# Songs, whose sonic "aura" are integral to them?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** music
**Created:** [September 19, 2023, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363 "2023-09-19T13:31:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/1 "2023-09-19T13:31:02Z")
kinda hard to explain - but there are quite some songs, where the whole “sonic package” adds to the listening pleasure …
by that I mean that they would sound off if they were recorded in “hi-res dolby THX 24 bits” … but its not just a matter of being lo-fi …
again hard to put into words - so here an example you probably can all relate to:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0vCwGUZe1I)
there is a kind of sonic-aura or signature to it - that are integral to the song…
got any examples?
---
### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/2 "2023-09-19T13:40:22Z")
The first thing that come to my mind would be most of the songs recorded by The Velvet Underground. Many were lo-fi, but had an "aura’ to them. They would have lost their charm IMO had they been done more “professionally.”
---
### Author:  [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/3 "2023-09-19T14:03:19Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> Many were lo-fi, but had an "aura’ to them. They would have lost their charm IMO had they been done more “professionally.”
Also true of The Kinks.
---
### Author:  [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/4 "2023-09-19T15:05:53Z")
Is this the kind of thing you’re talking about?
> **[Wall of Sound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_of_Sound)**
>
> The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session musicians later known as "the Wrecking Crew". The intention was to exploit the possibilities of studio recording to create an unusually dense orchestral aesthetic that came across well through radios and jukeboxes of the era. Spector explained in 1964: A p...
The wiki gives loads of examples of other users of the technique
---
### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/5 "2023-09-19T16:12:40Z")
Lots and lots and lots to be posted (yeah, often the production and the sound make the record), but as an extreme example I propose the whole of My Bloody Valentines’ classic album “Loveless”. The studio is the most important instrument on this record. The production costs almost ruined the label, Creation, by the way…
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nzZeUUiG2c)
ETA: a collection of songs defined similarly by their production is “Pet Sounds” by the Beach Boys.
---
### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/6 "2023-09-19T16:16:35Z")
This has to be the quintessential example:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-P2qL3qkzk)
---
### Author:  [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/7 "2023-09-19T17:17:34Z")
I’d add “Layla” to this list. The entire album is pretty intentionally raw and personal. For most songs, Clapton used small amps set up on chairs. “Layla” itself has a lot of overdubs, but the actual presence of the artists is very palpable. It is great, but not slick.
---
### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/8 "2023-09-19T17:51:08Z")
Mazzy Star
---
### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/9 "2023-09-19T18:09:59Z")
Very first song to come to mind: _[Out Of The Blue](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGXU05lWCb0)_ by Roxy Music, with Andy Mackay’s oboe and Eddie Jobson’s flanged violin.
---
### Author:  [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/10 "2023-09-19T20:30:30Z")
Mazzy Star was my first thought. Since you took that, I’ll go with Cowboy Junkies “The Trinity Sessions.” Entire album recorded in the Church of the Holy Trinity on one mic.
---
### Author:  [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/11 "2023-09-19T20:47:34Z")
“A Day in the Life.” That combination of vocals, instrumentation, lyrics, production—the whole vibe—depicts an existential dread that strumming the same song around a campfire (or different production) just could not.
---
### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/12 "2023-09-19T20:50:35Z")
As albums go, Low by David Bowie springs to mind. But it’s far from the only time a Bowie album had that sort of - uh - sonic integrity? Station to Station is another, certainly.
j
---
### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/13 "2023-09-19T20:55:03Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#):
>
> As albums go, Low by David Bowie springs to mind. But it’s far from the only time a Bowie album had that sort of - uh - sonic integrity? Station to Station is another, certainly.
Two good examples. I don’t know how he did the trick, but “Station to Station” was a miracle album although Bowie much later admitted that he couldn’t remember anything about recording it because of the drug haze he had been in.
---
### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/14 "2023-09-19T20:57:27Z")
Yeah, I 'd heard the drug story. Living in the moment, I guess. 😉
j
---
### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/15 "2023-09-19T21:46:05Z")
Another song comes to mind is _Crying To The Sky_ by Be Bop Deluxe with Bill Nelson’s terrific Hendrix-influenced guitar work and those two breathaking solos.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3ki5ePvAZ8)
---
### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/16 "2023-09-19T21:52:05Z")
_The Roller skate Servers_ by the Corndogs.
(I made that up 😊)
---
### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2023, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/17 "2023-09-19T22:06:33Z")
> [@Wolf333](#):
>
> Mazzy Star was my first thought. Since you took that, I’ll go with Cowboy Junkies “The Trinity Sessions.” Entire album recorded in the Church of the Holy Trinity on one mic
Another good one, yep.
---
### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2023, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/18 "2023-09-20T15:12:09Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#):
>
> _The Roller skate Servers_ by the Corndogs.
>
> (I made that up 😊)
Referencing [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk_rxsGFwGQ) maybe?
---
### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/19 "2023-09-20T17:37:50Z")
Most any Cowboy Junkies song, but I’ll go with my favorite:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48pFXE28y8Y)
---
### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363/20 "2023-09-20T19:07:19Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#):
>
> Most any Cowboy Junkies song…
Good call!
j
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-sonic-aura-are-integral-to-them/990363.md?page=2)