Hot Rats: Encyclopedia II - Hot Rats - Multi-tracking

Hot Rats - Multi-tracking

The ability to lay down one or two audio tracks at a time and then progressively layer them with discrete, uncompromised audio signal on each track is called multi-tracking. This was a new, but prominent feature of pop music and rock recordings, with The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper being the new standard for commercial studio recordings (four tracks plus overdubs) of the day. Overdubbing was a process of recording one sound on top of another sound on the same track, resulting in some audio quality degradation. However, for example, multi-tracking with sixteen tracks, sixteen different voices could be recorded and mixed without any overdubbing. In 1969 to have sixteen discrete tracks of audio compared to 3 or 4 tracks -- common with most rock and pop recordings of the previous five years -- was the difference between the Space Shuttle and a Model T.

Multi-tracking and overdubbing were referred to in that analog tape recording era as "sound with sound" and "sound ON sound", respectively.

Ian Underwood plays the parts of eight or ten musicians on four pieces; with complicated sections of piano and organ, as well as woodwind parts including multiple flutes, clarinets and saxophones. These tracks also feature upright bass (Max Bennett) and violin (Jean Luc Ponty) as well as drums (John Guerin). The other two tracks feature screaming tenor sax, electric violin and guitar in looser jams, one with a vocal by Captain Beefheart.

Zappa composed, arranged and produced the album and played electric guitar and "octave bass" (a bass guitar sped up to double speed - the resulting sound is similar to that of a guitar) according to the liner notes. The use of electronic organ as an orchestral voice within an ensemble of woodwinds and piano along with tape manipulation (half speed or double speed) as a technique for producing different timbres, envelopes and tonal colors can be heard on some tracks (including some percussion -- years before electronic and synth drums appeared). One track even features the sound (almost forgotten today) of a hard plastic comb being stroked at one point, almost like a jerky, audio slow-motion bell tree or wind chime.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Multi-tracking", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki