Songs that have no groove because the drums are constantly and dramatically speeding up and slowing down, loud / annoying clack sounds in the bass, guitars that are out of tune, etc are all possible results of being a little too excited in a recording situation. Of course, I'm talking about recording a band live in the studio in this case, but it is certainly not limited to that.

I am a huge proponent for really having something to say when you make a record. I don't mean the lyrics really have to be something, necessarily, but I do mean that the listener should feel something when they listen to the record. The listener should get some feeling of being excited, sadness, happiness, or whatever.

However, it's been my experience with younger bands that you can get a little too excited. Whether we like it or not, there are accepted conventions that are sometimes there for a reason. While I don't think that music should play by any rules, necessarily, there are certainly methods of recording that are more effective than other recording methods when it comes to what the listener feels when they pop in a record.

The Click Track

The click track is one of the most discussed and debated issues when it comes to tracking your band with a real drummer. Some argue that a click track takes away from the natural dynamics of a drummer and forces them to play with some sort of robotic feel.

After recording endless local bands, I don't agree. I've never heard a song sound robotic with a real drummer playing. I don't even think that Nine Inch Nails sounds robotic, necessarily...at least not in a way that takes away from the music. Some could argue that the potentially “robotic” nature of the Nine Inch Nails is a positive thing.

Either way, I'm much more worried about any given drummer sounding sloppy than I am sounding a little stiff. Unless you've tried to overdub over truly shitty drum tracks, you may not realize just how bad crappy drums can be.

I'm of the opinion that most guitar players are against playing to the click because they are used to rushing. The guitar player feels a little excited because he's playing a technical riff at a fairly high speed. Well, I don't care about musicians who are just pleasing themselves with something technical that doesn't actually add to the emotional content of the record.

When I hear a band playing to a click, 99% of the time I think the band sounds big, thick, and strong. (Man, you could take that one the wrong way!) The tracks usually gel in a way that makes the songs easy or at least easier to mix.

If you were to compare a sloppy sounding take without a click track vs the same song recorded with a click track, I think you'll find that the click track will win most of the time. What you think is the drummer playing excitedly can often end up sounding like there is no groove when you listen to the cd in your car.