Steve Albini RIP

Albini leaves behind an incredible legacy.  From his own music, to the thousands of artists he recorded, to his still on-point essay "The Problem With Music", his passing is a huge blow to the music industry.

There are far too many Albini-engineered records that I have never heard but really should (Breeders "Pod", the Cheap Trick stuff, the Manics record he worked on).  In chronological order, here is a sampling of my favourite and most memorable Albini-engineered records over the years.

PJ Harvey, "Rid of Me" (1993)

Nirvana, "In Utero" (1993)

Two landmark 90's rock albums, released in the same year.  They both represented an extreme from which there was no other way forward but to scale back.  PJ Harvey couldn't possibly have made music more raw, scathing, or caustic than this, so she didn't bother trying.  Similarly, "Unplugged In New York" suggested that Nirvana would have also taken their music in a very different direction had Kurt Cobain lived.  

Labradford, "Fixed:Context" (2001)

Low, "Things We Lost in the Fire" (2001)

Two of my favourite albums of 2001 that I regularly revisit to this day.  These albums are raw in a completely different sort of way.  They're sparse, lonely, tragic, with every note hanging in the air for what seems like forever.  Albini lets you hear everything -- every breath by the performers, the scrape of the guitar pick on the strings, the heavy air cloaking each note in the studio.  

Mogwai, "My Father, My King" (2001)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, "Yanqui U.X.O." (2002)

These were released at the absolute peak of my fandom for both bands, I ravenously anticipated them both.  However, they turned out to be underwhelming for much the same reasons.  Music this dense, unabating, and expansive simply needs to be felt in the concert hall, not listened to at home.  If Albini couldn't replicate the live experience of these songs on record then nobody could.   

The Ex, "Turn" (2004)

I saw The Ex live around this time and they were a mini-revelation.  They were confrontational but had catchy, swingable rhythms.  They confirmed my Two Drummer Rule for bands.  The album was overly long but that wasn't Albini's fault.  

Sunn 0))), "Life Metal" (2018)

Albini working with Sunn 0))) just made sense.  I think their albums were always superbly recorded, but did anyone do a better job of mixing vocals with their music?