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 "State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus" (Belarusian: Дзяржаўны гімн Рэспублікі Беларусь, romanized: Dziaržawny himn Respubliki Bielaruś [d͡zʲarˈʐawnɨ ɣʲimn rɛsˈpublʲikʲi bʲɛɫaˈrusʲ]), better known as "My Belarussy" (Мы, беларусы, My, Bielarusy; "We, Belarusians"), is the national anthem of Belarus. It was originally written in the 1940s and adopted in 1955 for use in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The music of the Byelorussian SSR's regional anthem was composed by Niescier Sakałoŭski and the lyrics were written by Michas Klimkovič. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the music composed by Sakalowski was kept and the lyrics were discarded. New lyrics, which were written by Klimkovič and Uladzimir Karyzna, were adopted by a presidential decree issued on 2 July 2002. (Full article...)
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Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot, released on May 25, 2004, by Roadrunner Records. A special edition, containing a bonus disc, was released on April 12, 2005. It is the band's only album produced by Rick Rubin. Following the band's tour to promote its second album in 2002, speculation regarding the future began. Some band members had already been involved in side projects including Murderdolls, To My Surprise, and the reformation of Stone Sour. In 2003, Slipknot moved into The Mansion to work on the album. Initially, the band was unproductive; lead vocalist Corey Taylor was drinking heavily. Nevertheless, the band managed to write more than enough material for a new album. Vol. 3 is credited as Slipknot's first to incorporate more traditional, melodic song structures, guitar solos and acoustic instruments.

The album received generally positive reviews. Slipknot was praised by AllMusic for its "dedication to making it a Slipknot album", while Q added that the album was "a triumph". The album peaked within the top ten in album sales across eleven countries, and went Platinum in the United States. The band also received the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for the song "Before I Forget". At the end of 2009, "Before I Forget" was listed as "AOL's Top Metal Song of the Decade". Roadrunner Records have listed the music video for "Duality" as the best music video in Roadrunner history. (Full article...)
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The Final Cut (subtitled A Requiem for the Post War Dream) 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 departed from the band in 1985. It is also the only Pink Floyd album not to feature 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; the 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 the drummer, Nick Mason, were limited mostly to sound effects. (Full article...)
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Kal Ho Naa Ho (transl. There may be no tomorrow, pronounced [kəl ɦoː naː ɦoː]), also abbreviated as KHNH, is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Nikhil Advani in his directorial debut with a story written by Karan Johar with dialogue by Niranjan Iyengar, and produced by Yash Johar. The film stars Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Preity Zinta, with Sushma Seth, Reema Lagoo, Lillete Dubey, and Delnaaz Irani in supporting roles. In the film, Naina Catherine Kapur (Zinta) and Aman Mathur (Shah Rukh Khan) fall in love, but a secret prevents him from reciprocating his feelings and results in a plan to set Naina up with her best friend, Rohit Patel (Saif Ali Khan).

Collaborating with Johar, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy composed the soundtrack and score. Anil Mehta, Manish Malhotra, and Sharmishta Roy were the cinematographer, costume designer and art director, respectively. Principal photography took place in Toronto, New York City, and Mumbai from January to October 2003. The soundtrack was released on 27 September 2003 to positive reviews; the title song, "It's The Time To Disco", "Kuch To Hua Hai", and "Pretty Woman" were particularly well-received. (Full article...)
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Smashing Pumpkins performing in 2019. Left to right: Jimmy Chamberlin, Billy Corgan, and James Iha

The Smashing Pumpkins (or simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, the band has undergone several line-up changes since their reunion in 2006, with Corgan being the sole constant member since its inception. The current lineup features Corgan, Chamberlin, and Iha.

The band has a diverse, densely layered sound, which evolved throughout their career and has contained elements of gothic rock, heavy metal, grunge, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, shoegaze, dream pop, and electronica overall, with Corgan as the group's primary songwriter. The band's first album, Gish (1991), became an underground success. In the advent of alternative rock's mainstream breakthrough, their second album Siamese Dream (1993) established the band's popularity. Despite a tumultuous recording process, the album received acclaim and is regarded as one of the best albums in the genre. Their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) furthered the band's popularity. Debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, the double album was certified Diamond by the RIAA and received various critical plaudits. After the release of Adore (1998) and a two-part project in 2000 (Machina and Machina II), the group disbanded due to internal conflicts, drug use, and diminishing sales by the end of the 1990s. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, the Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s, often cited as a cultural touchstone of Generation X and an important act in the popularization of alternative rock. (Full article...)
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"Nothing to My Name" (Chinese: 一无所有) is a 1986 Mandarin-language rock song by Cui Jian. It is widely considered Cui's most famous and most important work, and one of the most influential songs in the history of the People's Republic of China, both as a seminal point in the development of Chinese rock music and as a political sensation. The song was an unofficial anthem for Chinese youth and activists during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

Both in its lyrics and instruments, the song mixes traditional Chinese styles with modern rock elements. In the lyrics, the speaker addresses a girl who is scorning him because he has nothing. However, the song has also been interpreted as being about the dispossessed youth of the time, because it evokes a sense of disillusionment and lack of individual freedom that was common among the young generation during the 1980s. (Full article...)
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Kala is the second studio album by British hip hop artist M.I.A. It was released on 8 August 2007 by XL Recordings. M.I.A. named the album after her mother and said her mother's struggles in life are a major theme of the recording. It was mainly written and produced by M.I.A. and Switch, and features contributions from Timbaland, Diplo, Afrikan Boy and The Wilcannia Mob.

M.I.A. initially planned to work with American producer Timbaland for the bulk of the album, but was unable to gain a long-term work visa to enter the US. She hence recorded the album at numerous locations around the world, including India, Angola, Trinidad, Liberia, Jamaica and Australia. M.I.A. and Switch relied heavily on the digital audio workstation Logic Pro and recorded additional vocals and background sounds outside the traditional studio environment. Kala incorporates prominent influences from South Asian music, featuring samples of Bollywood and Tamil cinema. The album draws on various styles, from funk carioca to African folk. The songs are about political themes related to the Third World, including illegal immigration, poverty and capitalism. (Full article...)
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Too Much Too Soon is the second album by the American hard rock band New York Dolls. It was released by Mercury Records on May 10, 1974, and recorded earlier that year at A&R Studios in New York City. Dissatisfied with the recording of their 1973 self-titled debut album, the Dolls' lead singer David Johansen enlisted veteran producer Shadow Morton to produce the sessions. Morton, who had been disenchanted by the music industry, found renewed motivation in the band's energy and undertook the project as a challenge.

Although the Dolls shared an affinity for Morton, they produced little original material with him. To complete Too Much Too Soon, they covered older songs and re-recorded their past demos. Johansen impersonated different characters while singing some of the novelty covers, and Morton incorporated many studio sound effects and female backing vocals in his production. For the album, lead guitarist Johnny Thunders wrote and recorded "Chatterbox", his first recorded performance singing lead. (Full article...)
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Halo 3 Original Soundtrack is the official soundtrack to Bungie's first-person shooter video game Halo 3. Most of the original music was composed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, but also includes a bonus track, "LvUrFR3NZ", which was the winning entry in a contest held before the soundtrack's release. The 2-CD set was released on November 20, 2007.

For the next game in the Halo trilogy, O'Donnell added new themes as well as bringing back and expanding old ones, some of which had never been recorded with a full orchestra before. The score made extensive use of the piano, an instrument which O'Donnell used frequently for composition but that had not been featured in previous Halo music. In addition to scoring the game, the music was used for promotional advertisements and trailers preceding Halo 3's release. The game's score and its soundtrack were generally well received. The soundtrack reached the Billboard 200 chart, and also broke the top twenty best-selling soundtracks and independent albums listings. The score was nominated for X-Play's "Best of 2007" awards, under best original soundtrack. (Full article...)
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Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 1882 – 20 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who moved to the United States in 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. Although much of his work was experimental and unusual, the piece with which he is most generally associated is his piano arrangement of the folk-dance tune "Country Gardens".

Grainger left Australia at the age of 13 to attend the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. Between 1901 and 1914 he was based in London, where he established himself first as a society pianist and later as a concert performer, composer, and collector of original folk melodies. As his reputation grew he met many of the significant figures in European music, forming important friendships with Frederick Delius and Edvard Grieg. He became a champion of Nordic music and culture, his enthusiasm for which he often expressed in private letters, sometimes in crudely racial or anti-Semitic terms. (Full article...)
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The London Coliseum, home of The English National Opera

English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English.

The company's origins were in the late 19th century, when the philanthropist Emma Cons, later assisted by her niece Lilian Baylis, presented theatrical and operatic performances at the Old Vic, for the benefit of local people. Baylis subsequently built up both the opera and the theatre companies, and later added a ballet company; these evolved into the ENO, the Royal National Theatre and The Royal Ballet, respectively. (Full article...)
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Portrait of Rimsky-Korsakov in 1898 by Valentin Serov (detail)

Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (18 March 1844 – 21 June 1908)
was a Russian composer, a member of the group of composers known as The Five. He was a master of orchestration. His best-known orchestral compositions—Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade—are staples of the classical music repertoire, along with suites and excerpts from some of his fifteen operas. Scheherazade is an example of his frequent use of fairy-tale and folk subjects.

Rimsky-Korsakov believed in developing a nationalistic style of classical music, as did his fellow composer Mily Balakirev and the critic Vladimir Stasov. This style employed Russian folk song and lore along with exotic harmonic, melodic and rhythmic elements in a practice known as musical orientalism, and eschewed traditional Western compositional methods. Rimsky-Korsakov appreciated Western musical techniques after he became a professor of musical composition, harmony, and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1871. He undertook a rigorous three-year program of self-education and became a master of Western methods, incorporating them alongside the influences of Mikhail Glinka and fellow members of The Five. Rimsky-Korsakov's techniques of composition and orchestration were further enriched by his exposure to the works of Richard Wagner. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that to promote the Buffalo Club, Rising Tide Records sent packages of plastic buffalo to music industry executives in Nashville?
... that the Guns N' Roses debut studio album Appetite for Destruction was recorded at a recording studio founded by 1970s pop duo Captain & Tennille?
... 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 Castle Recording Laboratory, Nashville's first commercial recording studio, was established in a repurposed hotel banquet room?
... 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 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: May 7

Joe Ford, American bandleader and multi-instrumentalist, turns 77.
Ramesh Shotham, Indian percussionist, turns 76.
Axel Zwingenberger, German boogie-woogie pianist, turns 69.
Michael Formanek, American bass player, turns 66.
Phil Campbell, Welsh rock musician and lead guitarist for Motörhead, turns 63.
Johnny Lee Middleton, American musician and bassist for Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra, turns 61.
Eagle-Eye Cherry, American singer, turns 56.
Carlos Alomar, Puerto Rican guitarist, composer, and arranger , turns 73.

Lars Sjösten (Record production, 1941 –October 19, 2011), Swedish arranger, composer, and pianist, would have turned 83 this year.
Teresa Brewer (Record production, 1931 –October 17, 2007), American traditional pop vocalist, would have turned 93 this year.
Herbie Steward (Record production, 1926 –August 09, 2003), American clarinetist and saxophonist, would have turned 98 this year.
Paul Quinichette (Record production, 1916 –March 25, 1983), American saxophonist, would have turned 108 this year.
Edward Inge (Record production, 1906 –October 08, 1988), American arranger and reedist, would have turned 118 this year.
Floyd O'Brien (Record production, 1904 –November 26, 1968), American trombonist, would have turned 120 this year.
Leon Abbey (Record production, 1900 –September 15, 1975), American bandleader and violinist, would have turned 124 this year.
Pete Jacobs (musician) (1899 –1952), American swing drummer, would have turned 125.
Yank Porter (Record production, 1895 –March 22, 1944), American drummer, would have turned 129 this year.

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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Before and After Science is the fifth solo studio album by Brian Eno, originally released by Polydor Records in December 1977 in the United Kingdom and by Island U.S. soon after. Produced by Eno and Rhett Davies, it is the first of Eno's popular music works to be published under his full name (unlike all recordings that preceded the record and Discreet Music, where he was mononymously credited as "Eno").

Musicians from the United Kingdom and Germany had notably collaborated on the album, including Robert Wyatt, Fred Frith, Phil Manzanera, Paul Rudolph, Andy Fraser, Dave Mattacks, Jaki Liebezeit, Dieter Moebius, and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. Over one hundred tracks were written but only ten made the album's final cut. The musical styles range from energetic and jagged to languid and pastoral. (Full article...)
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Amar la Trama (transl. Loving the Plot) is the ninth studio album by Uruguayan recording artist Jorge Drexler. It was released by Warner Music on March 16, 2010, after a four-year gap since the release of his last album of original music. Drexler worked as co-producer, along with Matías Cella and Carles Campi Campón. The themes of the songs are his personal feelings inspired by journeys to Uruguay and Spain, his global wanderings, and the universal wonder of everyday moments.

The album received mostly positive reviews; critics commended Drexler's lyrics and his ability to perform live in front of a small audience during the recording sessions. The album entered the top five in Spain. The first single, "Una Canción Me Trajo Hasta Aquí", also received praise. La Trama Circular, a DVD documentary about the recording sessions, is included in the standard edition of the album. On September 8, 2010, Amar la Trama received four nominations for the 11th Latin Grammy Awards. (Full article...)
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Forever Now is the third studio album by the English rock band the Psychedelic Furs. The 10-song album, including the hit single "Love My Way", was recorded in the spring of 1982 and released on 24 September of that year by Columbia/CBS. A 20th-anniversary reissue included six related bonus tracks.

The album represented a turning point in the musical maturation of the band, after a turbulent period of personnel changes in which they shrank from a six-man ensemble to a quartet. Working with the Furs for the first time, Todd Rundgren placed his own sonic imprint upon the album as producer and guest musician. Rundgren also added new types of instrumentation to the band's sound, including cello and marimba. (Full article...)
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Spit is the debut studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Kittie, originally released on November 13, 1999, through Ng Records. Kittie were formed in 1996, and signed to Ng in 1999 after Jake Weiner, the record label's second-in-command, witnessed one of the band's shows. Produced by Garth Richardson, Spit was recorded over nine days in May 1999 at EMAC Studios in London, Ontario, and was completed in August 1999. Spit is a nu metal album that incorporates various elements from several heavy metal subgenres, and its lyrical themes include sexism, hatred, ignorance, betrayal, bullying and life experiences. The album is Kittie's only release with their original line-up, featuring bassist Tanya Candler and guitarist Fallon Bowman; Candler was replaced by Talena Atfield, who appears on the cover of all subsequent reissues of the album.

Shortly after Spit's initial release, Ng was absorbed into Artemis Records, who gave the album a wide re-release on January 11, 2000. Kittie promoted the album with the release of two singles, "Brackish" and "Charlotte", which became radio and MTV hits, and extensive international touring which saw the band perform at the Ozzfest and SnoCore festivals in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The album reached number 79 on the US Billboard 200 chart and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in October 2000. (Full article...)
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Michael Jackson's This Is It (or simply This Is It) is a posthumous two-disc soundtrack album by American singer Michael Jackson. Released by MJJ Music on October 26, 2009, This Is It features previously released music, as well as six previously unreleased recordings by Jackson. This Is It was released to coincide with the theatrical release of Michael Jackson's This Is It, a concert film documenting Jackson's rehearsals for the This Is It concert series at the O2 Arena in London. This Is It is the sixth album to be released by Sony and Motown/Universal since Jackson's death on June 25, 2009.

This Is It debuted at number one in fourteen countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, and France. This Is It also peaked within the top 10 of the charts in several other nations. This Is It has been certified gold, platinum, or double-platinum in multiple countries. This Is It was the twelfth best-selling album of 2009 in the United States and the third best-selling album of 2009 based on worldwide sales. By March 2010, the soundtrack had sold 5 million copies globally. The title track from the album, "This Is It", earned Jackson a nomination in 2011 for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. (Full article...)
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Now That's What I Call Drag Music, Vol. 1, also known as Songs in the Key of Nope, is a comedy album by American drag performer Willam Belli, self-released on October 26, 2018. The album features fellow RuPaul's Drag Race contestants Latrice Royale and Trixie Mattel, as well as drag performer Rhea Litré. Former contestants Derrick Barry and Courtney Act make guest appearances in the music video for the song "Derrick". In the United States, the album spent two weeks on Billboard's Comedy Albums chart, reaching a peak position of number four. (Full article...)
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Voliminal: Inside the Nine is the third video album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released December 5, 2006 by Roadrunner Records, the 2-disc DVD set features an 84-minute movie created by band member Shawn "Clown" Crahan. The set also includes live performances, music videos from songs on the band's third studio album, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), and the first unmasked interviews with all of the band members.
The movie featured footage recorded from the recording of Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) through the end of the tour in support of the album spanning a total of 28 months. The DVD was promoted on various websites for the weeks leading up to its limited theatrical release. Critical reception of the album was mixed. Dawn wrote the album has "a raw sound" calling it "an audible treat for thrash and speed metal fans"; however, Billboard would tell fans to "save your cash for the band's next tour". Voliminal would be certified gold, platinum, and double platinum in Australia, the United States, and Canada respectively. (Full article...)
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One Fierce Beer Coaster is the second studio album by American band Bloodhound Gang, released on December 3, 1996. Produced by Jimmy Pop, it was the band's first release on Geffen Records, and the first to feature "Evil" Jared Hasselhoff on bass guitar, and DJ Q-Ball on the turntables. The music of One Fierce Beer Coaster encompasses a number of genres and its lyrics are rife with toilet humor.

One Fierce Beer Coaster was initially released by the independent label Republic Records before being re-released by Geffen Records due to underground popularity. The album has received mixed to moderately favorable reviews. Three singles were released from the album including "Fire Water Burn", "I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks" and "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' on Me?" The first single, "Fire Water Burn", was a modern rock hit, landing on nine national charts. (Full article...)
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Chinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released on November 23, 2008, by Black Frog and Geffen Records. It was the first Guns N' Roses studio album since the 1993 covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?", and their first album of original studio material since Use Your Illusion I and II (1991). It languished in development hell for eight years, delayed by personnel and legal problems, label interference, and the perfectionism of vocalist Axl Rose. It was the first Guns N' Roses album without Izzy Stradlin, Slash, and Duff McKagan, and the first not produced by Mike Clink; instead it was produced by Rose and Caram Costanzo.

After the Use Your Illusion Tour ended in 1993, Guns N' Roses spent several years rehearsing ideas for a new album. However, several members left following creative and personal differences with Rose and no music was released. In 1998, Rose, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarists Paul Tobias and Robin Finck, drummer Josh Freese, bassist Tommy Stinson and multi-instrumentalist Chris Pitman began writing and recording new songs. Originally intended for a 1999 release, Chinese Democracy was rerecorded and delayed multiple times. The lineup shifted several times, incorporating guitarists Buckethead, Richard Fortus, and Bumblefoot and drummers Brain and Frank Ferrer. The band recorded over 50 songs, intending to release multiple albums. With costs reportedly exceeding $13 million, it became the most expensive rock album ever produced. (Full article...)
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Love Metal is the fourth studio album by Finnish gothic rock band HIM. Released on 11 April 2003, HIM began recording demos for the album in northern spring 2002, after an exhausting touring cycle for their previous album, which nearly broke the band up. Excited and invigorated by the new material, HIM entered Finnvox Studios in September 2002 with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa, who had previously helmed the group's 1997 debut album. Musically Love Metal featured a more raw and organic sound, inspired by the band's early influences, which was also seen as a reaction to the difficulties they faced while recording their previous album. Vocalist Ville Valo has since described Love Metal as the album where HIM found their sound. Love Metal was also the band's first album to predominantly feature their logo, the Heartagram, on the cover, while the album's title was coined in the mid-nineties as a description for HIM's musical genre.

Love Metal received positive reviews from critics, with many praising the songwriting and calling the album a return to form after Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights. The album charted in eleven countries, reaching number one in Finland and Germany, later going platinum and gold respectively. Love Metal was also the band's first album to chart in the UK and France at number 55 and 141 respectively. Three singles were released, with "The Funeral of Hearts" reaching number one on the Finnish Singles Chart. Music videos were produced for all three singles, with professional skateboarder and Jackass member Bam Margera directing two. Following the album's release, HIM toured the US for the first time, with all of the shows being sold-out. (Full article...)
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So Far, So Good... So What! is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on January 19, 1988, by Capitol Records. It was the band's only album recorded with drummer Chuck Behler and guitarist Jeff Young, both of whom were fired from the band in early 1989, several months after the completion of the album's world tour. So Far, So Good... So What! features music performed at fast tempos with technical ability; lyrically, frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine addresses a variety of topics, including nuclear holocaust and freedom of speech.

So Far, So Good... So What! was well received by critics upon its release, although retrospective analysis has been less favorable. It managed to enter the top-thirty of the Billboard 200 (although it received no commercial radio play), and charted in several other countries as well. The album was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA, and indicated Megadeth's forthcoming emergence from the underground music scene. (Full article...)
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Sex is the second extended play (EP) by English band the 1975. It was released on 19 November 2012 by Dirty Hit. A modified version was released in the US on 1 January 2013 by Dirty Hit and Polydor Records. The band produced the EP alongside Michael Coles, Robert Coles and Mike Crossey. They drew musical inspiration from Sigur Rós, Brian Eno and filmmaker John Hughes while thematically focusing on the passage of time. Prior to the record's debut, a music video for "Sex" was released.

An ambient rock-influenced rock, R&B, electro, pop and emo record, Sex is musically divided into two halves. Its first half is characterised by its ethereal compositions which draw from electropop, while the second half is informed by an extensive use of guitars. The record's lyrics incorporate themes of love, sex and drugs. Upon release, the EP received generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised the exploration of various genres but felt the record suffered from a lack of cohesion. (Full article...)

More selected albums

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

Image 1Digital 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 2A Mexican son jarocho singer recording tracks at the Tec de Monterrey studios (from Recording studio)
Image 3Mixing desk with twenty inputs and eight outputs (from Multitrack recording)
Image 4Donna Summer wearing headphones during a recording session in 1977 (from Recording studio)
Image 5The TEAC 2340, a popular early (1973) home multitrack recorder, four tracks on ¼ inch tape (from Multitrack recording)
Image 6The 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 7Danny Knicely records with Furnace Mountain Band in Virginia (2012) (from Recording studio)
Image 8Hip 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 9A selection of instruments at a music studio, including a grand piano (from Recording studio)
Image 10The Siemens Studio for Electronic Music c. 1956. (from Recording studio)
Image 11Engineers and producers watch a trumpet player from a window in the control room during a recording session. (from Recording studio)
Image 12Control room at the Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus (from Recording studio)
Image 13Allen & Heath GS3000 analog mixing console in a home studio (from Recording studio)
Image 14The studio at Ridge Radio in Caterham, England (from Recording studio)
Image 15Scully 280 eight-track recorder at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (from Multitrack recording)
Image 16Korg D888 eight-track digital recorder (from Multitrack recording)
Image 17Neve VR60, a multitrack mixing console. Above the console are a range of studio monitor speakers. (from Recording studio)
Image 18An audio production facility at An-Najah National University (from Recording studio)

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

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"All My Life" by Lil Durk & J. Cole is the most recent recipient

The Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance (awarded as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration until 2017, and Best Rap/Sung Performance from 2018 to 2020) is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs on which rappers and singers collaborate. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".

The name and definition of the category were changed in June 2020, with immediate effect, to represent the inclusivity of the growing hybrid performance trends within the rap genre. According to the Recording Academy, "This category is intended to recognize solo and collaborative performances containing elements of rap and melody over modern production. This performance requires a strong and clear presence of melody combined with rap cadence, and is inclusive of dialects, lyrics or performance elements from non-rap genres including R&B, rock, country, electronic or more. The production may include traditional elements of rap or elements characteristic of the aforementioned non-rap genres." (Full article...)
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Reba McEntire was one of a large number of acts with two number one singles in 1986. She also performed on the year-end number one by Hank Williams Jr. but was not credited on the chart

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1986, 52 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores. No song managed more than a single week at number one during the year.

The first number one of the year was "Have Mercy" by mother-daughter duo the Judds. In the fall, Conway Twitty achieved his 40th and final Hot Country number one with "Desperado Love", 18 years after he first topped the chart with "Next in Line". Twitty's total of 40 number ones would remain a record for the highest number of country chart-toppers by an artist until 2006, when the record was broken by George Strait. Two female acts tied for the most number ones of the year, each reaching the top spot three times: the Forester Sisters (including one in collaboration with the Bellamy Brothers) and the Judds. More than a dozen acts each achieved two number ones, including Crystal Gayle and Gary Morris, who each achieved one solo number one as well as performing together on the hit "Makin' Up for Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers' Song)". One of Juice Newton's two number ones, "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)", a duet with Eddie Rabbitt, had originally been performed by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson on the soap opera Days of Our Lives the previous year. The song was not initially released commercially, but after Newton and Rabbitt's version became a hit, Loring and Anderson's recording was released and topped the Hot Adult Contemporary chart, meaning that versions of the same song by two different acts were number ones in their respective genres within a month of each other. (Full article...)
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Tex Williams (pictured in later life) spent 15 consecutive weeks at number one with "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)".

From 1944 until 1957, Billboard magazine published a chart that ranked the most-played country music songs in jukeboxes in the United States, based on a survey of over 3000 operators "in all sections of the country"; until 1948 it was the magazine's only country music chart. In 1947, nine songs topped the chart, which was published under the title Most Played Juke Box Folk Records with the exception of the issues of Billboard dated September 6 through November 1, when it was titled Most Played Juke Box Hillbilly Records. The Juke Box Folk chart is considered the start of the lineage of the magazine's current country music songs charts.

The number-one position was dominated in 1947 by three artists who each topped the chart for at least 14 weeks. At the start of the year, Merle Travis was at number one with "Divorce Me C.O.D." which had spent 11 weeks in the top spot in 1946, and spent three further non-consecutive weeks atop the chart in 1947, interrupted for a single week by Ernest Tubb's "Rainbow at Midnight". Tubb's song replaced "Divorce Me C.O.D." at number one again in the issue of Billboard dated February 1, but the following week Travis returned to number one with a different single, "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed". This song spent fourteen consecutive weeks at number one, giving him a total of seventeen weeks atop the chart in 1947, the most by any artist. Two weeks after Travis relinquished the number-one position, Eddy Arnold achieved the first chart-topper of his career with "What Is Life Without Love". He had two more number ones before the end of the year, making him the only artist with three chart-toppers in 1947. He ended the year atop the listing with "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)". Arnold would dominate the Juke Box Folk chart the following year, spending almost all of 1948 at number one, and remain popular into the 1950s before his career went into a decline. He revived his fortunes in the mid-1960s, however, by embracing the "Nashville sound", a newer style of country music which eschewed elements of the earlier honky-tonk style in favor of smooth productions which had a broader appeal, and ended his career with a record total of 28 number-one country singles. (Full article...)
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Hank Locklin spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one with "Please Help Me, I'm Falling".

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1960, five different songs topped the chart, which at the time was published under the title Hot C&W Sides, C&W being an abbreviation for country and western. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.

In the issue of Billboard dated January 4, the song at number one was "El Paso" by Marty Robbins, the track's third week in the top spot. It held the peak position for the first five weeks of 1960, during which time it also topped the all-genre Hot 100 chart for two weeks. During the remainder of the year, only four other songs reached the top of the Hot C&W Sides listing, three of which each spent twelve or more consecutive weeks at number one. In the issue of Billboard dated February 8, Jim Reeves began a 14-week unbroken run at the top of the chart with "He'll Have to Go", which was immediately followed by a run of the same length by Hank Locklin's "Please Help Me, I'm Falling". Both songs were produced by Chet Atkins, widely seen as the originator of the "Nashville Sound", a new style of country music which eschewed elements of the earlier honky-tonk style in favour of smooth productions which had a broader appeal. Cowboy Copas next spent 12 weeks at number one with "Alabam". Several singles peaked at number two during these songs' extended runs at the top of the chart, including "One More Time" by Ray Price, which spent eight consecutive weeks in second place behind Locklin's song. (Full article...)
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The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do not normally perform together. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".

Originally called the Best Country Vocal Performance, Duet, the award was first presented to Kenny Rogers and Ronnie Milsap at the 30th Grammy Awards in 1988 for the single "Make No Mistake, She's Mine". The next year, the category's name was changed to Best Country Vocal Collaboration, a name it held until 1996 when it was awarded as the Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. In 2011, the category was merged with the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and the Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance, forming the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance in order to "tighten the number of categories" at the Grammy Awards. (Full article...)
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Rascal Flatts topped the chart for the first time in 2002.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 2002, 21 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 Alan Jackson's song "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" was at number one at the start of the year, having been at the top since the issue dated December 29, 2001, and remained at number one until the issue dated February 2, when it was replaced by "Good Morning Beautiful" by Steve Holy. This marked Holy's first appearance at the top of the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Other acts who reached the number one position for the first time in 2002 included Darryl Worley with "I Miss My Friend", Chris Cagle with "I Breathe In, I Breathe Out" and Rascal Flatts with "These Days". Additionally, while not his first number one, when Tracy Byrd topped the chart in October with "Ten Rounds with José Cuervo", it marked his first appearance at the top of the chart for more than nine years, as well as the first number one for songwriter Casey Beathard. (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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The Billboard Latin Music Award for Hot Latin Song of the Year (formerly Hot Latin Track of the Year) is an honor presented annually at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, a ceremony which honors "the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music, as determined by the actual sales, radio airplay, online streaming and social data that informs Billboard's weekly charts." The award is given to the best performing singles on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, which measures the most popular Latin recordings in the United States. The Hot Latin Songs chart was established by the magazine in September 1986 and was originally based on airplay on Latin music radio stations. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, radio airplay, and online streaming. From 1995 to 1998, each music genre's field (pop, tropical/salsa and Regional Mexican) had their own Hot Latin Track of the Year category.

Enrique Iglesias and Nicky Jam are the most awarded acts in the category with three wins each. Alejandro Fernández, Wisin & Yandel, Don Omar, Romeo Santos, Ozuna, Nicky Jam, Peso Pluma and Grupo Frontera are the only acts with two nominated songs in the same year, a milestone achieved twice by Santos. Bad Bunny became the only act to have three nominated songs in the same year. As of 2017, only Iglesias and Nicky Jam have won Hot Latin Song of the Year twice in a row. As of 2023, the holders are Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma for the song "Ella Baila Sola". Enrique Iglesias and Bad Bunny became tied for the most nominations as of 2023. (Full article...)
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Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1967, 23 different singles topped the chart, which was published at the time under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.

In the issue of Billboard dated January 7, the number one position was held by Jack Greene with "There Goes My Everything", the song's third week at number one. It remained at the top of the chart for the first five weeks of 1967 before it was replaced by Loretta Lynn's "Don't Come Home A' Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)" in the issue dated February 11. The song marked the first appearance at number one for Lynn, whose career would ultimately span six decades and lead to her being regarded as one of the most influential artists in country music history. Another female vocalist who would go on to achieve a string of number one hits and be viewed as an all-time great of country music, Tammy Wynette, also reached number one for the first time in 1967. Wynette topped the chart for the first time when she collaborated with David Houston on the song "My Elusive Dreams", and returned to the top spot later in the year with the solo single "I Don't Wanna Play House". As a result of their lengthy and successful careers, both Lynn and Wynette would be dubbed the "first lady of country". (Full article...)
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Billie Holiday was the featured vocalist on Paul Whiteman's chart-topper "Trav'lin' Light"; she was credited under the moniker "Lady Day".

In 1942, Billboard magazine launched a chart ranking the "most popular records in Harlem" titled the Harlem Hit Parade and based on a survey of record stores primarily in the Harlem district of New York City. The area has historically been noted for its African American population and has been called the "black capital of America". The chart is considered to be the start of the lineage of the magazine's R&B chart, which has undergone various name changes over the subsequent decades to reflect the evolution of African American-oriented musical genres. Since 2005 it has been published under the title Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs. The chart was first published in the issue of Billboard dated October 24, 1942 and six songs reached number one in the remainder of the year.

Most of 1942's number ones were in the jazz and swing genres, which were among the most popular styles of music in the early 1940s. The first chart-topper was "Take It and Git" by tuba player and bandleader Andy Kirk and his band the Twelve Clouds of Joy, which occupied the top spot for a single week. It would prove to be the only chart-topper for Kirk, who remained successful until the end of the 1940s but then broke up his band and largely left the music industry. (Full article...)