question about post-Lou albums: did J play most everything?

[mabewa]

I have a question about the post Lou albums: I followed Dinosaur Jr. up to and including Where You Been. (after that, I moved out of the US and lost track of them… recently got back into them with the reissues, reunion tours, Beyond, etc.). I found this statement on Dinosaur Jr.’s Wiki page, and wanted to see if anyone had any information that would confirm or refute it:

"Murph continued to tour with Dinosaur into the early 1990s, but starting with the major-label debut Green Mind (1991), Mascis (who had started out as a drummer) began to record albums almost entirely on his own. For their later years, Mascis was supported on tour and infrequently on record by George Berz on drums and Mike Johnson on bass."

Now, I know that Wiki is often wrong, and I wanted to see if anyone else had any information about this. My impression has basically been, from the credits and sound, that Green Mind was mostly a J solo album with Murph playing drums on a few tracks, and Don Fleming and Jay Siegel playing a few odd bits here and there. However, I also had the strong impression, also from the credits and sound, that Where You Been was recorded as a "band" album, with Mike Johnson and Murph playing most or all over the bass and drums. As for the other 90’s albums, I just don’t know–to be honest, I’ve barely heard them, though from what I have heard, they sound more like like Green Mind–like J. solo records. Can anyone clue me in here?

[Elbit]

i think you’re right about green mind and where you been. i think mike johnson played most of the bass on the last two. i know i read somewhere where he said he didn’t play on nothin’s goin on. other than that i have no clue.

[mabewa]

It seems plausible that MJ played most of the bass on their last two albums. J plays drums, so they probably did rhythm tracks live in the studio together, and then J. overdubbed most everything else, except for some backing vox, etc.

To me, a lot of Green Mind has a very "wooden" sound that really sounds like one guy laying down tracks one by one in the studio. Where You Been, in contrast has a much fuller and looser sound–I suspect that they laid down a lot of basic tracks with J, Murph and Mike Johnson playing together, and then they overdubbed after that. The later albums, from what I’ve heard, sound kind of inbetween–not as "live" as Where You Been, but not as "studio" as Green Mind.

[Elbit]

yeah i totally get what your saying. i like the sound of green mind the most. might just be that i heard that album first and it is my favorite of the 90’s albums. hand it over is really good too.

[weezerfreak942]

green mind has always sounded extra trebley yo me too.

[mabewa]

I’ve noticed that, too. It took them a little while to get the bottom end back after Lou left!

[livingbug]

Yeah.I find Green Mind to be quite thin sounding.Particularly compared to the albums that followed.
I think John Agnello became involved starting with ‘Where You Been’,so I figure that may have contributed in part to the difference of the recorded sound.

[Author]

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