Essential Barry Diament masterings

Hmm.... I just looked in my 90125 booklet, and no mention of CD mastering engineers (not surprising). It does say "CDD Pre-mastering by WCI Record Group." Would CDD by any chance stand for Compact Digital Disc? My disc is a regular early US Atco.

Just to recap, let's review who did which Yes albums so far (please feel free to jump in and/or correct):

• Yes- Unkown/Uncredited
• Time and a Word- Unknown/Uncredited?
• The Yes Album- Barry (uncredited)
• Fragile- Barry (uncredited)
• Close to the Edge- Barry (credited)
• Tales From Topographic Oceans- Unkown/Uncredited
• Relayer- Zal (uncredited)
• Going For The One- Unknown/Uncredited
• Tormato- Barry (uncredited)
• Drama- Barry (uncredited?)
• 90125- Barry or Joe? (uncredited)

This comes from information gathered in the forum and from my own observations.

 

Hi Mark,

Yes, CDD stands for Compact Digital Disc.
The WCI Record Group credit usually suggests Joe Sidore's work.

I keep forgetting but there is a live Yes album (was a triple on vinyl if I recall correctly... emphasis on "if") which has my name on it but is not my work. Atlantic's art department added my name, assuming I'd be doing the mastering --- and to try and make up for the ones I did do where they omitted my name. I remember it as "the one that sounds like it was recorded under water".

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

 

That would be Yessongs.

Didn't Barry also do Classic Yes?

 

So, can I take it that Barry did not remaster Bad Co's Burnin' Sky and Rough Diamonds? That is, if I read the first post right.

I have been looking for the old versions, but if they're not Barry's, I'll just get the remasters.

His Runnin' With The Pack sounds great, in case you haven't heard it.

 

Yes, but I just put studio releases on my list. I don't think we know who really did Yessongs, but Barry said he's been "blamed" for it. I don't have Classic Yes, but it's been pretty much confirmed that Barry mastered that one.

Don't just give up on your search. Give some other early engineers a chance too. You might find some other good stuff while you're looking.

 

Hi ACK!,

I remember doing a bunch of Bad Company CDs. The thing is, we're talking roughly 25 years and a few thousand CDs ago so I can't really be sure about all the particulars.

I don't know about "Burnin' Sky" and "Rough Diamonds". I might have done them but don't remember. (This is really frustrating as I'm sure you can imagine.) Which post are you referring to (the #) that suggests I did not master them? (If I did them, it would have been the original mastering, not a re-mastering.)

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

 

One of the early posts - it might have been the first - had a list of the CDs you'd worked on. Those weren't on there, so that's why I asked.

I imagine that time and having worked on so many great discs would wear on your memory.

Keep up the good work, Barry!

 

Pretty sure Barry did 90125

 

So, how specifically does use of EQd/limited tapes compare to using the original mixdown masters? Are the high frequencies at the 'end of side' tunes reduced?

 

Hi SiriusB,

To my ears, a typical EQd/limited tape was missing the bottom octave (or two), had the lower treble boosted, was missing the top octave and had its dynamic range neutered.

All of these were generally more prominent than any softening of the highs as the side progressed, largely because the true highs were excised early in the side.

More often than not, the original mixes, whatever their flaws, still have the full bandwidth and at the very least, considerably more dynamic range than what leaves most mastering rooms.

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

 

Hi jv66,

I wish I was that sure. ;-}

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

 

Barry, I think the reason we think you did the original 90125 is because it sounds so good. Limited tape or not it's a sweet sounding disc.

Rob

 

I know Barry said he hasn't talked to Joe Sidore in years, but does anyone else here have any way to reach Joe? A quick google search says he's been an engineer since 1960. I hate to sound so pessimistic, but is he even alive? There doesn't seem to be much in the way of contact info for Joe, and it's a shame for such a great engineer. Would our kind host Steve have ever bumped into Joe?

Good point Rob, but the same could be said for Led Zeppelin IV. Until I can get my time machine ready for beta testing, we'll just have to keep jogging Barry's memory for this one or leave it a mystery. I know Barry's done thousands of CDs, but it seems like he would remember blasting something as 80's (a nice way of putting it) as 90125. Maybe he didn't do this one after all?

 

Hi Mark,

The 1960 date could lead some to the mistaken idea that Joe is elderly. He started young and to the best of my knowledge is not yet of retirement age.

Aside from many of the questions here dealing with projects I did around 25 years ago and there having been thousands of projects in the intervening years, one of the things that adds to the memory confusion on my part is that I got to hear all of these albums quite a bit while I was at Atlantic. Even if they were originally mastered, say, by Joe at Warners. Over time, as more plants came on line and CD sales continued to grow, I'd make new clones of some of the CD masters in our tape library, so they could be sent to other manufacturing facilities.

So, when questions come up here, there are occasions when I can remember hearing a particular album over and over again but it was so long ago that I'm not sure whether it was during mastering, during cloning or for some other purpose (such as an editing session --- there were albums I edited but did not master, like Springsteen's "Nebraska" or XTC's "Drums and Wires").

This is the case for me with "90125".

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

 

OK, that's in line with what I understood. And if I understand correctly, a lot of the classic rock catalog you did for Atlantic -- Led Zep, Yes, ACDC, ELP -- came from such tapes....?


This also gives me a chance to ask about something related --I see in the course of consulting my old ICE magazines, that you were also involved in a Genesis catalog remastering from the original tapes -- this was reported in Aug 1989 issue, and says you had been working on them for a year by that time and had done nine of them. They were meant to upgrade the versions that were currently out at that time. ICE quotes you about the original CDs to the effect that 'a lot of them had high and low end rolloff for the vinyl records. So now suddnelty they're just crisper and cleaner sounding" You also say 'All were released on CD before I started doing them', which indicates you didn't work on the original CDs. There;s a lot of confusion in the article as to whether your upgrades were actually on the market. It says at one point 'The new masters are being used in England, but even Diament is unsure which have entered prodcution in the US, due to lack of identification."

So, do you know what actually transpired with these? Did they ever actually come out anywhere? You had already left Atlantic by that time, so maybe it was hard to know. But it would appear that this means there should be at least two measurably (and audibly) distinguishable CD versions of several of the Genesis albums as of late 1989 -- the original CD issues, likely sourced from second-generation /LP production masters, and your remasters from original master tapes, reported in the Aug '89 ICE. And possibly the upgraded ones were only ever available in the UK.

 

Barry, do you recall whether you mastered the CD of Esther Phillips, Confessin' The Blues? That's been one of my favorite records (and CDs) for over twenty years. The CD is on the Atlantic Jazz label and is undated, but appears to be quite early. The disc has the old "circle" design and the liner notes bear the then-standard blurb about how "The Compact Disc Digital Audio System offers the best possible sound reproduction – on a small, convenient sound-carrier unit...." etc. (I wonder why the phrase "small, convenient sound-carrier unit" never caught on? )

 

Hi SiriusB,

Generally yes but there were exceptions, among them at least "For Those About To Rock" and/or "Back In Black" (wish I remembered better). Also, Warren Zevon's "Quiet Normal Life", the first CSN, some Bad Co, Otis Redding, Rascals and perhaps a few others.

I did a number of the original Genesis releases but not all. "And Then There Were Three" was probably done by Joe Sidore. Some of the oldest albums were probably done in England. I worked on "Duke", "Trick of the Tail", "Abacab" and a number of others, the titles of which elude me at the moment. (Oh... "Genesis" and "Three Sides Live" were among them.)

As to the re-mastering project, to date I do not know that any of them have ever been released. I have not heard any Genesis re-masters so I don't know if they used the masters I created. From what I hear about their loudness, it does not seem likely.

Too bad as I remember "Selling England..." in particular, sounding so much better than what I'd heard before. And "Abacab" was a knockout.

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

 

Hi RZangpo2,

That one doesn't sound familiar to me. I don't believe I did it.

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

 

I just want to thank you Mr. Diament, just got 2 Bob Marley CD's
'Uprising' and 'Catch a Fire' and they sound just great.

 

Update: I am using the following posts as a guide. Still a work in progress.

My Japan 32XD copy was released November 25, 1985. I don't know if it shares the same mastering as the target.


If You Want Blood:

Howard Jones:

AC/DC - If You Want Blood
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 out of 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 - Lawyers In Love or Lives In The Balance (Barry did one of these)

John Cage & The Arditti Quartet - The Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1
The Call - Reconciled
Chic - C'est Chic (?)
The Coasters - The Ultimate Coasters
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 - Deja vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - So Far

Danzig - Danzig
Dr. Fiorella Terenzi - Music From The Galaxies
Dokken - Under Lock And Key
Dokken - Breaking The Chains
Dokken - Under Lock & Key

The Eagles – The Eagles
The Eagles – Desperado
The Eagles - Hotel California
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 (?)

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

"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 in this thread & post #717.

Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail
Genesis - Duke
Genesis - Abacab
Genesis - Three Sides Live

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

The Georgia Satellites - The Gerogia Satellites
Guns’N’Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Guns’N’Roses - G 'N' R Lies

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 (supplied with the "reverse channel" tape. This tape has been used for other vinyl masterings).
Led Zeppelin - II
Led Zeppelin - III
Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (2xCD)
Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same (2xCD)
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

Mike + The Mechanics - Mike + The Mechanics
Mötley Crüe - Too Fast For Love

Ivan Neville - Thanks (?? not 100% sure)
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
Rubber Plant - The Principle Of Moments

The Rascals - Ultimate CD
Ratt - Dancing Undercover
Otis Redding - Ultimate Otis Redding
Linda Ronstadt - Simple Dreams
Linda Ronstadt - What's New
Linda Ronstadt - Lush Life
Linda Ronstadt - For Sentimental Reasons

Simply Red - Men And Women
Slayer - South Of Heaven
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Stacey Q - Better Than Heaven
Subdudes - Lucky
The Sun And The Moon - Sun And The Moon

Pete Townshend - All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (mastered by Zal or Barry or done twice?)
Pete Townshend - Psychoderelict
Pete Townshend - White City
Pete Townshend - Deep End Live
Pete Townshend - Scoop
Pete Townshend - Another Scoop

Underworld - Born Slippy

U2 - Boy
U2 - October
U2 - War
U2 - Under A Blood Red Sky

Various - Atlantic Soul Classics
Various - Stand By Me (soundtrack)
Various - Woodstock - Music From The Original Soundtrack And More (2xCD) Atlantic

Work Of Art - Waves (Sword in the Stone Records - SSR 56)
Work Of Art - Lift (Soundkeeper Recordings - SR4001)
Work Of Art - Simplicity (Sword in the Stone Records - SSR54)

Yes - The Yes Album
Yes - Fragile
Yes - Close To The Edge
Yes - Drama
Yes - Tormato
Yes - [strike]90215[/strike]
Yes - Classics

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

 

Thanks for the update, pig whisperer

Maybe now, we can include the cd numbers on the list so that it would be easier for people to locate these?

 

Hi Darcy,

This list is useful to me too.
(Those memory cells aren't getting any better. ;-})


Add Genesis - "Genesis" (Aside from the ones I did as an independent after I left Atlantic - none of which I've ever known to be released, this was another one I did while at Atlantic.)


Mike + The Mechanics - Mike + The Mechanics
There was a second Mike & the Mechanics CD I believe I mastered too. (Forgot the title.)


Ivan Neville - Thanks (?? not 100% sure)
Yes, I did this one, from the original mixes - a few years after I left Atlantic.


Rubber Plant - The Principle Of Moments
Rubber Plant?


The Rascals - Ultimate CD
Isn't the title "Ultimate Rascals"?


Simply Red - Men And Women
If memory serves, I also did "Picture Book" and after I left Atlantic, the CD single for "You've Got It" (four songs total including a live "Holding Back the Years" and "I Wish").


Pete Townshend - All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (mastered by Zal or Barry or done twice?)
I thought Bill Dooley might have done this one.


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

 

Do you know how we can identify your mastering on this one Barry? SRC pressings?

 

Hi Barry,

Just making sure everyone is paying attention Everyone missed the additional Marley album early on in the thread.


Townshend is out. I also took out "90215". Yes? (and I don't mean the band).



AC/DC - If You Want Blood
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 out of 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 - Lawyers In Love or Lives In The Balance (Barry did one of these)

John Cage & The Arditti Quartet - The Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1
The Call - Reconciled
Chic - C'est Chic (?)
The Coasters - The Ultimate Coasters
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 - Deja vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - So Far

Danzig - Danzig
Dr. Fiorella Terenzi - Music From The Galaxies
Dokken - Under Lock And Key
Dokken - Breaking The Chains
Dokken - Under Lock & Key

The Eagles – The Eagles
The Eagles – Desperado
The Eagles - Hotel California
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 (?)

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

"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 in this thread & post #717.

Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail
Genesis - Duke
Genesis - Abacab
Genesis - Three Sides Live
Genesis - Genesis

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

The Georgia Satellites - The Gerogia Satellites
Guns’N’Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Guns’N’Roses - G 'N' R Lies

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 (supplied with the "reverse channel" tape. This tape has been used for other vinyl masterings).
Led Zeppelin - II
Led Zeppelin - III
Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (2xCD)
Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same (2xCD)
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

Mike + the Mechanics - Mike + the Mechanics
Mike + the Mechanics - The 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
Ratt - Dancing Undercover
Otis Redding - Ultimate Otis Redding
Linda Ronstadt - Simple Dreams
Linda Ronstadt - What's New
Linda Ronstadt - Lush Life
Linda Ronstadt - For Sentimental Reasons

Simply Red - Men And Women
Simply Red - Picture Book
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

Pete Townshend - Psychoderelict
Pete Townshend - White City
Pete Townshend - Deep End Live
Pete Townshend - Scoop
Pete Townshend - Another Scoop

Underworld - Born Slippy

U2 - Boy
U2 - October
U2 - War
U2 - Under A Blood Red Sky

Various - Atlantic Soul Classics
Various - Stand By Me (soundtrack)
Various - Woodstock - Music From The Original Soundtrack And More (2xCD) Atlantic

Work Of Art - Waves (Sword in the Stone Records - SSR 56)
Work Of Art - Lift (Soundkeeper Recordings - SR4001)
Work Of Art - Simplicity (Sword in the Stone Records - SSR54)

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