Albums That Were Mixed Badly...

I'd agree on some of the Hendrix ones- 'Are You Experienced' has an extremely loud crackle in 'Can You See Me' that even an 80s vinyl reissue I had didn't have!

Uriah Heep's 'Return To Fantasy' expanded edition has some major sound issues; there is an unexplained drop in volume half way through 'Devil's Daughter' and there's also considerable 'dropout' in 'Prima Donna' due to the loud mastering volume that was obviously undertaken on this song.

The old Warner Brothers CDs of the Greenslade and Curved Air are simply atrocious too- someone should remaster these...

I had trouble with early CD releases of back-catalogue (i.e. without remastering). I suspect the  master tape recordings were transferred directly to CD, forgetting they had been originally mixed down for vinyl. Genesis albums, and in particular the first CD issue of Jean Luc Pony's Enigmatic Ocean, suffer from the drums/percussion (especially the cymbals) being inyerface on the CD and generally being trebly. With more than 12 to 15 minutes per side of 12" vinyl,  to enable the mechanical waveform to be compacted onto the disc, the sound  had to be clipped. (Note; the expensive true audiophile albums were never longer than 30 minutes). Therefore the top and bottom ends were lost ('compressed') to the listener, i.e at the extremes of normal human hearing, and so less discernable as a sound loss but with some compensation made (e.g boosting middle range): but with the CD version there was a full aural range, so treble end in particular smacks you in the ears.

 

 

Laurent wrote: White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground Sounds like it was recorded in a garage.

that may have been the point

Heh ...I was just whining about this today ... yes the Hendrix remixes done by Eddie Kramer were awful ... I have to say I prefer the Polydor packaging of the albums that came out just before Janie and Al Hendrix won control of the estate ... I was lucky enough to interview Janie Hendrix just before the remixes came out ... and she actually said that the estate wanted Jimi's vocals boosted in relation to the rest of the music so as to make it sound more contemporary ...

I of course, felt that Hendrix wanted that murky sound ... but I was just a year into the job and who was I to argue with Hendrix's sister!

My worst sound quality CD is a Quicksilver Messenger Service best of that sounds like it was recorded off a crackling record ... terrible ...

I've got the Henry Cow 90s version of Leg End (I think there's even some re-recorded bassoon by Lindsay Cooper stuck on more than 15 years after the original album ... but not having anything to compare it too, I think it sounds great ...

I do agree about Curved Air, but I've never figured out the bashing that the Genesis albums get ... to me, even Trespass meets my (obviously low) standards ... although I will say that the first album could do with some treatment!

• Pink Floyd - A Saucerful Of Secrtes
• Shadow Gallery - Shadow Gallery
• Dream Theater - When Dream & Day Unite
• Genesis - From Genesis to Revelation
• Metallica - St. Anger

 

I have a problem with the remaster of Rush's Power Windows.

While the remaster does sound cleaner and has more bottom, the top end just kills it for me. This was a pretty bright sounding record to begin with and the remaster just makes it too bright, almost pingy if you know what I mean. The original cd issue seems to have more warmth.

I suppose it's what you're used to hearing. Those who've only heard the master would probably find the original too muddy.

salmacis wrote: 'Trespass' by Genesis still sounds muddy even when remastered though, sadly. It received one of the worst production jobs I've ever heard on a prog album.

 

Suggests  production on a tight budget, when good multi-tracking was essential but they couldn't afford 24 track or higher????

I think the first Soft machine album sounders even muddier than Trespass, especially with its limited instrument separation - although the handful of track on th Soft Machine compilation,  Out-Bloody-Rageous suggests the remastering had improved thing. Don't forget Soft Machine and Hendrix were under the same managementat the end of the 60's and I can imagine Chas Chandler insisting on things being done cheap and quickly - in the same way he and the rest of Animals were required to record half a decade before.

Many CD reissues are outrageously bumped, and it's even more painful when you have a neutral system with a sub, it gives a low which dribbles.

Cause Cd are bumped to give a (false) "powerful" low on everybody's little bad system.

About Henry cow, i've got the last Legend remaster and it's good, although i don't remember which label it is.

Hendrix is not very good, i admit.

The best prog CD reissues i know are the Caravan by Deram, Camel remasters, KC is not bad (but already a little bumped, depending on the albums).

Bad transfered CDs:

-Popol vuh/Coeur de verre
(Atrocious, the whole Popol vuh catalogue is currently reissued by SPV -Florian Fricke label- but unfortunatly it's very bad )

-Gong/Flying teapot All teh Cd versions are very poor compared to the vynil.

Edited by oliverstoned