History Main / EchoingAcoustics

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

Variations include reverse echo and reverse reverb are sound effects created as the result of recording an echo or reverb effect of an audio recording played backwards, giving it a ghoulish sound to it. The original recording is then played forwards accompanied by the recording of the echoed or reverberated signal which now precedes the original signal. The process produces a swelling effect preceding and during playback, creating a freakish feel to the sound.

-->--'''The [[http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Eddie_and_the_Cruisers_II__Eddie_Lives__1989.aspx Agony Booth recap]]''' of ''Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!''

* A [[MindScrew truly bizarre example]] with an element of {{subversion}}: Music/ThrobbingGristle's "Convincing People" and "Spirits Flying" both use extremely long echo effects on Genesis P-Orridge's voice, set to the [[TalkingToYourself exact same volume as the main vocal line]].

* Rock and roll used a lot of echo effects to give the songs a bit more punch, from a single "snap echo" to a whole bunch of echos, all produced by tape loops with multiple playback heads one after another.

Echoes and reverb can be used to give something a "massive", imposing sound, as PowerEchoes demonstrates. Echoing Acoustics refers to the use of lots of (often electronic) echoes and reverb in music. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools This isn't that bad]]--for every album where one can't make out the lyrics because they're buried in layers upon layers of reverberation, there are albums where this trope is deployed to create something that sounds [[RuleOfCool damn cool]].

* This trope was a hallmark of music producer Martin Hannett's production style, with the end results being frequently described as "cavernous". The music of Music/JoyDivision is a good go-to example for Hannett's techniques, featuring sparse, hollow-sounding instrumentals and heavily reverberating vocals, making for a distinctly haunting sound. Hannett's echo-heavy production ended up becoming so distinct and well-known that it was a major contributor to the aesthetic of PostPunk as a whole, to the point where many bands in the movement can be described as having taken at least some degree of influence from Joy Division.

* A rare non-musical example in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uXsPvf9zq4 Lou Gehrig's retirement speech,]] also known as the "Luckiest Man" speech

* Music/TheMoodyBlues [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzqmlCXNeCc&feature=related demonstrates this trope beautifully]] in the vocals of the song "The Sunset/Twilight Time" from ''Days of Future Passed''. It appears throughout the whole song, though the best part starts at 3:45.

* ''Film/{{Toys}}'': Gwen finds Alsatia Zevo standing in the corner of the ladies' bathroom singing "In The Still Of The Night" to herself. Gwen claims that corner has the best acoustics in the entire Zevo Toys factory and convinces Gwen to join in and see for herself.

* One of the main complaints against the US releases of Music/TheBeatles albums between 1962 and 1966 was that Capitol added excessive reverb and echo to the original tracks.

Echoes and reverb can be used to give something a "massive", imposing sound, as PowerEchoes demonstrates. Echoing Acoustics refers to the use of lots of (often electronic) echoes and reverb in music. [[TropesAreNotBad This isn't that bad]]--for every album where one can't make out the lyrics because they're buried in layers upon layers of reverberation, there are albums where this trope is deployed to create something that sounds [[RuleOfCool damn cool]].

* Perry Farrell, the lead singer of Music/JanesAddiction, can't resist adding PowerEchoes to his voice. Go ahead, name a single JA song without any reverb or echo on his voice. Also, on ''Nothing's Shocking'', since it was made in [[TheEighties 1988]], producer Dave Jerden threw a ton of gated reverb over the drums. Despite how these sentences sound, [[TropesAreNotBad that's actually not a bad thing]], since it makes the drums sound punchier and Farrell way larger-than-life.

* Essentially the entire genre of surf music.

* Music/JethroTull is really good at this, particularly in such songs as "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxiHgm5UEsA Pibroch(Cap In Hand)]]", "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVmA6XdrnNA No Lullaby]]", and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuM-yatN0pI Dark Ages]]".
* Music/SonicYouth's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnOi9Vem4sc Diamond Sea]]".

* Many songs on Music/LedZeppelin's [[Music/LedZeppelinIV fourth album]] have this, especially the (quite frequently sampled) booming drums in "When the Levee Breaks", which was achieved by going into a stairwell at the house where they were recording, setting John Bonham's drums up at the bottom, and putting the microphones on the landing two floors above him (and also using a Binson Echorec delay unit).

* Music/FlorenceAndTheMachine's "Never Let Me Go" and "Leave My Body".
* Some Music/JohnnyCash songs do this, including "One Piece at a Time".
* Music/BruceSpringsteen, a fan of Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", has been known to deliberately use heavy echo and reverb on many tracks since ''Music/BornToRun'', especially in TheSeventies.
* Music/OneohtrixPointNever's album ''Chuck Person's Eccojam's Vol. 1'' as Chuck Person combined this with GratuitousPanning; almost every track was a slowed-down, looped sample with echo going back and forth from the left ear to the right ear. This album, as well as the album ''Holograms'' by 骨架的[[note]]Skeleton in Chinese[[/note]], which did the same (though without the panning), heavily influenced the {{Vaporwave}} genre, as many tracks will either use echo, reverb, or both.

* A rare non-musical example in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uXsPvf9zq4 Lou Gehrig's retirement speech]], also known as the "Luckiest Man" speech

* Mentioned in one ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' strip: Peter is buying a CD and asks a salesman what he thinks of it. The salesman starts ripping into the CD, talking about the lame lyrics, ripped-off songs, and how almost half the songs have a very annoying reverb effect. "[[DistractedByTheSexy Still, that is one hot naked chick on the cover]]."
* ''Webcomic/TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella'': Penumbra "[[http://nonadventures.com/cast/ mainly floats and talks with reverb and homey don't play that Galadriel shiznit]]". Apparently.

* Many songs on Music/LedZeppelin's [[Music/LedZeppelinIV fourth album]] have this, especially the (quite frequently sampled) booming drums in "When the Levee Breaks", which was achieved by going into a stairwell at the house where they were recording, setting John Bonham's drums up at the bottom, and putting the microphones on the landing two floors above him.

* Echoes are part of the secret behind Music/PhilSpector's famed "Wall of Sound" SignatureStyle of production. To elaborate, the Wall of Sound worked by having six or seven guitarists play the lead guitar part in unison, four or five bassists play the bass line in unison, a chamber ensemble of singers sing the backup, and so on--essentially creating rock orchestras--and recording the whole thing in an echo chamber. The result was a HUGE, REVERBERATING sound that fast became Spector's trademark. A great example of the Wall of Sound in action is "River Deep, Mountain High" by Tina Turner, largely considered to be his, and Turner's, [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome crowning achievement]].

* The heavily-echoed and processed vocals on Music/JoyDivision's "She's Lost Control", meant to amplify the song's bleak atmosphere. Producer Martin Hannett was particularly known for this kind of production.

* Echoes are part of the secret behind Creator/PhilSpector's famed "Wall of Sound" SignatureStyle of production. To elaborate, the Wall of Sound worked by having six or seven guitarists play the lead guitar part in unison, four or five bassists play the bass line in unison, a chamber ensemble of singers sing the backup, and so on--essentially creating rock orchestras--and recording the whole thing in an echo chamber. The result was a HUGE, REVERBERATING sound that fast became Spector's trademark. A great example of the Wall of Sound in action is "River Deep, Mountain High" by Tina Turner, largely considered to be his, and Turner's, [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome crowning achievement]].

Echoes and reverb can be used to give something a "massive", imposing sound, as PowerEchoes demonstrates. EchoingAcoustics refers to the use of lots of (often electronic) echoes and reverb in music. [[TropesAreNotBad This isn't that bad]]--for every album where one can't make out the lyrics because they're buried in layers upon layers of reverberation, there are albums where this trope is deployed to create something that sounds [[RuleOfCool damn cool]].

* Creator/StanFreberg's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az2rHv57zq4 version of "Heartbreak Hotel"]] parodies excessive echo.

* Arch Hall Jr's singing in films like ''Eegah'', ''Nasty Rabbit'' and ''Wild Guitar'' are positively ''drenched'' in reverb.

->''The reverb on Eddie's mic, by the way, is set at like 7 on the Richter scale. Seriously, there's so much echo it sounds like he's singing in the [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Dwarf halls of Khazad-dûm]].''

* Music/BruceSpringsteen, a fan of Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", has been known to deliberately use heavy echo and reverb on many tracks since ''Born To Run'', especially in TheSeventies.

* Many songs on Music/LedZeppelin's [[NoTitle fourth album]] have this, especially the (quite frequently sampled) booming drums in "When the Levee Breaks", which was achieved by going into a stairwell at the house where they were recording, setting John Bonham's drums up at the bottom, and putting the microphones on the landing two floors above him.