Portal:Record production

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The Record Production Portal

Noted audio engineer Roger Nichols at a vintage Neve recording console

P:RECORD

This portal is focused on music production within the era of written records through sound recordings, digital downloads, and beyond. Its scope includes articles that document the considerations and mechanisms used by, and consistent with, the purview of the production element. As an art form, music predates transcription and simultaneously transcends descriptive limitations. As an industry, music has demonstrated consistent viability over time. The record producer conjoins these potential, and serves as a broker to bridge the demand (spawned by their aspirations) with supply and satisfaction. The results are measurable and attributable, derived from effort and skillful application of craft, to a manifestation of the art in its melodic form. (Read more)

The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent and supply music creators. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate in the industry are: the songwriters and composers who write songs and musical compositions; the singers, musicians, conductors, and bandleaders who perform the music; the record labels, music publishers, recording studios, music producers, audio engineers, retail and digital music stores, and performance rights organizations who create and sell recorded music and sheet music; and the booking agents, promoters, music venues, road crew, and audio engineers who help organize and sell concerts. (Read more)

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Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

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The official arrangement of the Russian national anthem, completed in 2001

The "State Anthem of the Russian Federation" is the national anthem of Russia. It uses the same melody as the "State Anthem of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics", composed by Alexander Alexandrov, and new lyrics by Sergey Mikhalkov, who had collaborated with Gabriel El-Registan on the original anthem. From 1944, that earliest version replaced "The Internationale" as a new, more Soviet-centric and Russia-centric Soviet anthem. The same melody, but without any lyrics, was used after 1956. A second version of the lyrics was written by Mikhalkov in 1970 and adopted in 1977, placing less emphasis on World War II and more on the victory of communism, and without mentioning Joseph Stalin by name.

The Russian SFSR was the only constituent republic of the Soviet Union without its own regional anthem, instead using the national anthem of the Soviet Union. The lyric-free "Patrioticheskaya Pesnya", composed by Mikhail Glinka, was officially adopted in 1990 by the Supreme Soviet of Russia, and confirmed in 1993, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, by the President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin. This anthem proved to be unpopular with the Russian public and with many politicians and public figures, because of its tune and lack of lyrics, and consequently its inability to inspire Russian athletes during international competitions. The government sponsored contests to create lyrics for the unpopular anthem, but none of the entries were adopted. (Full article...)
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Maya (stylised as ΛΛ Λ Y Λ) is the third studio album by British recording artist M.I.A. It was released on 7 July 2010 through N.E.E.T. Recordings, XL and Interscope. Songwriting and production was primarily handled by M.I.A., Blaqstarr and Rusko. Producers Diplo and Switch, alongside M.I.A.'s brother Sugu, also worked on the album. Maya was mainly composed and recorded at M.I.A.'s house in Los Angeles. The album's tracks centre on the theme of information politics and are intended to evoke what M.I.A. called a "digital ruckus"; elements of industrial music were incorporated into M.I.A.'s sound for the first time upon its release. A deluxe edition was released simultaneously, featuring four new tracks.

Upon its release, Maya received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, with the album's musical style and lyrical content attracting both praise and criticism. In its first week of release, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 21, becoming her highest-charting album in the UK. It also became her highest-charting album in the US, peaking at number nine on the Billboard 200. Elsewhere, the album debuted in the top 10 in Finland, Norway, Greece and Canada. (Full article...)
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Kid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 2 October 2000 by Parlophone. It was recorded with their producer, Nigel Godrich, in Paris, Copenhagen, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Departing from their earlier sound, Radiohead incorporated influences from electronic music, krautrock, jazz and 20th-century classical music, with a wider range of instruments and effects. The singer, Thom Yorke, wrote impersonal and abstract lyrics, cutting up phrases and assembling them at random.

In a departure from industry practice, Radiohead released no singles and conducted few interviews and photoshoots. Instead, they released short animations and became one of the first major acts to use the internet for promotion. Bootlegs of early performances were shared on filesharing services, and Kid A was leaked before release. In 2000, Radiohead toured Europe in a custom-built tent without corporate logos. (Full article...)
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Messiaen in 1986

Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (UK: /ˈmɛsiæ̃/, US: /mɛˈsjæ̃, meɪˈsjæ̃, mɛˈsjɒ̃/; French: [ɔlivje øʒɛn pʁɔspɛʁ ʃaʁl mɛsjɑ̃]; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th century, he was also an outstanding teacher of composition and musical analysis.

Messiaen entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 11 and studied with Paul Dukas, Maurice Emmanuel, Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupré, among others. He was appointed organist at the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris, in 1931, a post he held for 61 years, until his death. He taught at the Schola Cantorum de Paris during the 1930s. After the fall of France in 1940, Messiaen was interned for nine months in the German prisoner of war camp Stalag VIII-A, where he composed his Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) for the four instruments available in the prison—piano, violin, cello and clarinet. The piece was first performed by Messiaen and fellow prisoners for an audience of inmates and prison guards. Soon after his release in 1941, Messiaen was appointed professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1966, he was appointed professor of composition there, and he held both positions until retiring in 1978. His many distinguished pupils included Iannis Xenakis, George Benjamin, Alexander Goehr, Pierre Boulez, Jacques Hétu, Tristan Murail, Karlheinz Stockhausen, György Kurtág, and Yvonne Loriod, who became his second wife. (Full article...)
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The Final Cut is the twelfth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 21 March 1983 through Harvest and Columbia Records. It comprises unused material from the band's previous studio album, The Wall (1979), alongside new material recorded throughout 1982.

The Final Cut is the last Pink Floyd album to feature founding member Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985. It is the only Pink Floyd album without founding member and keyboardist Richard Wright, who had left the band under pressure from Waters after the Wall sessions. The recording was plagued by conflict; guitarist David Gilmour felt many of the tracks were not worthy of inclusion, but Waters accused him of failing to contribute material himself. The contributions from drummer Nick Mason were limited mostly to sound effects. (Full article...)
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Loveless (stylized in lowercase) is the second studio album by the Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine. It was released on 4 November 1991 in the United Kingdom by Creation Records and in the United States by Sire Records. The album was recorded between February 1989 and September 1991, with vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields leading sessions and experimenting with guitar vibrato, non standard tunings, digital sampling, and meticulous production methods. The band recorded at nineteen different studios and hired several engineers during the album's prolonged recording, with its final production cost rumoured to have reached £250,000 (equivalent to £560,000 in 2024).

Preceded by the EPs Glider (1990) and Tremolo (1991), Loveless reached number 24 on the UK Albums Chart and was widely praised by critics for its sonic innovations and Shields' "virtual reinvention of the guitar". However, after its release, Creation owner Alan McGee dropped the band from the label as he found Shields too difficult to work with, a factor alleged to have contributed to the label's eventual bankruptcy. My Bloody Valentine struggled to record a follow-up to the album and broke up in 1997, making Loveless their last full-length release until their eventual reunited effort m b v in 2013. (Full article...)
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Carey in 2023

Mariah Carey (/məˈraɪə/ mə-RY-ə; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records, Carey is known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whistle register. An influential figure in music, she was ranked as the fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023.

Carey rose to fame in 1990 with her self-titled debut album and became the only artist to have their first five singles reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, from "Vision of Love" to "Emotions". She achieved an international success with the best-selling albums Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), before adopting a new image with hip hop-inflected sounds, following the release of Butterfly (1997). The remix of her song "Fantasy", featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard, popularized the blend of pop and hip-hop into mainstream music. With eleven consecutive years of US number-one songs, Billboard ranked Carey as the most successful artist of the 1990s. Following a career decline and the failure of her 2001 film Glitter, she returned to the top of the charts with The Emancipation of Mimi (2005), one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. (Full article...)
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Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (transl. The Brave-Hearted Will Take the Bride), also known by the initialism DDLJ, is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Aditya Chopra in his directorial debut and produced by his father Yash Chopra. Released on 20 October 1995, the film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol as Raj and Simran, two young non-resident Indians, who fall in love during a vacation through Europe with their friends. Raj tries to win over Simran's family so the couple can marry, but Simran's father has long since promised her hand to his friend's son. The film was shot in India, London, and Switzerland, from September 1994 to August 1995.

With an estimated total gross of ₹102.5 crore (today's adjusted gross ₹524 crore), with ₹89 crore (today's adjusted gross ₹455 crore) earned in India and ₹13.50 crore (today's adjusted gross ₹69 crore) in overseas, the film was the highest-grossing Indian film of 1995 and one of the most successful Indian films in history. When adjusted for inflation, it is the second highest-grossing Indian film of the 1990s, behind Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! It won 10 Filmfare Awards—the most for a single film at that time—and the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Its soundtrack album became one of the most popular of the 1990s. (Full article...)
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Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (/boʊlt/; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was a British conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was conductor of the City of Birmingham Orchestra in 1924. When the British Broadcasting Corporation appointed him director of music in 1930, he established the BBC Symphony Orchestra and became its chief conductor. The orchestra set standards of excellence that were rivalled in Britain only by the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), founded two years later.

Forced to leave the BBC in 1950 on reaching retirement age, Boult became principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra had declined from its peak of the 1930s, but under his guidance its fortunes were revived. He retired as its chief conductor in 1957, and later accepted the post of president. Although in the latter part of his career he worked with several other orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and his former orchestra, the BBC Symphony, it was the LPO with which he was primarily associated, conducting it in concerts and recordings until 1978, in what was widely called his "Indian summer". (Full article...)
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1918–1919 poster

Gianni Schicchi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒanni ˈskikki]) is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico (The Triptych) – three one-act operas with contrasting themes, originally written to be presented together. Although it continues to be performed with one or both of the other trittico operas, Gianni Schicchi is now more frequently staged either alone or with short operas by other composers. The aria "O mio babbino caro" is one of Puccini's best known, and one of the most popular arias in opera.

Puccini had long considered writing a set of one-act operas which would be performed together in a single evening, but faced with a lack of suitable subjects and opposition from his publisher, he repeatedly put the project aside. However, by 1916 Puccini had completed the one-act tragedy Il tabarro and, after considering various ideas, he began work the following year on the solemn, religious, all-female opera Suor Angelica. Gianni Schicchi, a comedy, completes the triptych with a further contrast of mood. The score combines elements of Puccini's modern style of harmonic dissonance with lyrical passages reminiscent of Rossini, and it has been praised for its inventiveness and imagination. (Full article...)
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"Angel of Death" is the opening track on American thrash metal band Slayer's 1986 album Reign in Blood. The lyrics and music were written by guitarist Jeff Hanneman. They detail the Nazi physician Josef Mengele's human experiments at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.

"Angel of Death" led to accusations of Nazi sympathizing and racism against the band, which they vigorously denied but which followed them throughout their early career. Despite the controversy and the resulting delay in the release of Reign in Blood, the song remained a live favorite, and has appeared on all of Slayer's live albums. (Full article...)
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Aaliyah is the third and final studio album by American R&B singer Aaliyah. It was released on July 7, 2001, by Blackground Records and Virgin Records. Because of its packaging design, it is also known as "The Red Album". Aaliyah started to work on the album in 1998, but rescheduled its recording around her developing film career. She resumed recording in 2000 at Sing Sing Studios in Australia, where she shot her role for the 2002 film Queen of the Damned during the day and recorded songs at night. Additional recording took place at Manhattan Center and Sony Music Studios in New York and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, among other locations. Through her recording contract with Blackground, the singer worked primarily with the record label's in-house crew of writers and producers, including Bud'da, J. Dub, Rapture, and Eric Seats, as well as longtime collaborator Timbaland.

Aaliyah is described in critical commentaries as an album of R&B, neo soul, and dance-pop, while drawing on an array of other genres such as funk, hip hop, alternative rock, electronica, and Latin music. The album's producers incorporated synthesizer melodies, fragmented beats, distorted guitar, and eccentrically manipulated vocals and song structures, while much of the lyrics were written by singer-songwriter Static Major, who shared a close friendship and strong rapport with Aaliyah. The resulting songs deal with the complexities of romantic love and different stages in a relationship. Aaliyah viewed the album as a reflection of herself as both a young adult and a matured vocalist. (Full article...)

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... that one critic interpreted a SZA song as being about her fears about the growing influence of AI in the music industry?
... that until the release of the documentary Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop, sexual abuse claims involving record producer Johnny Kitagawa went widely unreported in Japanese media?
... that according to Billboard magazine, Laufey created a blueprint for jazz music in the modern music industry and helped push it back into the mainstream?
... that Light Vessel 95 is now a recording studio?
... that to promote the Buffalo Club, Rising Tide Records sent packages of plastic buffalo to music industry executives in Nashville?
... that when Divine's song "Lately" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998, it became the first number-one single for the performers, the songwriters, the producers, and the record labels?

Born this day

Birthdays in Music: December 12

Toshiko Akiyoshi, Manchurian jazz pianist, turns 95.

Juhani Aaltonen, Finnish flautist and saxophonist, turns 89.

Connie Francis, American and pop music singer, turns 86.

Dionne Warwick, American R&B and soul music singer, turns 84.

Declan Cluskey, Irish arranger with The Bachelors, turns 82.

Mike Heron, Scottish multi-instrumentalist with Incredible String Band, turns 82.

Michael Carvin, American drummer, turns 80.

Alex Acuña, Peruvian percussionist, turns 80.

Bruce Ditmas, American drummer, turns 78.

Ralph Scala, American organist and vocalist with Blues Magoos, turns 77.

Ray Jackson, (born Lindsay Raymond Jackson) Brit mandolinist and harmonica player of Lindisfarne fame, turns 76.

Richard Galliano, French accordion player, turns 74.

Tim Whitehead, Brit tenor saxophonist, turns 74.

Cy Curnin, Brit vocalist with The Fixx, turns 67.

Sheila E., (born Sheila Escovedo) American drummer, turns 67.

Belouis Some, (born Neville Keighley) British new wave musician, turns 65.

Daniel O'Donnell, Irish country musician, turns 63.

Soren Kristiansen, Danish pianist, turns 62.

Eric Schenkman, American guitarist with Spin Doctors, turns 61.

Mark Mondesir, Brit session musician (drummer), turns 60.

Nick Dimichino, American bassist for Nine Days, turns 57.

Danny Boy, American MC and hype man with House of Pain, turns 56.

Hank Williams III, American Americana and cowpunk guitarist, turns 52.

Dan Hawkins, Brit guitarist with The Darkness, turns 48.

Dino Meneghin, American session musician and record producer, turns 47.

Evren Genis, Turkish composer, turns 46.

Katrina Elam, American singer, turns 41.

Sabine Devieilhe, French soprano, turns 39.

Jasmine Murray, American singer and former American Idol contestant, turns 33.

List of musical events • Anniversaries • More birthdays...

Selected albums - load new batch

These are all Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

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Myth: The Xenogears Orchestral Album is an arranged soundtrack to Square Enix's role-playing video game Xenogears. It is the third soundtrack to the game, after Xenogears Original Soundtrack and Creid, another arranged album, both released in 1998. Myth was composed by the game's composer Yasunori Mitsuda and arranged by Mitsuda, Youki Yamamoto, Sachiko Miyano, and Natsumi Kameoka. The album contains 14 tracks, including a song performed by the Irish singer Joanne Hogg, and has a length of 51:33. The orchestration was performed by the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Yamamoto. The album was announced in October 2010, and was released on February 23, 2011 by Square Enix. A vinyl record version of the album was released on April 1, 2011, consisting of six tracks from the full album.

Reviewers were consistent in their praises and criticism of the album. They noted the high production values and the quality of the original compositions and the performance of the orchestra. They also felt that the later tracks in the album were notably weaker than the early tracks, that the arrangements in general did not stray far from the source material, and that several of the track choices did not seem to fit as well as orchestral renditions as others. (Full article...)
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Vitalogy is the third studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 22, 1994, on Epic Records. Pearl Jam wrote and recorded Vitalogy while touring behind its previous album Vs. (1993). The album's sound is more diverse than previous releases and consists of aggressive rock songs, ballads and other styles, making it Pearl Jam's most experimental album at that period. Considered a departure from the grunge sound of the band's first two albums, the record focuses more on punk rock and hardcore styles in its production.

The album was first released on vinyl, followed by a release on CD and cassette two weeks later on December 6, 1994. The LP sold 34,000 copies in its first week of release, and until Jack White's 2014 album Lazaretto it held the record for most vinyl sales in one week since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. Upon its CD release, Vitalogy became the second-fastest selling album in history, behind only the band's previous release Vs., selling 877,000 copies in its first week and quickly going multi-platinum. The album received critical acclaim and has been certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of at least five million copies in the United States. The album was included on Rolling Stone's 2003 and 2012 "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" lists at number 485, but was dropped from the 2020 edition. It is Pearl Jam's second and last album to feature drummer Dave Abbruzzese, who was fired from the band before recording was finished. He was initially replaced by session drummers and later officially replaced by former Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Jack Irons, who completed the recording of the album. (Full article...)
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Beautiful Heartache is a 2009 studio album by Russian pianist and singer-songwriter, Oksana Grigorieva, with Mel Gibson as executive producer.

Grigorieva signed with Gibson's music label, and the two began production on her first album. She composed all songs on the album. Gibson served as co-writer on the song, "Say My Name," and recorded four music videos for the album's release. The album was positively received by the media, including ABC News and Reuters. IndieLondon gave the album a rating of 4 out of 5. (Full article...)
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Harajuku Lovers Live is the first live long-form video by American recording artist Gwen Stefani. It was released on DVD on December 4, 2006, by Interscope Records. The DVD was directed by Sophie Muller and produced by Oil Factory Productions. It is a recording of one of Stefani's concerts during her Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005 in late 2005 to promote her first album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., released in November 2004. The performance was recorded in November 2005, in Anaheim, California. The concert features performances of all twelve songs from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and two new songs from her second studio album, The Sweet Escape, as well as interviews with the musicians and dancers and a documentary of tour preparation.

Harajuku Lovers Live was released in conjunction with the promotion for The Sweet Escape, which was also released on December 5, 2006. The DVD received mixed reviews, with reviewers praising Stefani's musical performances and stage presence, but criticizing the lack of material and the long costume changes. The DVD was certified gold in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association and platinum in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. (Full article...)
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London Calling is the third studio album by the English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records.

The Clash recorded the album with producer Guy Stevens at Wessex Sound Studios in London over a five- to six-week period starting in August 1979, following a change in management and a period of writer's block for songwriters Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. Bridging a traditional punk rock sound and a new wave aesthetic, London Calling reflects the band's growing interest in styles beyond their punk roots, including reggae, rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard rock. Lyrical themes include social displacement, unemployment, racial conflict, drug use, and the responsibilities of adulthood. (Full article...)
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"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (often referred to simply as In 3-D) is the second studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on February 28, 1984, by Rock 'n Roll Records. The album was one of many produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between October and December 1983, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his modestly successful debut LP, "Weird Al" Yankovic.

The album is built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the mid-1980s. Half of the album is made up of parodies of artists like Michael Jackson, Men Without Hats, the Greg Kihn Band, the Police, and Survivor. The other half of the album contains many "style parodies", musical imitations that come close to but do not directly copy a specific work by existing artists. These style parodies include imitations of artists such as Bob Marley and the B-52s. This album marked a musical departure from Yankovic's self-titled debut, in that the arrangements of the parodies were now closer to the originals. Also, the accordion was no longer used in every song, but only where deemed appropriate or comically inappropriate. The album is also notable for being the first album released by Yankovic to include a polka medley of hit songs. A similar pastiche of hit songs, set to polka music, has since appeared on nearly all of Yankovic's albums. (Full article...)
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Up! Live in Chicago is the third live video album by Canadian singer Shania Twain. Directed and produced by Beth McCarthy-Miller, the concert was held and filmed on July 27, 2003 at Hutchinson Field in the south-side of Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois; over 50,000 people attended. The concert itself differed from that of the Up! Tour (2003–04), featuring a different stage, setlist and production. Behind-the-scenes footage of the singer visiting local landmarks and events was filmed the same week. The concert film premiered on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) on August 19, 2003. The special was watched by over 8.87 million viewers, becoming the second-most-viewed concert film on television, behind Celine Dion's A New Day ... Live in Las Vegas (2003).

Due to its high television ratings, Up! Live in Chicago was released as a video album on November 18, 2003 by Mercury Records Nashville. Released both in standard DVD packaging and in a jewel case, it featured additional performances not included on the television presentation. The album was also received positively by music critics, who complimented Shania's interaction with the audience; however, some questioned her live singing. The video peaked at number two on Billboard's Top Music Video sales chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of over 100,000 copies in the United States. It was also certified platinum in Australia and gold in Austria and Brazil. Excerpts from Up! Live in Chicago were used as the music videos for "She's Not Just a Pretty Face" (2003) and "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing" (2004). (Full article...)
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The Xenogears Original Soundtrack is the official soundtrack to Square's role-playing video game Xenogears. It was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda and contains 44 tracks, including a Bulgarian choral song and two pieces performed by the Irish singer Joanne Hogg. Though the game was released in both Japan and North America, the album was published in Japan exclusively as a two-CD set on March 1, 1998.

The soundtrack was composed with strong traditional and Irish music influences, while the lyrics for the vocal tracks were written by the game's director Tetsuya Takahashi and its scenario writer Masato Kato. The soundtrack reached No. 55 in Japan and was generally well received by critics, though some disagreed on whether the album can be fully appreciated by non-players. (Full article...)
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Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) is the second solo studio album by English musician Brian Eno (mononymously credited as "Eno"), released in November 1974 by Island Records. Unlike his debut album Here Come the Warm Jets, which featured 16 musicians, this album utilized a core band of five instrumentalists: Eno (keyboards, guitar), Phil Manzanera (guitar), Brian Turrington (bass guitar), Freddie Smith (drums), and Robert Wyatt (percussion). Manzanera also participated in the writing and production. To help guide the musicians, Eno and Peter Schmidt developed instruction cards called Oblique Strategies to facilitate creativity during the recording process.

Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) is a loose concept album that references themes of geopolitical intrigue ranging from espionage to the Chinese Communist Revolution. It did not chart in the United Kingdom or the United States, but received positive reviews from critics. Since its release, the album has received even more critical attention. (Full article...)
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Can't Be Tamed is the third studio album by American singer Miley Cyrus. It was released on June 18, 2010, by Hollywood Records, and was her final album with the label; she signed with RCA Records in early 2013. Cyrus wrote and began recording the project in late 2009, while traveling internationally for her Wonder World Tour, and completed it in early 2010. Described by Cyrus as a "good [record] to blast in your car", Can't Be Tamed represents a musical departure from her earlier work, which she had grown to feel uninspired by. The efforts resulted in a primarily dance-pop record, which Cyrus' record label acknowledged differed from the original plans for the project. Its lyrical themes revolve largely around breaking free of constraints and expectations, which are largely mentioned in the context of romantic relationships. Most of the album was produced by Rock Mafia and John Shanks. Cyrus co-wrote eleven out of twelve songs on the album, with the only one not being written by her being a cover of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by American band Poison.

Upon its release, Can't Be Tamed received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who were ambivalent toward perceived lack of musical focus and a failure to fully establish Cyrus' maturing public image; additional criticism was placed on her vocals sounding over-processed and lacking emotional depth. It was unable to replicate the success of her earlier work, debuting at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 102,000 copies. The album has sold over 350,000 copies in the United States. Can't Be Tamed charted moderately on record charts in internationally, reaching the top-ten in countries including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. (Full article...)
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Apollo 18 is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants. It was released in 1992 through Elektra Records and was named after the cancelled Apollo 18 mission that was scheduled to have followed Apollo 17. The album was also associated with International Space Year, for which They Might Be Giants were declared the official "musical ambassadors" by NASA.

The album marked the first conscious effort by John Linnell and John Flansburgh to branch out of their early sound, opting for more traditional rock rhythms and fuller arrangements. The duo adopted a backing band with live drums during the supporting tour. It was their last album recorded as a duo, and the band expanded to include a regular rhythm guitarist, bass player and saxophone player for their subsequent releases. Apollo 18 also includes the "Fingertips" suite, a series of twenty-one short songs, most under thirty seconds long. The album generated three singles, "The Statue Got Me High", "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" and "I Palindrome I", although only the first charted. (Full article...)
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The Emancipation of Mimi is the tenth studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey, released through Island Records, Def Jam Recordings and The Island Def Jam Music Group in the United States on April 12, 2005. The album was considered Carey's "comeback album" by critics and became her highest-selling release in the US in a decade. In composing the album, Carey collaborated with many songwriters and producers throughout 2004, including Jermaine Dupri, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Twista, Nelly, Pharrell Williams, and James "Big Jim" Wright, many of whom appeared as featured guests on select tracks.

Carey opted to use her personal nickname 'Mimi' in the title, revealing a more intimate side of the singer, as seen in the album's declarative theme of emancipation from her personal and commercial setbacks. Although it has similar vocal production to her previous works and an inclination towards her signature ballads, the album encompasses dance-oriented and uptempo styles in keeping with its celebratory motif. The Emancipation of Mimi garnered critical acclaim, with praise towards its production, Carey's vocal performance, with critics noting the theme of independence and lack of restraint, dubbing the album a "party" record. (Full article...)

More selected albums

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various record production-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Control room at the Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus (from Recording studio)
Image 2Danny Knicely records with Furnace Mountain Band in Virginia (2012) (from Recording studio)
Image 3Home studio setup (from Recording studio)
Image 4Donna Summer wearing headphones during a recording session in 1977 (from Recording studio)
Image 5Neve VR60, a multitrack mixing console. Above the console are a range of studio monitor speakers. (from Recording studio)
Image 6Scully 280 eight-track recorder at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (from Multitrack recording)
Image 7A selection of instruments at a music studio, including a grand piano (from Recording studio)
Image 8The studio at Ridge Radio in Caterham, England (from Recording studio)
Image 9Digital audio interface for the Pro Tools computer-based hard disk multitrack recording system. Digital audio quality is measured in data resolution per channel. (from Multitrack recording)
Image 10Engineers and producers watch a trumpet player from a window in the control room during a recording session. (from Recording studio)
Image 11The TEAC 2340, a popular early (1973) home multitrack recorder, four tracks on ¼ inch tape (from Multitrack recording)
Image 12The Siemens Studio for Electronic Music c. 1956. (from Recording studio)
Image 13Hip hop producer and rapper RZA in a music studio with two collaborators. Pictured in the foreground is a synthesizer keyboard and a number of vinyl records; both of these items are key tools that producers and DJs use to create hip hop beats. (from Hip hop production)
Image 14The TASCAM 85 16B analog tape multitrack recorder can record 16 tracks of audio on 1-inch (2.54cm) magnetic tape. Professional analog units of 24 tracks on 2-inch tape were common, with specialty tape heads providing 16 or even 8 tracks on the same tape width, for greater fidelity. (from Multitrack recording)
Image 15Korg D888 eight-track digital recorder (from Multitrack recording)
Image 16Mixing desk with twenty inputs and eight outputs (from Multitrack recording)

Featured lists - load new batch

Featured lists have been determined by the Wikipedia community to be the best lists on English Wikipedia.

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Ray Price was at number one on the first combined sales and airplay chart in October and remained in the top spot until the end of the year.

At the start of 1958, Billboard magazine published two charts specifically covering the top-performing country music songs in the United States. The C&W Best Sellers in Stores chart ranked records based on their "current national selling importance at the retail level", based on a survey of record retailers "with a high volume of sales in country and western records". The Most Played C&W by Jockeys chart ranked songs based on the "number of plays on disk jockey radio shows" according to a weekly survey of "top disk jockey shows in all key markets". With effect from the October 20 issue of Billboard the magazine discontinued both charts and combined sales and airplay into one chart called Hot C&W Sides, which has been published continuously since that date, currently under the title Hot Country Songs. In 1990 it changed to being based solely on airplay from country music radio stations, before reverting to a combined sales and airplay chart in 2012 but utilizing airplay data from stations of all formats as well as digital sales and streaming.

The number one song on the Best Sellers chart in the first issue of 1958 was "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis, and the song at the top of the Jockeys chart was "The Story of My Life" by Marty Robbins; both songs replaced "My Special Angel" by Bobby Helms, which had topped both charts the week before. Eight different singles topped the Best Sellers chart, including two each by Johnny Cash, Don Gibson and the Everly Brothers. The longest unbroken run in the top spot was eight weeks, achieved by both of Cash's chart-toppers, "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" / "Big River" and "Guess Things Happen That Way" / "Come In, Stranger"; in each case the B-side of the single was listed jointly at number one for some or all of its time in the top spot under the methodology in use at the time. The sixteen weeks which Cash spent at number one was the most for any act. Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me" also spent eight weeks at number one, but in two separate runs. The song gave Gibson his first number-one country song and he would go on to achieve his second later in the year with "Blue Blue Day". He remained popular in the 1960s, but did not return to the top of the country singles chart until 1972. (Full article...)
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Alan Jackson collaborated with Jimmy Buffett on the song "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere", which spent eight weeks at number one.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 2003, 19 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

Singer George Strait's song "She'll Leave You with a Smile" was at number one at the start of the year, having been at the top since the issue dated December 28, 2002. It remained at number one for one further week in 2003 before being replaced by "19 Somethin'" by Mark Wills. The highest total number of weeks spent at number one by a song in 2003 was the eight achieved by "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere", a collaboration between Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett. The success of "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" gave Buffett his first ever country number one, more than thirty years after he began his singing career. The duet spent an initial seven weeks at the top, was replaced for a week, and then returned for a final week at number one. The song's first spell at number one tied for the longest unbroken run at the top with "Have You Forgotten?" by Darryl Worley. In addition, the song's eight-week run at number one tied with Lonestar's "Amazed" for the longest-running number one based on country radio airplay since Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems was initiated in 1990, a record which would stand until 2022. Another collaboration between a younger star and a music veteran to top the charts in 2003 was "Beer for My Horses" by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson, which spent six weeks at number one and made Nelson, at age 70, the oldest singer to top the chart. The number one position was dominated by male artists; no solo female singers topped the chart in 2003, although the all-female band Dixie Chicks spent a single week at number one. (Full article...)
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Garth Brooks achieved four number ones in 1991.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1991, 30 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

George Strait's song "I've Come to Expect It from You" began the year at number one, having held the top position for the last four weeks of 1990. The next week, Garth Brooks achieved the first of his eventual four number ones of the year with his song "Unanswered Prayers". Brooks' four was the most number ones for the year by any act, though Alan Jackson and George Strait would each have three songs reach the top of the chart. Ricky Van Shelton reached number one twice as a solo performer, and once in collaboration with Dolly Parton on her song "Rockin' Years". Three songs spent three weeks each at the top of the chart, the most of any song for the year: "Down Home" by Alabama, "Don't Rock the Jukebox" by Alan Jackson, and "You Know Me Better Than That" by George Strait. (Full article...)
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Michael Peterson achieved his first number one in December.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1997, 23 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine. Chart rankings were based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

At the start of the year, the number one song was "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)" by LeAnn Rimes, which had reached the top of the chart in the issue of Billboard dated December 28, 1996. It remained at the top for one further week in 1997 before Kevin Sharp began a four-week run at the top with his debut single, a cover version of R&B singer Tony Rich's song "Nobody Knows". This would prove to be the only number-one hit for Sharp, who died in 2014 at age 43. Three other vocalists achieved their first number-one country songs in 1997. Rick Trevino spent one week in the top spot in March with "Running Out of Reasons to Run", which would also prove to be his only number one. Trace Adkins achieved the feat with "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing" in April, and Michael Peterson scored his first and only chart-topper in December with "From Here to Eternity". (Full article...)
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Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel had the best-performing Latin single in 1997, 1998 and 2001.

The year-end charts for the Hot Latin Songs chart are published in the last issue of Billboard magazine every year. Initially, the chart was based on information provided by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, which collected airplay information from Latin radio stations in the United States. On the week ending October 20, 2012, the methodology was changed to track the best-performing Spanish-language songs based on digital downloads, streaming activity, and airplay from all radio stations in the country. The Year-End charts represent aggregated numbers from the weekly charts that were compiled for each artist, song and record company.

Mexican singer-songwriters Ana Gabriel and Juan Gabriel have had the best-selling single of the year three times each. The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences awarded Juan Gabriel the Person of Year Award for his professional accomplishments and commitment to philanthropic efforts. Venezuelan singer Franco De Vita's "Te Amo" ranked at number eight in 1989 and received a gold certification in Latin America and Spain for the album Al Norte del Sur. De Vita also wrote "Tal Vez", performed by Ricky Martin, the number-one single of 2003. Billboard magazine posthumously named singer Selena the Top Artist of the 1990s, due to her fourteen top-ten singles in the Hot Latin Songs chart (including seven number-one hits). Selena had the most successful singles of 1994 and 1995, "Amor Prohibido" and "No Me Queda Más". (Full article...)
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Drake currently holds the record for the most number-one hits on the Billboard rap chart.

Hot Rap Songs is a record chart published by the music industry magazine Billboard that ranks the most popular hip hop songs in the United States. 77 songs topped Hot Rap Songs in the 2010s. The first number-one song of the decade was "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys. In 2012, Drake broke the record for the most Hot Rap Songs number-one songs, previously held by Diddy. During the 2010s, Drake spent the most weeks at number one and attained the most number-one songs on Hot Rap Songs, with 19 chart-toppers spanning 118 weeks. In 2019, "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus spent a record-breaking 20 weeks atop Hot Rap Songs. The final number-one song of the decade on the chart was "Roxanne" by Arizona Zervas.

At the start of the decade the chart was airplay-based, with rankings based on each track's estimated audience as monitored by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems from a panel of 134 radio stations. In October 2012, Billboard altered the chart's methodology to include digital download sales and streaming data. Under the new methodology, the Rap Songs chart became a distillation of the main Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, which according to the magazine "highlight[s] the differences between pure R&B and rap titles in the overall, wide-ranging R&B/hip-hop field." "Gangnam Style" by Psy was the first number-one song to benefit from these changes, ascending from number 20 to the top spot on the chart dated October 20, 2012. (Full article...)
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Marc Anthony had the most number one songs of 1996 with five.

Tropical Airplay is a chart that ranks the top-performing songs (regardless of genre or language) on tropical radio stations in the United States, published by Billboard magazine based on weekly airplay data compiled by Nielsen's Broadcast Data Systems. It is a subchart of Hot Latin Songs, which lists the best-performing Spanish-language songs in the country. In 1996, 20 songs topped the chart, in 52 issues of the magazine.

The first number one of the year was "Nadie Como Ella" by Marc Anthony, which had been in the top spot since the issue dated December 23, 1995, and spent a total of three weeks at this position. Marc Anthony was also the artist with most number ones in 1996 with five songs. Víctor Manuelle and Jerry Rivera achieved their first chart-toppers in 1996 and each had two number ones in the year. "Loco de Amor" by Rivera held this position for seven weeks and tied with Frankie Ruiz's song "Ironía" for the longest run at number one. The latter song was named the best-performing track of the year on the Tropical Airplay chart and won the Billboard Latin Music Award for "Tropical/Salsa Hot Latin Track of the Year" in 1997. (Full article...)
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The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" was the most-broadcast radio song for eight weeks.

Since July 2009, Israeli broadcast monitoring service Media Forest has been publishing four rankings which list the top ten most-broadcast Romanian and foreign songs on Romanian radio stations and television channels separately on a weekly basis. Nine radio stations—Europa FM, Info Pro, Kiss FM, Magic FM, National FM, Pro FM, Radio 21, Radio România Actualități and Radio ZU—and five television channels—1 Music Channel, Kiss TV, MTV Romania, Party TV and UTV Romania—were taken into consideration for the charts' compilation in 2009. They are based on the number of times tracks are broadcast, determined by acoustic fingerprinting.

Media Forest also releases year-end charts in regards to the radio airplay, listing the most-broadcast songs of Romanian origin of the respective year, weighted by the official audience numbers provided by Asociația pentru Radio Audiență (Romanian Association for Audience Numbers). David Deejay and Dony reached number one on the 2009 ranking with "So Bizarre". In 2009, eight and eleven singles were listed by Media Forest as the most-broadcast tracks on radio and television respectively. The first were "Takin' Back My Love" by Enrique Iglesias and Ciara (radio) and "Undeva-n Balcani" by Puya and George Hora (television) in July 2009. "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas spent eight weeks as the most-broadcast single on radio stations, longer than any other, while in terms of television airplay, this feat was achieved by Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina's "Stereo Love" with a total of six non-consecutive weeks. "Chica Bomb" by Dan Balan was the final top song of 2009 on both listings. (Full article...)
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The UK Singles Chart is the official record chart in the United Kingdom. Prior to 1969 there was no official singles chart; however, The Official Charts Company and Guinness' British Hit Singles & Albums regard the canonical sources as New Musical Express (NME) before 10 March 1960 and Record Retailer from then until 15 February 1969 when Retailer and the BBC jointly commissioned the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) to compile the charts. The choice to use Record Retailer as the canonical source for the 1960s has been contentious because NME (which continued compiling charts beyond March 1960) had the biggest circulation of periodicals in the decade and was more widely followed.

As well as the chart compilers mentioned previously, Melody Maker, Disc and Record Mirror all compiled their own charts during the decade. Due to the lack of any official chart the BBC aggregated results from all these charts to announce its own Pick of the Pops chart. One source explains that the reason for using the Record Retailer chart for the 1960s was that it was "the only chart to have as many as 50 positions for almost the entire decade". The sample size of Record Retailer in the early 1960s was around 30 stores whereas NME and Melody Maker were sampling over 100 stores. In 1969, the first BMRB chart was compiled using postal returns of sales logs from 250 record shops. (Full article...)
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From January 2007 to May 2007, the number-one singles in Canada were compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan. The chart was compiled every Wednesday, and was published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays. On March 31, 2007, Billboard magazine created the Canadian Hot 100, a chart specifically designed for Canada and the first Hot 100 chart that Billboard created for a country outside the United States. The chart was made available for the first time via Billboard online services on June 7, 2007, and it served as the successor to the Canadian Digital Song Sales Chart. (Full article...)