If so, can you describe how you are able to do with, and if you can, what are the characteristics? Sometimes I can’t describe it using the proper nomenclature, and have to resort to giving examples of a certain song, sometimes comparing a re-make.
The production alone can help me identify the decade, if not closer. Even a song with just an acoustic and vocal is pretty easy for me. Hell, just listening to a vocal helps me identify around the year it was made. The drums is usually an easy giveaway, especially once the 80s came around. I notice they keep getting louder, and the vocals seem to get more quiet on average. The snare drum definitely got louder in the 80s, adding reverb. I notice less piano, and more (usually cheesy sounding) keyboards. Lots of “jangly” strat guitar sounds. I’ve recorded my own music digitally, but I never want that sanitized sound. I’m guessing most of it is direct recording, instead of using microphones (close and distant). I think the styles of the instruments give it away, too, but especially the vocals.
I remember listening to a Marvin Gaye song that had 1984 as the date, but after listening to just a few seconds of it, I knew it had to be a mistake, and I found out it was a posthumous release.
Also, maybe we could have a game where someone posts a song that is trying to sound timeless, and having others guess?
P.S. - I was just telling my brother when we were kids how I’d guess the origin of a movie he’d be watching, and would leave the living room, give him the year and wait for him to verify, and I was usually within 2-3 years.
The first time I heard Rehab by Amy Winehouse it was playing on a jukebox in a bar. I thought I was listening to a Phil Spector girl group from the 60s thing. Then I comprehended that she was singing about rehab, and I realized that it must be newer… So no, I can’t judge the date.
I’m pretty good at it, and I too, think production is the biggest clue, especially acoustic instruments. There’s a clear evolution in the way they have been mic’d over the years. The sound of the standup bass is always the difference between a Fifties Rockabilly recording and a revival.
Yeah, I can generally do this too. Production is usually the giveaway. However, someone who really works at it can usually make a pretty convincing fake.
I didn’t think about lyrics. If the lyrics were universal (maybe reminiscing about the time of grandparents, or an old book) it could throw some people off.
Same happened to me. I was listening to the radio in the car when “Rehab” came out, and I wasn’t paying attention to what station I was on, and I was like “how did I miss this classic sounding 60s song?” Then I thought “Huh. The subject matter seems a bit off for the time.”
You can often tell by stereo separation - even when remastered stereo recorded stuff from the '60’s is usually too wide with the drums on one side instead of slightly off centre.
Synths are often very dateable, through to the '90’s. Eq on voice can be a real giveaway and the effects on voice are also a big clue - for earlier stuff you get maybe a little reverb and double track,
When you get to the late '70’s you get chorus effect, 80’s tends to be much more produced with some electronic tremelo too - you can always recognise it because it is so regular whereas the real thing varies during longer note. By the 90’s you are getting a little bit of chorus auto tune where the second voice follows the first voice but at a much lower level.
Around late '90’s to 00’s you get a distorted version of voice added to the main voice but at a lower level - it gives a distinctive ‘fry’ especially notable toward the end of a song line where the note is longer.
2010 gives you a certain kind of high pitched squeaky eq, along with a lot of pretty sophisticated auto tune - but once heard you can’t miss it, voices sound a little …remote? seem to lack presence.
I wouldn’t be able to date a song based on technical merits (clarity of production, stereo, autotune, etc). My best bet would be based on the general sound and that’s easily thrown off by groups trying to make a retro sound from another era.
Most songs are pretty easily dated; I’d guess 96% of all popular songs, even if you don’t know the artist, can be nailed down to an era of music. Some styles and arrangements are REALLY dated; sometimes it’s a bit more subtle.
Just as an interesting aside: if you listen to this Jamie Cullum cover of The Beatles Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite it was recorded using the original 4 track recorder, tape machines and mixing desk (and the Beatle’s engineer Geoff Emerick) used by the Beatles in 1967. Jamie Cullum being for the benefit of Mr Kite (cover BEATLE) - YouTube.
The big difference I guess are the instruments, the microphones, and mastering processes. And I think you can clearly hear the modernity of it compared to the original. I guess if Jamie had used original 60’s microphones, cabling etc then it might have sounded more similar.
I think it sounds older than it is due to lack of computer sterilization. Or rather, its modern, but other music made in that same year sounds like it had surgery performed on it many times by a guy who wasn’t a surgeon
I mostly can’t differentiate from sound. I might think ‘Ah, slap bass’ or ‘disco feel to those guitars’ and kindasorta ball park it. FWIW I thought this was interesting.
For an album that was released in 1982, that’s impressive. Sample:
