artist has mixed it themselves. What’s interesting about this Church track and the album Clearmountain did for them is that it is a band favourite for its clarity of production while still being complex and intricate. In actual fact, nowadays the Church self produce their recordings so they have ended up literally mixing themselves.