Essential Barry Diament masterings

It has been discussed in this thread if Barry did AC/DC High Voltage or not.

Today I found a copy saying so
And Barry seems to remember he did it:
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=4346305&postcount=784

Is this credit in the booklet correct?

Pictuers of todays finding...

 

Nice. Can you post EAC peak levels of that German version so we can see if it matches the US?

 

91.9 95.5 87.7 91.6 86.8 87.4 86.1 100.0 86.4

All tracks "Accurately ripped" by EAC.

 

a work in progress.


AC/DC - High Voltage
AC/DC - If You Want Blood You've Got It
AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
AC/DC - Highway To Hell
AC/DC - Back In Black*
AC/DC - For Those About To Rock*
AC/DC - Who Made Who

Bad Company – Bad Company*
Bad Company – Straight Shooter
Bad Company – 10 From 6
Bad Company - Run With The Pack
Bad Company - Burnin' Sky (?)
Bad Company - Desolation Angels (?)
Bad Company - Rough Diamonds (?)
Anita Baker - Rapture
Bellvue Cadillac - Black and White*
The Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full Of Blues
Tommy Bolin - The Ultimate
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars*
Jackson Browne - Lives In The Balance
Jackson Browne - Lawyers In Love

John Cage & The Arditti Quartet - The Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1*
The Call - Reconciled
Chic - C'est Chic (?)
The Coasters - The Ultimate Coasters* (Warner Special Products 9 27604-2)
Phil Collins - Face Value*
Phil Collins - Hello, I Must Be Going*
Phil Collins - No Jacket Required
Jim Croce - Photographs And Memories*
Cowboy Mouth - Word of Mouth*
Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash*
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Déjà vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - So Far
The Cure - The Head On The Door

Danzig - Danzig
Bobby Darin - The Ultimate Bobby Darin* (Warner Special Products 9 27606-2)
Dr. John - I did *something* Dr. John. (Great guy too!) - BD.
Dokken - Under Lock And Key
Dokken - Breaking The Chains

The Eagles – The Eagles
The Eagles – Desperado
The Eagles – The Long Run
The Eagles - Their Greatest Hits*
The Eagles - Greatest Hits Volume 2
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
Enya - Watermark* (original and reissue with added tracks)

The Firm - The Firm
The Firm - Mean Business
Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly
Foreigner - Foreigner
Foreigner - Double Vision
Foreigner - Head Games
Foreigner - 4
Foreigner - Agent Provocateur
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Liverpool (?)
Aretha Franklin - best of (?)

J. Geils Band - Best Of The J. Geils Band
Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail 32VD-1023 (see bottom of page)
Genesis - Duke
Genesis - Abacab
Genesis - Three Sides Live (US version with "Paperlate")
Genesis - Genesis
The Georgia Satellites - The Gerogia Satellites*
Guns’N’Roses - Appetite For Destruction*
Guns’N’Roses - G 'N' R Lies*

Helldorado - Sinful Soul*
Hex - Hex*

INXS - Listen Like Thieves

Grace Jones - Island Life
Howard Jones - One To One
Howard Jones - Dream Into Action

Keeler - Autofocus
Tommy Keene - Based On Happy Times*
Rusty Kershaw - Now and Then*
Kitaro - The Light Of The Spirit*
KMFDM - Glory

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin - II
Led Zeppelin - III
Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same
Led Zeppelin - Presence
Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door
Led Zeppelin - Coda

Bob Marley - Catch A Fire*
Bob Marley - Burnin'*
Bob Marley - Natty Dread*
Bob Marley - Live!*
Bob Marley - Rastaman Vibration*
Bob Marley - Exodus *
Bob Marley - Kaya*
Bob Marley - Babylon By Bus*
Bob Marley - Survival*
Bob Marley - Uprising*
Bob Marley - Confrontation*
Bob Marley - Legend*
Bob Marley - Rebel Music*

Meatloaf - Blind Before I Stop*
Mike + the Mechanics - Mike + the Mechanics
Mike + the Mechanics - Living Years
Mötley Crüe - Too Fast For Love

Ivan Neville - Thanks*
Gary Nicholson - The Sky's Not The Limit*
Stevie Nicks - Belladonna
Stevie Nicks - The Wild Heart
Nico - The Marbel Index*
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine*
Nu Shooz - Poolside
Ted Nugent - Little Miss Dangerous*

Of Cabbages And Kings - Hunter's Moon*
Of Cabbages And Kings - Never Too Late*
Onyan Art - Reagge Rock*
Benjamin Orr - The Lace

Robert Palmer - Pressure Drop
Robert Palmer - Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley
Robert Palmer - Pride
Robert Palmer – Riptide
Robert Plant - Pictures At Eleven
Robert Plant - The Principle Of Moments

The Rascals - Ultimate Rascals* (Warner Special Products 9 27605-2 this one )
Ratt - Dancing Undercover
Otis Redding - Ultimate Otis Redding* (Warner Special Products 9 27608-2)
Rock City Angels - Young Man's Blues
Linda Ronstadt - Simple Dreams
Linda Ronstadt - What's New
Linda Ronstadt - Lush Life
Linda Ronstadt - For Sentimental Reasons

Simply Red - Picture Book
Simply Red - Men And Women
Simply Red - A New Flame
Simply Red - Stars
Simply Red - "You've Got It" CD single* (four songs total including a live "Holding Back the Years" and "I Wish").
Slayer - South Of Heaven*
Slayer - Reign in Blood*
Stacey Q - Better Than Heaven
Subdudes - Lucky*
The Sun And The Moon - Sun And The Moon*

Dr. Fiorella Terenzi - Music From The Galaxies*
Tesla - The Great Radio Controversy
Pete Townshend - Psychoderelict* (several versions for Atlantic, including original, censored dialog and cassette!)
Pete Townshend - White City*
Pete Townshend - Deep End Live
Pete Townshend - Scoop*
Pete Townshend - Another Scoop*

U2 - Boy
U2 - October
U2 - War
U2 - Under A Blood Red Sky
Underworld - Born Slippy*

Jason Vitelli - No Photographs*

Work Of Art - Lift* (Soundkeeper Recordings - SR4001)
Work Of Art - Simplicity* (Sword in the Stone Records - SSR54)
Work Of Art - Waves* (Sword in the Stone Records - SSR56)

Yes - The Yes Album
Yes - Fragile
Yes - Close To The Edge
Yes - Drama
Yes - Tormato
Yes - Classics

Warren Zevon - A Quiet Normal Life: The Best Of Warren Zevon*

Various artists - Atlantic Soul Classics (Warner Special Products 9-27601-2)
Various Artists - Superstars in Digital (Warner Special Products 9 27600-2 - "possibly")
Various artists - Stand By Me (soundtrack)
Various artists - Woodstock - Music From The Original Soundtrack And More


----------------------------------------------------

CDs NOT mastered by Barry Diament

Yes - Yessongs

----------------------------------------------------


*From the original master tapes -- AC/DC Back In Black is "perhaps" and Eagles Greatest Hits is "I *think*... but analog 'best of's were usually created by copying from the originals and assembling the copies into a new album so that would have been 1:1 from the originals..." - BD.

Jim Croce: see above about "best of" compilations

Genesis: "I did create CD masters for all --or almost all-- of the Genesis albums not long after I left Atlantic in the late '80s. Since I never received copies of pressings, I do not know if any of the masters I sent were ever used for CD production." - BD.

See posts #222-228 & post #717.

 

Thanks. Now I know why I like my Townshend discs so much.

John K.

 

Thank you for maintaining this list.

This album is actually entitled Classic Yes.

 

Great list pig_whisperer - thanks so much!

-s1m0n-

 

Isn't the original Kitaro (Geffen) "Ten Years" compilation mastered by Barry. It sounds great!

 

I just got Straight Shooter from a member. I originally bought the remaster as my first purchase. Barry's version is 100% better than the remaster. Thanks for the list.

 

Hi Barry,

I've just noticed my copy of AC/DC "Let Their Be Rock" has your mastering credit. Do you think you did this one? I'll add it to the list if it is.

 

mine does, too, and I wonder if it is Barry, because it sounds surprisingly loud to me, not smooth like all the other Barry's I have (which is 20+ titles)

 

Barry did Stand By Me? That's hilarious. I just ordered the CD from Amazon because I'd heard it years ago and remember it sounding particularly good for some reason. Too funny.

 

Hi Darcy,

I did a bunch of AC/DCs so it is possible. From this vantage -a quarter century later- however, I don't recall for sure. (Again, I wish I'd kept all my mastering notes from back then.)

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

P.S. Busy with (finally, finally) the next Soundkeeper release. Haitian jazz, recorded in a beautiful, century old auditorium. Should be ready to add to the list before the Summer ends.

 

Hi PROG U.K.,

Thank you.
Yes, I believe I did that one.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

Yes, that Kitaro comp sounds great. I have had it for years. Always liked the sound. Now I know why. Barry, I guess you did this one after you left Atlantic?

Pat

 

I have the West German target versions of Foreigner and 4. I don't listen to them all that much because I have never felt that they sounded that good. Does anyone have EAC peak levels from known Barry Diment versions for me to compare them to?

 

Hi Evan,

I never felt particularly good about the tapes they gave me for the Foreigner CDs (though the distorted drums were a character of some of the originals). The versions you have may well have been from those CDs.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

Evan, I'll put up the BD mastering of 4 ASAP. For S/T I always kind of preferred my Target over other pressings I've heard so far.

Oh, hi Barry!

 

Barry,

I know the drums are very distorted on Head Games, I've never heard a good mastering of that one. Do you think that the drums for Foreigner, Head Games and 4 are distorted on the master tapes?

 

Hi acdc7369,

"Head Games"! That's the one. I remember when they were in Studio A recording that. One of the engineers on the session said they'd spent three days getting the reverb on the snare drum!

(Pause to allow that one to digest.)

Since I wasn't in the room much, I can't vouch for that. But to my ears, yes, the drums are distorted on the originals. (I remember being told "The VU meters don't matter." And I remember thinking the evidence suggests otherwise. )

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

P.S. Hi Dave.

 

Thanks. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't one of the titles with a miscredited booklet. I'll add it.

I've never heard Haitian jazz before and will give it a try. If it is anything like my "Latin + Jazz = Cal Tjader" CD, I will be happy. Let me suggest a title.


Upcoming Soundkeeper release (summer 2010): Markus Schwartz - Sgt. Schwartz's Hiatian Heat Club Band .



A Work In Progress



AC/DC - High Voltage
AC/DC - Let Their Be Rock
AC/DC - If You Want Blood You've Got It
AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
AC/DC - Highway To Hell
AC/DC - Back In Black*
AC/DC - For Those About To Rock*
AC/DC - Who Made Who

Bad Company – Bad Company*
Bad Company – Straight Shooter
Bad Company – 10 From 6
Bad Company - Run With The Pack
Bad Company - Burnin' Sky (?)
Bad Company - Desolation Angels (?)
Bad Company - Rough Diamonds (?)
Anita Baker - Rapture
Bellvue Cadillac - Black and White*
The Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full Of Blues
Tommy Bolin - The Ultimate
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars*
Jackson Browne - Lives In The Balance
Jackson Browne - Lawyers In Love

John Cage & The Arditti Quartet - The Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1*
The Call - Reconciled
Chic - C'est Chic (?)
The Coasters - The Ultimate Coasters* (Warner Special Products 9 27604-2)
Phil Collins - Face Value*
Phil Collins - Hello, I Must Be Going*
Phil Collins - No Jacket Required
Jim Croce - Photographs And Memories*
Cowboy Mouth - Word of Mouth*
Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash*
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Déjà vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - So Far
The Cure - The Head On The Door

Danzig - Danzig
Bobby Darin - The Ultimate Bobby Darin* (Warner Special Products 9 27606-2)
Dr. John - I did *something* Dr. John. (Great guy too!) - BD.
Dokken - Under Lock And Key
Dokken - Breaking The Chains

The Eagles – The Eagles
The Eagles – Desperado
The Eagles – The Long Run
The Eagles - Their Greatest Hits*
The Eagles - Greatest Hits Volume 2
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
Enya - Watermark* (original and reissue with added tracks)

The Firm - The Firm
The Firm - Mean Business
Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly
Foreigner - Foreigner
Foreigner - Double Vision
Foreigner - Head Games
Foreigner - 4
Foreigner - Agent Provocateur
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Liverpool (?)
Aretha Franklin - best of (?)

J. Geils Band - Best Of The J. Geils Band
Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail 32VD-1023 (see bottom of page)
Genesis - Duke
Genesis - Abacab
Genesis - Three Sides Live (US version with "Paperlate")
Genesis - Genesis
The Georgia Satellites - The Gerogia Satellites*
Guns’N’Roses - Appetite For Destruction*
Guns’N’Roses - G 'N' R Lies*

Helldorado - Sinful Soul*
Hex - Hex*

INXS - Listen Like Thieves

Grace Jones - Island Life
Howard Jones - One To One
Howard Jones - Dream Into Action

Keeler - Autofocus
Tommy Keene - Based On Happy Times*
Rusty Kershaw - Now and Then*
Kitaro - The Light Of The Spirit*
KMFDM - Glory

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin - II
Led Zeppelin - III
Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same
Led Zeppelin - Presence
Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door
Led Zeppelin - Coda

Bob Marley - Catch A Fire*
Bob Marley - Burnin'*
Bob Marley - Natty Dread*
Bob Marley - Live!*
Bob Marley - Rastaman Vibration*
Bob Marley - Exodus *
Bob Marley - Kaya*
Bob Marley - Babylon By Bus*
Bob Marley - Survival*
Bob Marley - Uprising*
Bob Marley - Confrontation*
Bob Marley - Legend*
Bob Marley - Rebel Music*

Meatloaf - Blind Before I Stop*
Mike + the Mechanics - Mike + the Mechanics
Mike + the Mechanics - Living Years
Mötley Crüe - Too Fast For Love

Ivan Neville - Thanks*
Gary Nicholson - The Sky's Not The Limit*
Stevie Nicks - Belladonna
Stevie Nicks - The Wild Heart
Nico - The Marbel Index*
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine*
Nu Shooz - Poolside
Ted Nugent - Little Miss Dangerous*

Of Cabbages And Kings - Hunter's Moon*
Of Cabbages And Kings - Never Too Late*
Onyan Art - Reagge Rock*
Benjamin Orr - The Lace

Robert Palmer - Pressure Drop
Robert Palmer - Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley
Robert Palmer - Pride
Robert Palmer – Riptide
Robert Plant - Pictures At Eleven
Robert Plant - The Principle Of Moments

The Rascals - Ultimate Rascals* (Warner Special Products 9 27605-2 this one )
Ratt - Dancing Undercover
Otis Redding - Ultimate Otis Redding* (Warner Special Products 9 27608-2)
Rock City Angels - Young Man's Blues
Linda Ronstadt - Simple Dreams
Linda Ronstadt - What's New
Linda Ronstadt - Lush Life
Linda Ronstadt - For Sentimental Reasons

Simply Red - Picture Book
Simply Red - Men And Women
Simply Red - A New Flame
Simply Red - Stars
Simply Red - "You've Got It" CD single* (four songs total including a live "Holding Back the Years" and "I Wish").
Slayer - South Of Heaven*
Slayer - Reign in Blood*
Stacey Q - Better Than Heaven
Subdudes - Lucky*
The Sun And The Moon - Sun And The Moon*

Dr. Fiorella Terenzi - Music From The Galaxies*
Tesla - The Great Radio Controversy
Pete Townshend - Psychoderelict* (several versions for Atlantic, including original, censored dialog and cassette!)
Pete Townshend - White City*
Pete Townshend - Deep End Live
Pete Townshend - Scoop*
Pete Townshend - Another Scoop*

U2 - Boy
U2 - October
U2 - War
U2 - Under A Blood Red Sky
Underworld - Born Slippy*

Jason Vitelli - No Photographs*

Work Of Art - Lift* (Soundkeeper Recordings - SR4001)
Work Of Art - Simplicity* (Sword in the Stone Records - SSR54)
Work Of Art - Waves* (Sword in the Stone Records - SSR56)

Yes - The Yes Album
Yes - Fragile
Yes - Close To The Edge
Yes - Drama
Yes - Tormato
Yes - Classics

Warren Zevon - A Quiet Normal Life: The Best Of Warren Zevon*

Various artists - Atlantic Soul Classics (Warner Special Products 9-27601-2)
Various Artists - Superstars in Digital (Warner Special Products 9 27600-2 - "possibly")
Various artists - Stand By Me (soundtrack)
Various artists - Woodstock - Music From The Original Soundtrack And More


----------------------------------------------------

CDs NOT mastered by Barry Diament

Yes - Yessongs

----------------------------------------------------


*From the original master tapes -- AC/DC Back In Black is "perhaps" and Eagles Greatest Hits is "I *think*... but analog 'best of's were usually created by copying from the originals and assembling the copies into a new album so that would have been 1:1 from the originals..." - BD.

Jim Croce: see above about "best of" compilations

Genesis: "I did create CD masters for all --or almost all-- of the Genesis albums not long after I left Atlantic in the late '80s. Since I never received copies of pressings, I do not know if any of the masters I sent were ever used for CD production." - BD.

See posts #222-228 & post #717

 

I'm so glad to read that here. Head Games is a favorite and the overall sound has never bothered me that much, but yes, once I got the target and started actually paying attention to the details, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. There is some crazy distortion lurking on that record. It would be nice if there was an un-distorted version of it back up the chain somewhere, but it certainly does sound baked in there.

 

I thought that it was possible that something similar to "Face Value" had happened and that the earlier pressings were not done by you. Of course, it could be that I just don't like Foreigner very much

 

Barry,

You are credited as the mastering engineer in the credits of my EMI CD of the Questionnaires' album Window To The World. Did you do that one? I love that album.

 

Hi mdekoning,

Questionnaires definitely rings a bell. I think I did that one.
Was it produced by Pat Moran?
I did a number of CDs with him (one by Freedy Johnston CD).

A couple of decades since I've heard that one.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com