"What Makes A Perfect Album?" :: Shane D. Wilson
“I do think it’s emotion over sonics” … “it’s generally passion over science.”
Shane’s capacity for being emotionally sensitive makes his mixes move people. Listen to him passionately recount a foundational record… “I just remember crying, listening to that, just singing at the top of my horrible voice.”
A perfect album is completely subjective, but some of the most highly regarded all have things in common. Moving lyricism, bemusing instrumentation, innovative recording techniques.
Here, Shane describes what it takes to make a perfect album.
“What is the perfect album to you?”
Oh, I don't know, I mean is there one? Emotionally, yeah, oh absolutely it's something that moves me. There's a there's an older CCM artist by the name of Russ Taff who was in a band called the Imperials when he was younger and then he was a solo guy. He had a couple of records that, as a kid, wrecked me and I didn't know why. Then later when you got to meet people who were involved in the record you find out all this emotional stuff that was involved.
It's funny because, you know, in my mind, I just remember crying listening to that singing at the top of my horrible voice. Then you go to play it for your wife, “Oh, this this record is foundational,” you hit play, and oh my god this sounds awful. Still emotionally it connects. But you realize, oh my gosh, that was 1986 or 88, and things were different.
I do think it's emotion over sonics because I'll go back and listen to box sets of whomever, wow! Especially now that vinyl's back. You buy foundational records and you throw it on and realize, I would get fired, I would totally get fired if my record that I was a part of sounded like this. It transcends the engineering part, I think. Yet sometimes it doesn't. The Beatles “Abbey Road” is one of the most modern sounding pieces of classic recording you've ever heard. I think when you're talking about music it's generally passion over science.