SVL
05-26-2002, 09:01 AM
I decided to do the CD to CD comparison first; hopefully, I will do the LPs tomorrow.
The issue that I have had with Castle/Essential UH remasters on CD (regular jewel cases - I haven't heard the mini-LP versions and I'm not even sure they exist;)) was their brightness. Perhaps they thought that previous Castle CDs were not "punchy" enough (all right, they weren't) and decided to give the consumers what they want :D
Salisbury (JPN JVC/Victor VICP-61829 vs. Castle/Essential ESMCD 317)
The Park - on the Jpn CD, it is finally not the "shakred rocksh and shtones", but almost how it should be. Better soundstage, deeper bass, and vocal overlays sound, hmm, prettier, for lack of a better word. The Japanese Cd is a clear winner in my estimate.
Lady In Black - on the Jpn CD, the Lady is not shrill or lightweight, but turgid, juicy and suitably bottom-heavy ... ;)
Note to Gorts: if the previous paragraph seems politically incorrect, please delete or edit at your discretion;)
The Magician's Birthday (JPN JVC/Victor VICP-618230 vs. Castle/Essential ESMCD 339)
Spider Woman and Blind Eye - again, Castle CD sounds rather shrill compared to the Jpn; the latter seems to have both deeper and wider soundstage; I never could really listen to Blind Eye on the Castle CD because of the aggressive acoustic guitar and cymbals. The Jpn disc keeps things more consistent, with no HF artefacts sticking out;)
Rain - not much difference there, except for silkier vocal presentation that seems to be located deeper into the soundstage.
The booklet provides no remastering credits for the Japanese CDs. Unlike JVC's jazz reissues, the discs are housed in paper, not plastic sleeves. Not good for the CDs, but on the other hand they replicated original LP sleeves with lyrics and such.
These comparisons are actually fun, so I might continue:).
The issue that I have had with Castle/Essential UH remasters on CD (regular jewel cases - I haven't heard the mini-LP versions and I'm not even sure they exist;)) was their brightness. Perhaps they thought that previous Castle CDs were not "punchy" enough (all right, they weren't) and decided to give the consumers what they want :D
Salisbury (JPN JVC/Victor VICP-61829 vs. Castle/Essential ESMCD 317)
The Park - on the Jpn CD, it is finally not the "shakred rocksh and shtones", but almost how it should be. Better soundstage, deeper bass, and vocal overlays sound, hmm, prettier, for lack of a better word. The Japanese Cd is a clear winner in my estimate.
Lady In Black - on the Jpn CD, the Lady is not shrill or lightweight, but turgid, juicy and suitably bottom-heavy ... ;)
Note to Gorts: if the previous paragraph seems politically incorrect, please delete or edit at your discretion;)
The Magician's Birthday (JPN JVC/Victor VICP-618230 vs. Castle/Essential ESMCD 339)
Spider Woman and Blind Eye - again, Castle CD sounds rather shrill compared to the Jpn; the latter seems to have both deeper and wider soundstage; I never could really listen to Blind Eye on the Castle CD because of the aggressive acoustic guitar and cymbals. The Jpn disc keeps things more consistent, with no HF artefacts sticking out;)
Rain - not much difference there, except for silkier vocal presentation that seems to be located deeper into the soundstage.
The booklet provides no remastering credits for the Japanese CDs. Unlike JVC's jazz reissues, the discs are housed in paper, not plastic sleeves. Not good for the CDs, but on the other hand they replicated original LP sleeves with lyrics and such.
These comparisons are actually fun, so I might continue:).
