Chanty Stovall
03-26-2004, 04:56 PM
Yayy! Here we go again. I've looked at as many threads as I could for this, but there still seems to be some information lacking. I have quite a few of these CBS Mastersound lps, and also have nice original copies of some of these to compare them to. From what I have gathered, most everybody on this forum agrees these sound wrong, admittances of bad engineering and everything. What I would like to know, when CBS finally did come to terms with themselves and corrected their process, what were the results, or is this just a rumor? Which titles, if any, did they improve upon? Here's my evaluation over some of these titles:
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run 1/2 speed vs. U.S. White Label Promo. Both of these have that murky sound; especially on Backstreets, but the lyrics are all about murkiness in the city, so to speak, so it feels right. The 1/2 speed does have a cleaner bottom to it. "She's the One" sounds cleaner on the 1/2 speed, but is punchier on the promo.
The Boss - Darkness 1/2 speed vs. U.S. White Label Promo. The 1/2 speed of this is too good: the vocals are clear, every instrument sounds like it was just bought and paid for at the local music shop. The WLP is a better listen. The instruments do not sustain for as long as the 1/2 speed issue, but the lack of sustaining sounds more natural. This is supposed to be Rock N Roll and not Record and Remix after all.
Billy Joel: The Stranger 1/2 speed vs. WLP. This is the one, I think, that sports the biggest differences. 'She's Always a Woman to Me' never sounded better than on the 1/2 speed. The 1/2 speed cut of 'Only the Good Die Young' is the worst I've heard; the mid is totally gone, and that is 80% of the charm of that song - that bass zipping up and down with the acoustic guitar - Man oh Man, it's gone! On the other hand, you get all the dynamics for this song on the U.S. white promo copy - go with this over a regular domestic.
Billy Joel: 52nd St - A stretch of a mile of improvement over the Stranger for the 1/2 speed. Actually, it doesn't sound too bad at all if you turn the treble dial down a notch. Yet, the opening guitars on 'Big Shot' of the U.S. WLP copy capture my initial attention more than the 1/2 speed opener. This one is almost a toss-up.
Billy Joel: Innocent Man - A good domestic copy will almost give you the same sound, but go with the 1/2 speed for two reasons: The vinyl is very quiet, and the dynamics of 'For the Longest Time' are so humane, I think it was recorded in my bathroom.
Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline - Surprise, surprise, the Quad is the one to get, but only if you have the equipment to support it, otherwise you may have to buy thicker curtains to cut down on the echo. As a bonus, this is the only lp version I know of with an extended jam at the end of the song 'Country Pie'.
Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks: This, along with Pink Floyd's Wish You were Here, are my favorites in the series. I always feel like it is raining outside when I listen to this in any format, sunny days and nights. The WLP copy I have is very good too. For all the acousticness in this recording, I have to say that the 1/2 speed brings out some of the picking and fingering a little better than the WLP copy.
Elvis Costello - Imperial Bedroom: Another good one for the Mastersound series. The domestic copy I had was great. The 1/2 speed seems to bring out some of the nuances in the orchestra numbers. This may sound funny, but I felt like I was part of a parade when I heard the 1/2 speed version. Sans ditto for the regular domestic pressing.
Willie Nelson - Stardust: The 1/2 speed is easy to listen to - everything sounds really sparkley, like somebody is blowing pixie dust in my living room. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, since I believe music should also challenge the listener's ear. This may be one of the best albums to sit back and do nothing to, it may even put you to sleep. Sorry, no domestic copy to compare it to.
Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger: A curiosity in that they issued this one in the CBS Mastersound catalog. I do not own a copy of the 1/2 speed because I have a hard time imagining what they could do to make a raw guitar and voice sound better. Maybe somebody else could shed some light on this.
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here: The keyboards on the 1/2 speed are the lushest I've heard. If this was not the intention of the band, than this could be the only thing wrong with this pressing. I had a U.S. promo copy of this that was very dull in comparison. I do have the Austrailian Quad version, and it has the best dynamics on the second half of 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond'.
Pink Floyd - The Wall: Find a U.S. promo copy and sell your 1/2 speed on eBay for 150.00.
I know what went wrong with this one, I just don't see how it could be this wrong. Oh well. Anybody know about the UK version of this?
Michael Jackson - Off the Wall: Well, the 1/2 speed brings out the funky keyboards better than the U.S. WLP, though it is a good idea to notch the treble a bit. On my system, I could hear the bass of this lp while taking a bath in the next room for the 1/2 speed. Haven't tried that yet with my WLP copy.
Michael Jackson - Thriller: Almost the same experience as Off the Wall, with the exception of the bathtub. The guitars in 'Wanna be Starting Something' on the 1/2 speed pressing really do come out more than the promo domestic copy. All n all, for both of the M. Jackson lps, I've had more of a reaction on the dance floor in my apartment from the 1/2 speeds over the promos.
Geeze, I know I have more but I am away from my collection and am anxious to hear from everyone. What are your good, bad, ugly lists? I'd like to submit one, but I'm afraid most everything would fit in a category between good and bad. Some of the good ones are not that great and some of the bad ones are not that bad.
Here are the two best on my playback system: Bob Dylan- Blood on the Tracks, Pink Floyd- Wish you Were Here.
Here are the two worst: Billy Joel - The Stranger (at least the first run of pressings. This was re-issued as a second pressing a few years later. Has anybody done a comparison on these two?)
Pink Floyd - The Wall - A 'not-so-Wall-of-Sound' recording in a soft taco shell.
I don't know if I can classify the Boss's Born to Run as the worst because it pretty much sounds nearly the same from each pressing I've heard.
Thanks for reading and re-reading,
Chanty :cool:
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run 1/2 speed vs. U.S. White Label Promo. Both of these have that murky sound; especially on Backstreets, but the lyrics are all about murkiness in the city, so to speak, so it feels right. The 1/2 speed does have a cleaner bottom to it. "She's the One" sounds cleaner on the 1/2 speed, but is punchier on the promo.
The Boss - Darkness 1/2 speed vs. U.S. White Label Promo. The 1/2 speed of this is too good: the vocals are clear, every instrument sounds like it was just bought and paid for at the local music shop. The WLP is a better listen. The instruments do not sustain for as long as the 1/2 speed issue, but the lack of sustaining sounds more natural. This is supposed to be Rock N Roll and not Record and Remix after all.
Billy Joel: The Stranger 1/2 speed vs. WLP. This is the one, I think, that sports the biggest differences. 'She's Always a Woman to Me' never sounded better than on the 1/2 speed. The 1/2 speed cut of 'Only the Good Die Young' is the worst I've heard; the mid is totally gone, and that is 80% of the charm of that song - that bass zipping up and down with the acoustic guitar - Man oh Man, it's gone! On the other hand, you get all the dynamics for this song on the U.S. white promo copy - go with this over a regular domestic.
Billy Joel: 52nd St - A stretch of a mile of improvement over the Stranger for the 1/2 speed. Actually, it doesn't sound too bad at all if you turn the treble dial down a notch. Yet, the opening guitars on 'Big Shot' of the U.S. WLP copy capture my initial attention more than the 1/2 speed opener. This one is almost a toss-up.
Billy Joel: Innocent Man - A good domestic copy will almost give you the same sound, but go with the 1/2 speed for two reasons: The vinyl is very quiet, and the dynamics of 'For the Longest Time' are so humane, I think it was recorded in my bathroom.
Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline - Surprise, surprise, the Quad is the one to get, but only if you have the equipment to support it, otherwise you may have to buy thicker curtains to cut down on the echo. As a bonus, this is the only lp version I know of with an extended jam at the end of the song 'Country Pie'.
Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks: This, along with Pink Floyd's Wish You were Here, are my favorites in the series. I always feel like it is raining outside when I listen to this in any format, sunny days and nights. The WLP copy I have is very good too. For all the acousticness in this recording, I have to say that the 1/2 speed brings out some of the picking and fingering a little better than the WLP copy.
Elvis Costello - Imperial Bedroom: Another good one for the Mastersound series. The domestic copy I had was great. The 1/2 speed seems to bring out some of the nuances in the orchestra numbers. This may sound funny, but I felt like I was part of a parade when I heard the 1/2 speed version. Sans ditto for the regular domestic pressing.
Willie Nelson - Stardust: The 1/2 speed is easy to listen to - everything sounds really sparkley, like somebody is blowing pixie dust in my living room. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, since I believe music should also challenge the listener's ear. This may be one of the best albums to sit back and do nothing to, it may even put you to sleep. Sorry, no domestic copy to compare it to.
Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger: A curiosity in that they issued this one in the CBS Mastersound catalog. I do not own a copy of the 1/2 speed because I have a hard time imagining what they could do to make a raw guitar and voice sound better. Maybe somebody else could shed some light on this.
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here: The keyboards on the 1/2 speed are the lushest I've heard. If this was not the intention of the band, than this could be the only thing wrong with this pressing. I had a U.S. promo copy of this that was very dull in comparison. I do have the Austrailian Quad version, and it has the best dynamics on the second half of 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond'.
Pink Floyd - The Wall: Find a U.S. promo copy and sell your 1/2 speed on eBay for 150.00.
I know what went wrong with this one, I just don't see how it could be this wrong. Oh well. Anybody know about the UK version of this?
Michael Jackson - Off the Wall: Well, the 1/2 speed brings out the funky keyboards better than the U.S. WLP, though it is a good idea to notch the treble a bit. On my system, I could hear the bass of this lp while taking a bath in the next room for the 1/2 speed. Haven't tried that yet with my WLP copy.
Michael Jackson - Thriller: Almost the same experience as Off the Wall, with the exception of the bathtub. The guitars in 'Wanna be Starting Something' on the 1/2 speed pressing really do come out more than the promo domestic copy. All n all, for both of the M. Jackson lps, I've had more of a reaction on the dance floor in my apartment from the 1/2 speeds over the promos.
Geeze, I know I have more but I am away from my collection and am anxious to hear from everyone. What are your good, bad, ugly lists? I'd like to submit one, but I'm afraid most everything would fit in a category between good and bad. Some of the good ones are not that great and some of the bad ones are not that bad.
Here are the two best on my playback system: Bob Dylan- Blood on the Tracks, Pink Floyd- Wish you Were Here.
Here are the two worst: Billy Joel - The Stranger (at least the first run of pressings. This was re-issued as a second pressing a few years later. Has anybody done a comparison on these two?)
Pink Floyd - The Wall - A 'not-so-Wall-of-Sound' recording in a soft taco shell.
I don't know if I can classify the Boss's Born to Run as the worst because it pretty much sounds nearly the same from each pressing I've heard.
Thanks for reading and re-reading,
Chanty :cool: