What's the Latest CD/LP Added to Your Pile?

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Nick Lowe-The Old Magic
John Doe - The Keeper
The Jayhawks Mockingbird Time
 
I've heard the 2ch SACD (a FAVE!), 1/2 speed CBS Mastersound LP, original US CD and original pressing LP. Had dozens of copies of that as demo LP's. Delayed buying it, awaiting a Quad Boston. "Hell, it's the best selling LP in the country! They gotta do an SQ. Better yet, a Q8 to play in my car!" When it never happened, it was a sign Quad was dead. Same thing with Foreigner, though the earlier Quadradisc stickers on CD-4's told me they were toast. Wasn't holding my breath to hear Cold as Ice in Quad. At least I got to hear that in 5.1 later. Bet the 2006 remix beats all execpt SACD. Maybe even that, too. So, is the LP the '06 remaster? Did he remix it in '06?

A/B'ing can drive you bonkers!! Sometimes, the differences are SO subtle. Most times, if you key into certain frequencies, instruments or voices, it becomes evident in a heartbeat. I've owned as many as a dozen copies of some classic stuff. I've owned at least two copies of everything, if it predates CD. Other than CD or LP repressings and reissues, which are sometimes one in the same, they ALL sound different. A fun and enlightening exercise, if you're in the right mood. Invite your audiophile buddies for A/B'ing parties. Does this mean I was in the audio business too long?

Linda
Girls just wanna have fun!

Regarding the Boston LP:
I had the SACD and , to my ears(and my system of course), the best sounding one is the 1/2 speed mastered (or was it really, but ,hey!)...it has the best presence and some highs that make my ears tickle compared to the SACD , it even drives me to tears sometimes (call me a sensitive man!) to how awesome it sounds. The original Epic LP sounds great but, to me , it's cut too hot!
I've sold my SACD to a QQ member and sticking to my LP, which along with the lovely linear tracking TT, the Ortofon OM-20 stylus and the best declicking program EVER (ClickRepair), it still gives me chills down my spine...

Regarding the last bunch of LPs I got (before I was fired , of course) is:
-Mr Mister (12") Something Real -which has "Bare my soul" only available on CD
-Gino Vanelli- Black Cars 12"
-Mr Mister-Welcome to the real world Spanish LP pressing (which , does not sound VERY different from the CD!!!!-and yeah I like Mr Mister, I used to play their 1st LP a LOT when I was an FM station DJ in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 1984-86)
-Santana III SQ UK pressing (same as the USA but with extra stickers)
-XTC-Oranges and Lemons UK Pressing (JUST BREATHTAKING!)

and on fleabay;
-Santana III Japanese SQ Version (REALLY QUIET!)
-Walter Carlos- Switched On Bach SQ (SEALED!)


and a VERY obscure one, which only some Latin Americans will PROBABLY recognize:
-Tin Tán y Marcelo"A gozar y a reir" Ansonia records (MINTY!) Tin Tan was THE BEST Mexican comedian of all time, had a great voice , but unfortunately died relatively young and was overshadowed by Cantinflas , who doesn't even touch him. This was an LP that I grew up with and still have that VERY BATTERED COPY from the 60's... it's VERY difficult to find, so I guess I got lucky when I found this..it DID cost me $45!!!
 
-Mr Mister-Welcome to the real world Spanish LP pressing (which , does not sound VERY different from the CD!!!!-and yeah I like Mr Mister, I used to play their 1st LP a LOT when I was an FM station DJ in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 1984-86)
-Santana III SQ UK pressing (same as the USA but with extra stickers)
-XTC-Oranges and Lemons UK Pressing (JUST BREATHTAKING!)

I just want to chime in and say I'm also a fan of "Welcome to the Real World" and "Oranges and Lemons." They're not for everybody, but I LOVE them!
 
How's Barleycorn? I just got the SHM-SACD a few weeks ago. Sounds great.

Listened to the whole album twice last evening. The sonics are spectacular. Most of these new pressings on 180g vinyl (at least on my system) sound as good and sometimes better than stereo SACD's. I have not heard the SHM-SACD, so I can't compare the two. I don't get the conveniences of disc playback with the LP but the listening experience is the same.

The Leon Russel was just a disc that I thought my collection was needing. I don't know if it's the quintessential Leon album but it probably comes in close.

My wife and I had the pleasure of seeing Leon live at the Jacobs Pavilion in the flats of Cleveland a few weeks ago. He still plays and sounds great but his stage performance is now very minimal. He has a stage hand escort him to the piano and straight off he starts playing. At the end of the set he gave the audience a little wave and the guy helped him walk off stage. That was it. Quite a contrast to the wild and crazy performer that was with the Mad Dogs & Englishmen show.
 
Woodstock, the first set w/a bonus CD is my latest acquisition. Including this, I own four CD box sets and a single disc called Woodstock Diaries, which has a killer version of Sly's Love City. Love City is only available on that single disc. One box is a Mofi 4-disc silver which combines Woodstock and Two, both of which I previously had on vinyl. Another is the 25th anniv expanded, and another is a four disc of mostly unreleased stuff like Blood, Sweat & Tears. Few people even know they were there. I also own a limited edition BluRay box. Maybe someday, they'll assemble a super box with EVERYTHING they have in the vault!

SOB and Santana III are killers! Seen Santana live about a dozen times, once with Third World, another fave. Wendy Carlos is a HERO of mine, perhaps I should say HEROINE. She has shown dignity, bravery and intelligence. She breathed new life into classical, blazed trails in electronic music, and has immense knowledge of both electronics and acoustics. Other than all that, she's nothing special. lol!!

XTC, huh? When I was in the record store yesterday, I asked the owner if he ever heard Chips from the Chocolate Fireball. No, he said. He put on the used copy he had. This is great, he said. To me, it's easily XTC's best, though it's credited to their alter egos: The Dukes of Stratusphear. There are two killer expanded versions of the EP's which comprise Chips: 25 O' Clock and Psonic Psunspot. Available as individual CD's and as an LP box set.

I have a problem with Quad/surround synthesis: I seldom listen that way. I was convinced that this was way cool 40 years ago. Am I REALLY that old? I mostly listen as 2ch while I'm working, or in the car. While doing chores, it often morphs into mono. At home, it's usually Quad and 5.1, plus a variety of video sources. This week, I actually sat and listened to synthesized surround on my B&K gear. About half of it was Gino Vannelli: Black Cars, A&M classics, Crazy Life and Brother to Brother. They never sounded so great! For you Gino fans, I STRONGLY recommend a title from 1991 never released in the US: Live in Montreal, on Vie/Village Green/Pony Canyon (Japan) PCCY-00307. 7 classic hits and 6 lesser known tracks. It rates at least a 9. Has anyone seen/heard Gino's new DVD? I need to pick it up soon. If you think Gino is only an MOR crooner, pick up the Black Cars. It's mostly techno and very uptempo, with a few ballads thrown in. I'd give Black Cars an 11.

Linda
Black Cars Look Better in the Shade

Regarding the Boston LP:
I had the SACD and , to my ears(and my system of course), the best sounding one is the 1/2 speed mastered (or was it really, but ,hey!)...it has the best presence and some highs that make my ears tickle compared to the SACD , it even drives me to tears sometimes (call me a sensitive man!) to how awesome it sounds. The original Epic LP sounds great but, to me , it's cut too hot!
I've sold my SACD to a QQ member and sticking to my LP, which along with the lovely linear tracking TT, the Ortofon OM-20 stylus and the best declicking program EVER (ClickRepair), it still gives me chills down my spine...

Regarding the last bunch of LPs I got (before I was fired , of course) is:
-Mr Mister (12") Something Real -which has "Bare my soul" only available on CD
-Gino Vanelli- Black Cars 12"
-Mr Mister-Welcome to the real world Spanish LP pressing (which , does not sound VERY different from the CD!!!!-and yeah I like Mr Mister, I used to play their 1st LP a LOT when I was an FM station DJ in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 1984-86)
-Santana III SQ UK pressing (same as the USA but with extra stickers)
-XTC-Oranges and Lemons UK Pressing (JUST BREATHTAKING!)

and on fleabay;
-Santana III Japanese SQ Version (REALLY QUIET!)
-Walter Carlos- Switched On Bach SQ (SEALED!)


and a VERY obscure one, which only some Latin Americans will PROBABLY recognize:
-Tin Tán y Marcelo"A gozar y a reir" Ansonia records (MINTY!) Tin Tan was THE BEST Mexican comedian of all time, had a great voice , but unfortunately died relatively young and was overshadowed by Cantinflas , who doesn't even touch him. This was an LP that I grew up with and still have that VERY BATTERED COPY from the 60's... it's VERY difficult to find, so I guess I got lucky when I found this..it DID cost me $45!!!
 
I have a problem with Quad/surround synthesis: I seldom listen that way. I was convinced that this was way cool 40 years ago. Am I REALLY that old? I mostly listen as 2ch while I'm working, or in the car. While doing chores, it often morphs into mono. At home, it's usually Quad and 5.1, plus a variety of video sources. This week, I actually sat and listened to synthesized surround on my B&K gear. About half of it was Gino Vannelli: Black Cars, A&M classics, Crazy Life and Brother to Brother. They never sounded so great! For you Gino fans, I STRONGLY recommend a title from 1991 never released in the US: Live in Montreal, on Vie/Village Green/Pony Canyon (Japan) PCCY-00307. 7 classic hits and 6 lesser known tracks. It rates at least a 9. Has anyone seen/heard Gino's new DVD? I need to pick it up soon. If you think Gino is only an MOR crooner, pick up the Black Cars. It's mostly techno and very uptempo, with a few ballads thrown in. I'd give Black Cars an 11.

Linda
Black Cars Look Better in the Shade

Although others may disagree with me (I'm not saying you do, Linda), I've always thought surround synthesis was perfectly valid - especially with pop music which is so heavily "manufactured" anyway there's no soundstage to distort or hall reverb to reproduce incorrectly or anything. And good synthesis simply bends the flat stereo stage around into a 270 degree horseshoe-shaped soundstage with Left Front now being reproduced only from Left Back and Right Front being reproduced only from Right Back - in regular stereo, the half-way position between Phantom Center and Left or Right now becomes the Left Front and Right Front channels and then moves smoothly to Center Front where vocalists and all other mono sounds are localized as they have always been. Sansui figured out how to do it first (although not in a really FM Stereo compatible way), then CBS came up with their system using an extra Motorola SQ Matrix Decoder IC when used in a Full Logic IC-based decoder. Or it could be offered/made as a 'black box' stand-alone stereo-to-SQ surround encoder - I have an article from Radio Electronics published in, I believe, 1974, that gives full instructions, as well as the PCB tracks layout, for building the circuit using the Motorola 1312 SQ IC, a switch and a smattering of other parts - it had both the 180 degree and full 270 degree enhancement modes as well as straight stereo pass-through for real SQ signals so that they wouldn't get distorted, allowing you to leave the box in the system at all times. It's the circuit, in 270 mode, that the Fosgate Tate II 101A uses for it's "surround" mode, although with the Fosgate's discrete component, high-quality 6-pole, phase shifters instead of the ratty Motorola SQ decoder IC.

Your mention of DVD's has made me wish I had the capability take DTS encoded quad/5.1 tracks and replace the regular soundtrack on a DVD with them. Case in point, The Carpenter's:The Singles DVD of all their "videos" - I bought that when it was first issued on LaserDisc and later, when it was re-issued as a PCM digital sound LaserDisc, then bought the DVD the day it arrived in stores. I'd love to have the video's sync'ed with the quad and/or 5.1 mixes from the SACD

I wish ABBA had done quad mixes of their material - all the studio manipulation they did so well would sound fantastic in quad or 5 channel. Considering Benny and Bjorn were/are audiophiles and really technically oriented, it's always surprised me that they didn't do any quad releases of ABBA's music.

Sorry, I'm wishing and not talking about my latest purchases. :eek:

We will now take you back to your regularly scheduled programming...:)
 
LP - Just picked up J. D. Souther's "Natural History" in limited edition Blue Vinyl.

Really nice to hear the singer - song writer cover his songs. Very relaxed/minimalist recording. :smokin
 
LP - Just picked up J. D. Souther's "Natural History" in limited edition Blue Vinyl.

Really nice to hear the singer - song writer cover his songs. Very relaxed/minimalist recording. :smokin

I agree - this is a really nice collection worth checking out.
 
Despite having CDs continuously arriving at the house, I haven't really concentrated on American/European music in a couple of months. Here're some recent arrivals....

Left to right: Japanese HQCD pressing of "The Katie Melua Collection", Japanese CBS/Sony CD pressing of Willie Nelson's "Without A Song", Japanese Black Triangle CD of T'Pau's "Bridge of Spies"

5940249422_96cf49b31e_m.jpg5932459107_35b903d26e_m.jpg5933017528_4416bb5be7_m.jpg

Left to right: Hong Kong Sony Music's K2HD CD (all pressed in Japan) of "Piano Man - The Very Best of Billy Joel", "Air Supply - Greatest Hits", and "Mariah Carey - Music Box"

5907398285_6d010c9980_m.jpg5761802458_ef4c008e81_m.jpg5767279252_c07b1505a5_m.jpg
 
Soundboy, how do the K2HD CD's sound? Are you A/B'ing those releases to previously available formats?

So far, I've only A/B'ed the Billy Joel K2HD CD to the early US DADC 2-disc "Greatest Hits, Vol. I and II"

5928769197_996e015493_m.jpg

The K2HD CD, in general, is more detailed in terms of resolution. However, the "Greatest Hits, Vol. I and II" sounds more natural. Certainly not a night-and-day difference. I'd say I'm satified with the K2HD CD and able to pick it up for about $20.00 make it even more so.
 
Is it fair to say that the original pressing is the mastered the way it is "supposed" to sound? Is there such a thing???

It depends on the artist/band. Some paid more attention to the LP mastering than others did, and some labels didn't allow any input at all. Often it was managed by the A&R people to give it a sound that would be 'commercial'. I think that the vast majority of the time an album was mixed to sound as good as it could, with as wide of dynamic range and frequency response as possible on the master tape, then it was up to the LP mastering engineer to 'squeeze' that sound onto the LP with as little loss as possible. Some were really good at it, others, not so much. Until the advent of the CD and the sudden "love" of the LP sound and its coloration's, open-reel at faster speeds was considered the absolute best way to hear an album - the standard LP was always thought of as a compromise.
 
Thanks, Soundboy. I've owned the LP's, and 3 CD versions of GH I & II. They all sound pretty similar. The one you have, and the 4CD US box w/III and an interview/live performance disc. I also have an Australian River of Dreams box with GH I & II, ROD and a differently edited version of the live/interview disc.

Linda

So far, I've only A/B'ed the Billy Joel K2HD CD to the early US DADC 2-disc "Greatest Hits, Vol. I and II"

View attachment 4384

The K2HD CD, in general, is more detailed in terms of resolution. However, the "Greatest Hits, Vol. I and II" sounds more natural. Certainly not a night-and-day difference. I'd say I'm satified with the K2HD CD and able to pick it up for about $20.00 make it even more so.
 
Blackbird Diaries-Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) CD
Get on Board-Eric Bibb CD
Live at Fieldstone-Quicksilver CD www.voiceprint.co.uk
60's Pop Rock Reunion Live CD Lindsay, James, Noone, Chad & Jeremy, Lewis, Grassroots, and Chicago's own Buckinghams
Instrumentals 1967-1996-Canned Heat CD

Linda
I dig rain and snow and bright sunshine :sun
 
Live in Europe '67(Best of Bootleg Vol. 1)-Miles Davis CD
Live Jazz at Lincoln Center-Eric Clapton & Wynton Marsalis CD & DVD-V
Athens Traffic Live-Eric Burdon & Animals CD & DVD-V SPV 70932
Immersion box-Pink Floyd CD/DVD/Blu-Ray

Linda
 
Just picked up Robbie Robertson's "How to become Clairvoyant" based on the posts in this thread.

WOW, you are all dead on with this effort. Album of the year? Maybe so.

I had some fun with this one and recorded it on my good old Akai 635D using a Maxell UD 35-90 and it sounds fantastic.

I just love this hobby. :smokin
 
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