Paul McCartney MEMORY ALMOST FULL - Mastering good or bad? *

I logged into the forum tonight expecting you audiophiles to be at least 30 pages into a discussion on the mastering of MEMORY ALMOST FULL and I can't find a single comment in any of the related albums threads, unless I'm blind.

Seems very odd because the normally "I love Paul and everything he does is gold" crowd on the offical McCartney forum are having a field day.

maccacollector

 

so these are the beatles and related threads i hear of!?

;o)

 

I posted a few things about the harsh-strident vocals.The second I put the cd on I knew something wasn't right and I'm almost never bothered by bad mastering but this is glaringly bad.

 

I would have to say bad, but not the worst ever.

 

Look at the MEMORY ALMOST FULL thread above and you'll find at least 30 pages of discussion on the mastering of MAF.

 

Look at those beautiful wav files, just like C & C...

 

Yep, I'm holding out for the vinyl.

 

I'm not happy with it! It could have been so much better.

 

It's horrific. I would put it squarely in the "unlistenable" category. It's sooooo compressed.

 

Sounds really bad. Even hard to listen to in the car, where a little compression can help. Unlistenable on the home system

 

I found it ironic in the liner notes there's a photo of Paul and someone else in front of a workstation looking at a track that has peaks and valleys and space - then the final product is totally maxed.

I also found it very telling that Bob Ludwig made a point to state that Sir Paul requested the mastering be the way it is at one of the listening parties (I'm too lazy to find the post from the MAF threads)

 

I will eagerly await the reviews here of the vinyl. Unless it's a pretty major improvement I don't think I'll spend the $30.

Was the vinyl for Chaos & Creation a big improvement from the cd?

Hasn't Steve made comments in the past that with today's vinyl cutting technology that almost anything can be cut - including brick-walled masterings?

 

I think it's more like he wanted this recording to sound "modern" and equivilent to current recordings. Big mistake IMO. This would have been a much better record minus all the so-called production values. A lot of it already sounds dated to my ears.

 

I totally agree with you. It is unlistenable on the home system and still a mess in the car. But it's the only way I can listen to it at all. Which just breaks my heart because I really love the music! It is the best he has done musically in a long time IMHO. How could they let this mastering be released? The only real hope now is for the vinyl. I don't know if I will live long enough for a remastering 20 years from now by Steve Hoffman

 

These "production values" were already tired 10 years ago!

 

I agree lifeless, squished

 

a cousin to Rush's Vapor Trails

 

paulmccartney.com forum discussion on the subject:

http://macca.devstars.eu/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=60505

personally, I attribute the mastering to the Wrath of Kahne

 

Personally speaking, the madness stops here.

I am a huge Beatles & McCartney fan but I will not buy this album with this botched mastering.

I am going to write to McCartney, the record company and Robert Ludwig and tell them so. From what I've read so far, I am amazed that Ludwig allowed his name to be used in the credits. :thumbsdn:

It certainly proves the point that artists should not be involved in the mastering process...

 

I'm impressed that so many of the folks there are aware of the problem. As more people discover the problems associated with massive digital compression, clipping, etc. we might see the tides turn when they make themselves heard (if they can be heard! )

 

Sorry for this post. Sorry Paul. The sound is terrible. It clips all the time. It's impossibile not to be aware of that.