Does anyone know what made the band want to work with Roy Baker again after recording their best sounding albums of the 70's on their own/with Mike Stone?
I'm familiar with the layered sound he produced in the studio but it didn't always translate to great sounding records (no disrespect).
I thought maybe a mixture of the material lending itself to the older style - or at least expanding the rawer NOTW style with a return to the 'classic' sound - and it being their first album recorded abroad. Perhaps they wanted some home comforts like RTB presence? Perhaps of course that they weren't happy with ADATR and NOTW.. the only thing stopping further work with RTB being that they met Mack and he introduced a new way of working.
According to Roger, I read it in a spanish magazine a month ago or so, they stop working with Roy Thomas Baker after Jazz, because he moved and settled in USA, and quickly began working with several bands - like The Cars -, so he stopped being available as Queen wanted to as producer, with them
Jazz together with Live Killers are the worst produced albums in the Queen Catalogue. Stereo sound would have helped bring these songs from out of these phone box recordings.
Roy had produced the cars album, it was big hit and its production was very similar, also new wave was in UK, the trends in production was something like Roy did in Jazz. Queen wanted to sound heavey - rock and current.
Yeah, it's stereo alright. Have a listen to the huge drum roll in Fat Bottomed Girls for example.
The main problem with the drum sound on Jazz is the snare, me thinks. It sounds absolutely ridiculous.
I agree on Jazz and LK being their worst produced albums. Also agree with Rick on the drum sound on NOTW, that's why Jazz seemed like a regression to me. Thanks for replying, guys!