remastered CDs - classic or dud?

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obviously the ones with new tracks are good (though not always), but remastered songs can often sound somewhat rubbish compared to the originals on vinyl. e.g - i recently found a copy of chuck berrys dozen berrys album on vinyl from the 50s and the sound is totally different to my best of chuck berry double cd - its richer, louder, and less 'polite' sounding. its got so much more life to the sound.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 17:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, remastering isn't always a good thing ... check out this thread also: 100 albums that sound better on vinyl..

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 17:21 (twenty-two years ago)

The Miles Davis 60s quintet remasters are fantastic (and the fact that they're sold for $9.99 is just off the hook, it makes me want to buy them again just because it's such a good deal).

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 17:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Ofen good, unless they're by Cog Sinister, then DUD.

― Sasha (sgh), Thursday, 27 May 2004 04:34 (twenty-two years ago)

I bought the reissue of Meat Puppets II a while back and was very disappointed to find they'd made it sound "good." Proper levels, modern bass, loud and shiny. What the hell?

― mason r. butler, Thursday, 27 May 2004 05:05 (twenty-two years ago)

"Aint nothin but a house party" by the show stoppers. A classic track I'm sure you will agree.

I always thought this was blighted by a bad recording of the lead singer, until I worked with an ex-pro musician (bass player with the other Nirvana, sings a Bee gees b-side, etc), who toured with the Showstoppers. The lead singer had a terrible lisp, and always sang "aint nothin but a houthparty". So now yez kno.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 27 May 2004 07:55 (twenty-two years ago)

sixteen years pass...

I’ve been listening to some original Death CDs + Cocteau Twins EPs on CD and it definitely seems like a big point of these remasters was to suck as much of the 80s out of the originals as possible. The Death ones don’t sound too bad, but good god do these Cocteau Twins CDs sound TONS better than lullabies to violaine. The remastered sound is so smeared and indistinct and terrible when you turn it up. Smearing is actually a pretty good way to describe this kind of bad mastering. Sorry to go all Steve Hoffmann on your asses

― brimstead, Thursday, 15 April 2021 03:31 (five years ago)

Not sure about smearing but I did pick up a recent ish CD of Bob Dylan's desire for one song I liked on there and thought it was weirdly bright, compressed and too clean? maybe that's how it sounds but I'm doubtful.

― candyman, Thursday, 15 April 2021 06:00 (five years ago)

brimstead the Cocteaus problem was that they put Robin “cocaine and tinnitus” Guthrie in charge of the remaster

― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 15 April 2021 09:13 (five years ago)

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