Making Records with Eric Valentine - "What's Going On"
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- In this episode, I do a deep dive into the multitrack master of the Marvin Gaye classic "What's Going On" and discuss its enduring, poignant, relevance nearly 50 years after its release.
Eric don't be upset at what people say or worry about their expectations of you. I think that you're are one of the most authentic, honest and giving voices on UA-cam. Clearly, the world is hurting right now and needs to heal, but well-intentioned music has amazing healing powers and brings together different communities in a way that no other medium can, when it's given the chance. You truly have a gift for communicating the heart of music in a way that transcends the buttons, knobs and gear. Thank you and please keep on doing what you do!
Amen!
You said it!
Forgive me, what was the then-current event that was being referenced?
@@sirkayda7205 This episode was released in the midst of the riots that were triggered by the death of George Floyd.
James Jamerson nailed that song. What an amazing Bassist. Greatest of all of Times. 32:21
Eric, thank you so much for this. One of the world's greatest recorded songs, a deep dive by one of the world's greatest engineers, and a postscript of beautiful and heartfelt thoughts. As many have said below, this is true gold.
Great breakdown Eric of both the technical stuff and the message of the song. Thanks so much for all you do.
I dig it, great ep
Wonderful stuff Eric
That was a great class, thank you professor.
love your videos Eric :)
Here's a thought: If this was 10 years ago how long would it take someone to get the information that is being shared on this channel? Several lifetimes I think unless you got extremely lucky to meet and work with someone at Eric's level which I'm sure would be a dream come true for everyone interested in audio.
And yet here's someone who's sharing all this hard earned knowledge that takes so much trial error and countless hours and sweat to arrive at, so openly and....FOR FREE! This is so crazy that it boggles my mind and raises the bar for me in so many ways. Eric your channel is truly amazing and inspiring not only musically/technically but on a human level as well and I can't thank you enough for this! Keep on making records Mr Valentine!
I was thinking the same thing. Really lucky to be living in a time like this. Love finding out these audio details!!
true. f*cking. story.
The effect of this album cannot be fully explained today. It was like a giant pause button in American music. It was a complete one off. Nothing ever sounded like it before or since. It played everywhere. like background music it was ambient. It’s the first mix I ever paid attention to as a kid. So much going on at one time . I’d follow every instrument through the song over and over till I knew them by heart so this video touched quite a nerve.
Yours is the only UA-cam channel I have upload notifications on for. Thanks for this GOLD 😁
Eric man, you're such a solid human. Motown should do a 'Valentine' re-release mix!
agreed! straight to vinyl ! no loudeness war digital ;) that'd be ace.
Chills at the isolated vocals. I don't know if there's anyone who had a purer voice. The intonation, the tone, the expressiveness, the articulation. Wow.
I’m fairly sure that the second percussion track is Marvin Gaye playing cajon
Unreal. My favorite song being put under the EV microscope. I'm taking the morning off to savor.
You know, I find it usually to be pretty predatorial and tactless to dissect other people‘s multi tracks on youtube.
I really like that you stick to material that you have a strong personal relationship with.
And you keep it super respectful and your excitement is pretty amazing to watch!
This episode was a treat!
To hear this iconic song I grew up with, broken down into its individual parts and musically and technically analyzed is totally amazing. Thank you Eric, really, Thank you!
Holy cow! Those strings are INCREDIBLE!
Great breakdown Eric, thanks so very much.
Edit: I'm downloading this one just in case!
Thank you Eric.
It sounds like that piano was a guide for the background vocals.
One of the greatest songs of all time from one of the greatest albums of all time.
I always felt the verse and pre-chorus is so much stronger melodically than the chorus, which means it can' quite be a "perfect song" ..at least by this criteria
@@bradmodd7856 Feel the same way about I Say A Little Prayer. however, the key change in Whats Going On takes the song to another level, acting more like a "chorus" in a way.
Is there ANY chance...and chance at all...of having the stems made available?
Hi Eric crazy idea. Perhaps you could offer your services to this community in let's say blocks of 15 minutes to give mix feedback. I'm sure lot's of us would be interested in your unfiltered thoughts/advice about our mixes. I'm imagining something like a short paragraph of mix notes. You could also give feedback on individual sounds, drum tones/vocal sounds etc if required. Even production advice. Just a thought. I'd easily pay for something like that.
ERIC, WHAT A LESSON! Not only about music, not only about engineering...
ua-cam.com/video/3uW7hZLoWsQ/v-deo.html: @ 15'18" of this video, the five channels line amplifier used to record bass and guitars and keys can be seen... How amazing! The SOS article reports highest levels were dialed in @ 0 VU for "fidelity"... I wouldn't describe the Jamerson bass sound "hi-fi", rather simply fantastic! Eric, do you think the tone control was rolled off on the instrument? Also... wasn't a (now) fancy D.I. box also involved @ Motown, something called the Wolfbox (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfbox)? I have built one myself out of an old Bogen xfrmr with similar specs and man! it is a cool sounding solution.
5:30 I was amazed to discover that I once actually lived in the same house in Topanga Canyon that Marvin Gaye lived in-up on Skyhawk (which used to be called Everdin). There are some pictures online of Marvin in that very distinctive wedge-shaped house. Most beautiful place I ever lived! I understand one of The Eagles used to live in that house, too, at one point.
Wow! so cool! I've seen those pictures when searching for Marvin Gaye Topanga pics on the internet. I wasn't sure if those were actually him in his Topanga house. I am very grateful to have landed in Topanga at this point in my life. It is a truly wonderful place to live :) Grace and I just did a live stream on the whole musical history of Topanga on Monday. Its gonna get pulled down soon but you can check it out here.... ua-cam.com/video/Zn8jPANm9Tg/v-deo.html
That coffee shop on sunset across from the 7-11 by sunset sound used to be his studio.
@@mrwev Where can I find the Livestream on the history of Topanga, has it been taken down?
Thanks Eric. Makes me wonder what my music could be with you producing
This is such a beautiful video - thank you! If you are open to questions, I would love to know (1) did you do the volume balances first, before adding any reverbs/EQ etc? And (2) did they not use delays at all in those days, only reverbs?
Many thanks if you have time to answer. Also I heard from another source that the piano track which you muted sounds a lot like a guide track for the vocal harmonies - having led choirs from a piano, I can confirm it does sound just like that - so maybe they recorded that for the singers’ headphones when they added the harmony vocal track, and then muted it (as you did) for the final mix?
Thanks again for your humble and respectful analysis here. I enjoyed it a lot!
Cool video. I'm from Detroit and studied with Ed Wolfrum as well as played with some of the guys on those tracks. Ed designed and built the DI's for Motown Studio and many local studios used them during that period. I have a few DI's built by him . Ed died last year, but if you haven't checked him out you should. As far as I know was one of the engineers on those sessions at United Sound. He always swore up and down that it wasn't the gear they had but the amazing players (the Funk Brothers). There are some other Multitrack's that he shared with me from those sessions as well. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall back then. ED WOLFRUM RIP.
Hey Eric, not sure if you've seen these, but Iron Age Audio Works just released their clone of the Siemens EQs in 500 series format. You can find some discussion of what went into it over at the realgearonline forums. The design criteria was "a hardware version of Sie-Q!"
www.ironageaudioworks.com/lh95
Loved this. With the release of the Detroit Mixes of this album, wondered if you could do a revisit and compare the two versions? I personally love the Detroit Mixes. Just a totally different perspective.
Great episode and pics of Marvin. I am currently working on a solo project with Marvin's old roommate and brother-in-law GC Cameron from the Spinners. They were both married to Berry Gordy's sisters when Motown moved from Detroit to LA. GC has some great stories from those times and still has an amazing voice. I've been using a lot of your mixing and mastering techniques so far on the tracks we've completed. As always, thanks for sharing Eric!
Guitar could of been gated with some manual fader riding flicks and recorded to another track. Just a guess. Done similiar with my switch mixer on old breaks.
dont forget the point of view Marvin was writing from, a young black man in the 60s who happened to be gay
he was an outcast in many ways so him asking "whats going on" takes on a different effect in some way
Ahhhhhh... finally, a "What makes this song great" UA-cam video that really hits on what makes the song so great. Beautifully and eloquently expressed, Eric! And of course timely. At the end of the video you just hit it out of the paaaaaaark, short and sweet by focusing on the lyric.... the driving motivation behind this song/recording....... what's all that recording and musicianship for??!?? After all the (totally important and interesting, but secondary) "nerdy" stuff is analyzed you get down to what it's ALWAYS really about (or should be!): the driving motivation behind great music: the human experience... expressing something that needs to be expressed. Without that, we're just making purposeless noise (by comparison anyway). Thanks for this, man. I think we can't ever be reminded enough about this stuff.
It's so tempting and easy to get caught up in the technical aspects of what we do... treating music as purely a physical/athletic and/or almost scientific endeavor... but those things are there to serve the what is deeper: what is psychological... spiritual... the soul and humanity of our experiences as people... communication and expression... and music can amplify and give so much detail to what is otherwise so often impossible to express any other way............ The tools are just the tools (and I love gear).... it's about what we're making and why we're making it that matters.... that line, SUNG (like that!) with all that beautiful music PLAYED and RECORDED and MIXED like THAT!... and bam: art... the kind that stands the test of time... "Talk to me, so you can see.... oh, what's going on".
So good.
Wow..Thanks Eric.. again...Hearing James Jamerson like that always makes me emotional.. and this whole thing you did here was on another level.Much thanks
Where you are wrong, is that you can hear the piano and the song. If you put on a pair of headphones you can definitely hear it in the beginning where he says Mother mother you, you can hear it. You just have to listen for it. It kicks off the a section of the song.
Thx for all your videos and information you share with us. What I want to know is who the hell down voted?
Did they play with a click track
Of course no quantize
Eric, I can only hope that you have some idea of how thankful we are to you for having taken your time, experience and expertise to recreate this session. So informative and delightful. I am wondering if in mastering they added a high shelf which may explain the high end you had to add on individual tracks to match. Sending much love and good vibes your way. You rock !
Thanks for this! Just amazing on so many levels.
This was killer! Thanks for the breakdown on this.. Too cool. 😎
Thanks for that man! Absolutely brilliant... it'd be interesting if we could hear a mix of the raw master tracks by themselves, no eqs or reverbs, just to hear how it was tracked in the studio
Incredible. Thanks for the insights 🙏🏻
Are these stems available anywhere so we can try to mix along with you?
Eric couldnt help adding some punch to the snare.. :)
Omg omg omg. This top 3 greatest mixing and mastering video! Your knowledge is vast and explanations are clear and consise! Its as if i wasnt hearing music before!!! You my friend are a diamond and this video is gold!
Much love and thank you from the bottom of my heart!
My friends please go high on the friendly skys and listen to the album, whats going on in full AFTER this video. It is magical and will give u an experience like never before. My mixes have already improved thanks to the IDEAS presented! Your love of music reminded me of me. Many wouldnt understand the sheer gorgeousness you so beautiful covered! Music makes tho; we can hear just how wonderful the masters truly were! Just add a bunch of air. Lighten shit up. Its like these mfs just had a “sound good preset” (obvs for THEIR stuff).
I want to learn your famous mono drum mic technique!!!!
Utterly fascinating. Thx so much...
Where you can find multitracks? :)
In my opinion, vocals way too forward in your mix. A tad less on the voxbus fader or @1k-ish. Otherwise what a great exercise. Thx.
I’ve watched all of your videos and clearly you care deeply, think deeply and move people deeply. One of your best. Those solo tracks were amazing. Once again another great mix of your own. Thanks.
Thank you for this episode! "What's Going on" is one of the pinnacles of sound recordings. As I remember, Bob Olhsson wrote on a now defunct forum, he was the one setting up mic's for this session.
Was just wondering when we'd see another one of these.
that unplugged guitar is renaldo benson playing.
Is there a link for the Neumann episode that's referred to?
Another exceptional session with EV. How cool to be able to go back and dig into the raw tracks of such a classic recording. Thanks for doing this, and thanks for sharing your insights, Eric!
Amazing Eric thanks ! I realize how they all counterpart in a steady way, but the lead force here, the free audacious part ( beside the voice) is unusually: the marvelous inebriated genius on the floor: BASS ! they hired him to be free, filling in marvelously, waving in strong in the center. I can't now HEAR how Marvin Gaye himself pushed hard to go find Jamerson and have him here.
Hi Eric, I do not want to be unpolite (far from my mind).
I'm sound engineer since 40 years ago (I'm 60 nowadays), and I have experienced the same "effect" as you depicts on your multitrack.
Let me explain: In almost all the tracks you need to add several db at high freq, but (as in the snare) when it hits harder they need to be "controlled".... Have you considered that the transfer from tape to PT has been done with DOLBY ON ?: This is EXACTLY the behaviour. Loss of high's, and when equalised if the volume is raised then the sound becomes harsher.
I don't know if I'm explain correctly, but i suggest to you that if you have the opportunity, try (at least) to "ENCODE" the "acoustic" guitar or the drum track and record to another track and listen to.
By the way: No noise gate at that years. This is another side effect of decode whith DOLBY a non encoded audio track.
Besides that, your taste and heart for the music is absolutely nice.
Great job !
Thank you for the comment! This is a very interesting point! I had not considered the possibility that these tracks could have been "Decoded" without having originally been "Encoded". I agree that it would explain a lot of what is being heard here. I have mostly heard old masters that have been encoded with dolby but then NOT decoded when transfered. That is the more typical mistake and I'm more familiar with that sound, which sometimes is not so bad :)
Wow x10 and wow to the path of communication. You hear these mixes and think there’s something really, really special and yes, of course there is, yes, the gear & method, then the story behind them, which is awesome too, then the choices & compromises made but, what begins to shine for me as you unlock each track is the sheer magic unfolding on every take when human beings come together in this way. As we reach for endless Plug ins, outboard with endless possibilities at our finger tips & mostly, within our grasp, who would consider dragging over a drunken Bass player after a gig, if you could find anyone doing a gig that is, to replace another & lay him on his back to record. We are all slowly building our own bubbles & this video is a truly marvellous insight as to “What’s Going On” PS Eric, try a squeezed lemon in fresh pint of mineral water with just under a level teaspoon of good quality bicarbonate of soda. Also try two tablespoons of organic Apple Cider Vinegar (must have the mother in it so cloudy) neat if you can or with a little water. It’ll sort your acidic reflux.
Nice mix breakdown.
Great show, just sub'd, thanx !!
This is so good on every level. I just love watching Eric, his passion is so clear.
This is wonderful. Thank you
Hi Eric, as a fellow record producer, can I just say how much I enjoyed this video. I have always wanted to hear the breakdown of Marvin's 'Whats Going On' as I heard that a Pro tools copy of it was in circulation. I must say you approached the subject matter with great care, attention and respect and I loved seeing and hearing the breakdown of the arrangement. Well done!
Thank you so much Eric, just like everyone here we love what you do! For the nerds, can you do a video on just your Studer j37? Would love to see and here stuff from your perspective
Damn that solo vocal track is crazy smooth
Great video. Thanks!!
How can i get the stems dude ? put a link up ! how did u get them ? PS love ur vids man keep up the good work , so many people doing what you do and i have to say they bore me your a God of sound man love ur tips . Itrs very cool what you share , saying that you have some ears that not many can dream about . if you love what u do and get $ 4 it well life is good hey brother . keep safe . And share the stems I want to play to .;)
I was wondering the same thing, where do you get the Motown multi-tracks from?
The Valentine hang ...like a great meal at your favorite restaurant :)
Dolby seems to be the first noise reduction system, from 1965.
I found a link with direct reference to Motown that might interest: soulfuldetroit.com/archives/1/654.html?1021570291
Wow! thank you for sharing this link. This is a goldmine of info from Mike McClean himself. Very Coo!
That was amazing. I would love to see you do a full blown Eric Valentine production of those multi-tracks as if you received that recording as a brand new unknown artist. I understand the need to respect masterpieces as nobody would allow someone to paint over the original Mona Lisa but I can only imagine how you would fatten up those drums and add magic to the rest of the parts.
Brilliant video and a genuinely great social message. It was also refreshingly free any virtue signalling or attempts at personal status building. A genuine, honest humble engagement with this topic through a beautiful, inclusive, non-didactic and hopeful song.
There's so much vibe ( no not the instrument ;-) ) going on, incredible.
Great breakdown Eric. And your ending words were economic but packed with truth
Amazing... do you think any compressors were used during tracking or mix/mastering?
It sounds to me like the lead vocals were compressed and the whole mix was compressed but that's about it. It seems they mostly left the dynamics alone. Good question!
@@mrwev Probably an LA2A on the vox and... Fairchild on the mix?
Awesome stuff! that BASS!!! I would love to see more recordings made like this.
Hi Eric, great video as always, would you kindly tell us what you put on the mixbuss since you forgot to address that? Thanks!
P.S: I did this same mix recreation attempt just one week ago, incredible coincidence! Take care!
Oh yeah!! I totally forgot to mention that! It was my modified pair of Altec 436Cs. They sounded the closest to whatever they were using. The UnFairchild sounded really sweet as well but it was not as similar to theirs.
@@mrwev perfect, thank you !!
great work Eric!! it seems that the piano is a guide for BGV do you know what kind of ribbon did they use for the strings? greetings from Chile
A couple folks have suggested that the piano was a BGV guide. That makes a lot of sense considering the singing group :) I haven't seen any mention of a specific ribbon mic that was used for the strings in Detroit. On the contrary, Ken Sands says they used U67s for almost everything. I was just going by what my ears were telling me. I did see a comment from Mike McClean that after they moved to LA they were using KU-3As for strings at a scoring stage called Todd-AO. There are 3 ribbon mics that have worked amazing for strings for me... RCA KU-3A, RCA 77DX or the Coles 4038.
The harmony between the strings, 2nd vocal and sax is simply wonderful, it is very interesting how the high notes of the chords are imitated and overlapped without duplicating the melodies and the rhythmic resources, very similar to what Marvin did with the dubbing. again thank you so much! these videos are very inspiring
Thumbs down?!
Eric this is amazing thanks so much! This a shot in the dark, but if there’s any possibility you could do a breakdown of anything off Pet Sounds that would be the #1 thing I’d like to hear. Those arrangements and orchestrations are incredible and unlike anything else. Not to mention very difficult to pick apart by ear. Either way thank you so much for this amazing video and series!
man I WISH I had a copy of any of those masters. That would be a delight to dig into. If I ever come across some, I will certainly share them with everyone!
wow this is the dream in life i didn't know i had until reading this comment
Thanks a ton Eric! Btw you did a live video lecture with my Blackbird class about 8 or so months ago. I learned so much! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with an aspiring artist/ producer as my self and the rest of my peers :)
@@mrwev You'd probably have to ask Mark Linett to do a show with you!
This is insane.
Wow speechless
Serious goosebump vibes when the accapella was busted out. The musicianship is undeniable. That bass tone... straight up perfection
Ray Parker Jr talks about using the DI/speaker thing. Interview starts here
ua-cam.com/video/MLFaNBJE6u0/v-deo.html
Cool!! Thank you for sharing this!
@@mrwev my pleasure. Great interview I remember. I think there's even a picture of the thing! Ray Parker said it was pretty hard to hear with the guitars and bass coming out of the DI speaker.
Thanks Eric for so willingly peeling that curtain back, it's great stuff.
Thank you
Eric and everyone out there, Peace and Creative Harmony to all, what a great song and message, I'd rather see people spend their time in positive creative spaces and bring all colors and flavors together into the music! Marvin's voice is classic and so cool to be able to isolate the tracks and explain certain aspects. I really like your vibe and excellent sound engineer/producer skills. I have a playlist with "What's Going On" that I keep listening to so I get my head around the sounds and how to capture that real true acoustical warm and space using analog based plugins, thanks so much for making the mix breakdown video! Ciao, ALDO
Amazing stuff... fantastic deep dive... just wishing you have more Motown multi tracks for us...we can only dream✌️
Hey Eric great videos, Thanks for sharing all this information. Another thing it would be nice if UndertoneAudio make your summing device that you did I will buy one for sure!!!
Hey Eric thank you so much for this deep dive into the song. One question, do you think the second guitar may have been expanded instead of gated?
Hmm good question! I hadn't considered that but I think the reason my ears heard it as gating rather than expanding is because the loud parts are so consistent in volume. Expanding is certainly possible though. The other thing I realized after filming this episode is that the main drum track is also definitely gated (or expanded). You can clearly hear the room ambience getting louder with the kick and snare hits.
I just subscribed recently and just found this video. Thanks for breaking it all down. The music, the mix AND the message. All are equally important here. Thanks for sharing, Eric.
Eric, thank you! I learnt a lot, it's so nice of you that you share such rare knowledge.
Only one thing: at 1:00:00 it's so hard to focus on two amazing things at the same time - marvin's performance and you talking about element of randomness! ;)
WOW!!! Your most special video. It must have felt beyond words to open up this session and bask in the presence of mythical proportions. To be able to deconstruct and solo out the magic of Marvin and Motown is an utmost sacrament. Thank you for sharing 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you Eric. Watching (listening!) to this was a beautiful experience.
Hello Eric this was a wonderful video and I love your analysis of the engineering & such even if I don't understand it much though you explained it quite well.
A couple things to note:
1. Regarding the party sounds in the beginning. You are most likely right about it as it's not present in the Detroit Mix of the song. In fact, back in 2001 UMG/Motown released the entire Detroit mix of the album. There are some definite differences in there.
2. I see you love the rhythm & strings a lot as do I. Also part of the 30th anniversary release they put out the rhythm & strings "foundation" instrumental mix which you can find here:
ua-cam.com/video/JG5O-3A7k_c/v-deo.html
Man...sending you and everyone who watched this a virtual hug. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your gift and delivering such a thoughtful message, Eric.
This is incredible, just incredible. Thanks for sharing. Subscribed.
I can’t be the only one who wishes for a chance to hear the “Eric Valentines Shenanigans” mix of this track!
Hey Eric. I can put you in touch with Russ Terrana who I believe engineered some of this record. Message me if you'd like to be! -Hamish
Uff that bass tone is amazing! I love the DI bass and guitarras sound on old motown recordings. My fav episode yet. You should do a Taking Back Sunday one :)