[jaxwired]

Had to vent about this. I'm a music hound and I'm always looking for great new music. The other day I discovered "Lissie". She has two releases. The first release was an EP on an obscure label. Every song is rich and moving with amazing vocals and a very raw unprocessed production.



So then she get's noticed by Sony records under the Columbia label and they influence her to add a much more mainstream pop sound to her music. They take several of the amazing tracks from excellent EP, but they mostly use new tracks that are a significant departure away from the beautiful music on the EP. These new tracks also all have more of a slick production without the raw acoustic sound of the EP. Now, don't get me wrong, they are pretty good pop tunes, but this girl is an amazing talent and the EP was something breathtakingly good. The new songs on the Sony recording are just mainstream pop that we have no shortage of. Compare for yourself. Here's the two CDs on Amazon. The record labels ruin so many artists with their forumla music. It's really depressing.

Listen to these and post your thoughts...Here's the great original EP:
http://www.amazon.com/Why-You-Runnin-Lissie/dp/B002Q4TKKE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1284287906&sr=1-3


Here's the mass market Sony recording, listen to track 2:
http://www.amazon.com/Catching-Tiger-Lissie/dp/B003UCPE3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1284287906&sr=1-1

[Delta Wave]

Like night and day. I would get the EP, but the album...   

[decal]

jax....You can put some of the blame on the artist also.The gal probably needed money to live on so she compromised her sound to get a record deal.Just my opinion,nothing more.

[Delta Wave]

jax....You can put some of the blame on the artist also.The gal probably needed money to live on so she compromised her sound to get a record deal.Just my opinion,nothing more.

Too true, I've seen that happen first hand. Great band, extremely talented musicians, and then a producer from a once famous band steps in... Needless to say the band isn't together any longer, they broke up before their first full length album was released. And when the album was released the record label did zero promotion. Everyone lost.

When are the labels going to let the musicians play what attracted the label in the first place? It makes no sense to me to notice a band and then have them change their sound to the flavor of the month only to die off shortly there after?  I just don't get it... that's what modern country and boy bands are for.

[jimdgoulding]

Hate it when that happens!  Really.

[timind]

Reminiscent of Jewel.

[R_burke]

Back in the old days (60s & 70s) you always liked/wanted a groups fisrt release and then they got worse until the band was famous enough (made enough $) to dicate things on their own terms.  Of course a lot of bands never made it that far.  It is a wonder why companies go out and find something good, then turn it into something lesser

[Tyson]

Same thing happened with Regina Spektor.

[TONEPUB]

Unless you've interviewed the artist, and got them to talk a bit off the record, you have no idea what the true story is.   For all you know, the second album was more in keeping with what she wanted to do.  And Decal's scenario is pretty common as well....

[Wayner]

Jeff (TONEPUB) hit the nail on the head (again), it's not the record company, it's the producer that may or may not work for the record company (I think almost always NOT). At some point, someone pays the bill and the artist has some say where the album direction is headed. Remember, the object is to make money. Music is the method to make money (and then get them chicks for free).

Wayner

[nathanm]

It has to be a weird thing to be on the management\executive side of things.  Because I think we all listen to music and have strong opinions about how it could be better or different, but to actually have even a modicum of power over someone else's art because your money is funding it...that's just so bizarre to think about.  But then we don't know for sure what positive influence the stuffed shirts may have had on the music we like.