DIRE STRAITS: Self-titled: Best version on CD?

Hi,

The title says it all! Just saw a heads-up in the eBay section for a $30 Japanese Target...so I had to ask which is the best version on CD. This otherwise great album seems to be overshadowed by that 'other' album BIA. But still, it's one of my favorite albums. You gotta love the first two songs, not to mention Sultans of Swing

Thanks

 

I have an early US Warner version (not target) that seems to have to songs in their full length. Can't compare the sound to other versions, though...

 

I have the early Vertigo/Phonogram W. German made CD. The sound is very nice and warm. I don't have any other version to compare to, though - LP, CD or otherwise. Because of that, I can't vouch for the times/fades compared to the LP.

 

The Target disc sounds very good but cuts off many songs way too early. The best CD version of this album IMO is the latest Warner remaster.

 

I got a Vertigo prewssing for Christmas one year. I did notice the early fade on Sultans of Swing. This has since been corrected on the renaster.

 

Really? I've been listening to my West German CD for years and years (bought it when it first came out on CD). I've recently picked up a minty vinyl, so I'll have to compare.

 

The best sounding I've come across is:

'Dire Straits' Re-Mastered Vertigo 800 051-2 SPARS AAD SBM Re-mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway. (1996)

This version seems to have restored the instrumental fade out to the proper length. Although the cut 'Sultans of swing' is listed at (5:34) it actually runs approx (5:44).

This is my fave of theirs and if memory serves me correctly (long time ago) comes as close as anything to a master dupe (recall amazing bottom end) I heard around the time of initial promotion of this album.

Of course an SACD would be nice.

 

I own or once owned all three known different masterings of this title. It is my favorite Dire Straits album and I also think it is by a long shot their best sounding recording.

I start with the version I like the least: the SBM remaster
Why? Because it is compressed and this is just getting on my nerves. Once you know what to listen for regarding compression, you just can't really enjoy compressed CD's any more, especially when listening to them at higher volume. Even though there are worse remasterings, I prefer all the original versions of the Dire Straits catalog over the remasters. The remasters sound a little snappier, and most people prefer them over the original versions when listening to them first, but if you listen closely and carefully, the original version really wins in my opinion.

I included wave-forms of "In The Gallery", first one is from original WG CD, second one is from remaster.

The non-remastered Warner Bros. CD has the original lengths of all titles, and sounds better than the remaster in my opinion.

The original West Germany/France/Germany Vertigo pressing of this CD (all are the same, and I think the Japanese target is also the same mastering) has some early fades which can be a little annoying, but they aren't too bad. The sound of this mastering is a tad better than the US version, and is my favorite mastering of this title.

It is one of my favorite sounding CD's, you can just crank it up and it doesn't sound harsh, Six Blade Knife is especially awesome.

By the way, the full version of Sultans Of Swing can be found on the Dennis Drake mastered "Singers & Songwriters: 1978-1979". Dennis Drake's mastering is quite similar to the WG CD version.

My recommendation: If you don't like many or most of modern remasters, then go for the original version. if you're quite happy with many remasters (not all, but maybe at least half of them), then you will most likely like the remaster better.

Hope this helps,

Roland

P.S.: If there are any people who are interested in the original WG/France CD versions on Vertigo, I have some duplicates which I can offer at a reasonable price. I was going to post them in a couple of weeks on the forum anyway. Simply send a PM.

 

Although I'm guilty of posting wave forms in the past myself, you really can't go by that.

Besides, what I see there is not nearly as compressed as most things these days. In fact, visually, that's just plain tame and trims only the shortest transients that you'll likely never perceive.

 

I guess I don't understand what you mean by "you can't go by that".

Of course, the wave-from will not tell you anything about the quality of the master tape or the EQ'ing or if the right tape machine setup was used or if noise reduction was used etc.

But it WILL tell you whether the CD was compressed or not. Definitely. In this case, the compression is not as bad as on some other masterings, but it is still compressed. And it can be EASILY heard with this mastering if you know what to listen for.

The song used to have a volume build-up, getting louder as it progresses. The remastering engineer decided that that wasn't a good thing, and the song should be equally loud from beginning to the end. He actually changed the quality of the music/recording. He was doing what most mastering engineers are doing today, with only a few exceptions.

I am glad for anybody who doesn't mind a little compression or can't hear it, but I am REALLY bothered by it.

If I see a compressed wave-form, I am simply staying away from it if I can. I posted the wave-form for people who feel similar as I do about compression, so that they are informed. I have no intention in making people who like the remaster think that they shouldn't like it anymore.

Roland

 

I would buy vinyl if I had a turntable. For now, it's only digital - CD, SACD, DVD-A.
Is the non-remastered Warner Bros. CD the original US issue?

 

Yeah, that one gets me. But I love the sound.

 

Funny, on MY Japanese pressed Target of this CD, the cut 'Sultans of Swing' runs approx (5:44) I think it is listed as (5:47) (it is not in front of me right now).
Steve, was your copy a German Vertigo target or a Japanese Warners target?
Was there a difference between the German Vertigos targets and the Japanese Warners targets

 

What is the total running time of your Japanese target?

Roland

 

I will have to get back to you on monday.....

 

BTW, mine is manufactured by CINRAM here in Canada.

 

I wonder if my Video CD of "Sultans Of Swing" has the full length cut?

Remember those VCDs? They issued about 20-30 of them in the late 80s. My Pioneer laser disc player plays them so I bought Sultans. All it has is the MTV video and the single tune in CD audio. I'll have to check it out.

Kevin

 

My West German red swirl Vertigo "Sultans of Swing" times out at 5:36, but that includes two seconds of silence, so the exact running time is 5:34. It's only about 10 seconds shorter than the full version, but those last 10 seconds are important! It fades right in the middle of Mark Knopfler's final lead guitar solo. I don't understand how any engineer could do that.

 

coitus interruptus

 

There are two songs on the WG Dire Straits s/t album that appear to run around 10 seconds shorter than the full length versions. Those two tracks are Sultans Of Swings (5:34) and Lions (4:54).

Still, the sound of that WG CD version is so sweet, it makes up for the earlier fades in my opinion. If you want to have the complete songs as well as the best mastering, you'd have to get the WG CD as well as the non-remastered WB US CD.

Well, maybe there's is a Japanese target that has the best sound as well as the full length songs, but I sort of doubt it. I would assume that the WG target is the same as the WG regular non-remastered CD (the one Steve Hoffman had) and that the Japanese target is the same mastering as the early US WB CD version. I could be wrong, but that would seem most likely to me.

Hence the question regarding the total timing of the Japanese target.

For reference here are the timings of
West Germany Vertigo: 41:25 (matrix code: 800 051-2 01 or 0x - all the same)
US Warner Brothers: 41:46 (matrix code: IFPIL431 *1D* 2-3266)

Would be interesting to compare the timings and the matrix codes of the target versions (I don't have any of them).

Roland

 

That's how I feel.

How does the mastering on the original US Warner Bros. CD without early fades compare to the W. German Vertigo?

 

My Japanese target Warner Brothers: time 41:46 (41:47 on some players)

Matrix code: 03266-2 60405F Manufactured by Sanyo Japan

I do not know how it sounds compared to the West German Target, but I am happy with it.