An Extraordinary CD: Superstars in Digital

Thanks to the forum and some significant upgrades, I'm scouring my collection for overlooked audio gems. (You know, the "whole new collection" rush that follows an upgrade.) Well, here's a disc I've always enjoyed for the music, without quite realizing it's an audio marvel too. Anyone else have this puppy? The sound is open, detailed, balanced, deep and wide and wonderful, like finding a DCC disc I didn't know I had. It's one of those "did I leave my surrounds on?" discs.

Why can't ALL well-recorded music sound THIS good on CD?

 

Gardo,

I have that disc - from the early days! I have not listened to it quite some time.

Bob

 

I think this may have been the first CD I ever heard. It was playing in a record store (Camelot Music) in Paducah, KY sometime in the mid-80s.

I remember being startled by the clarity of the sound. Then I asked at the cash register and found out it was a CD.

A buddy of mine got a CD player not too long after that. Nothing on his CD player sounded as good. I chalked it up to better equipment in the record store, combined with that "first time" sensation of hearing CD sound.

I never heard this CD again after that day. Nice to know that this was indeed a stellar sounding disc to begin with.

 

Interesting. I bought my copy at a mall outlet, either Camelot or Sam Goody; I don't remember which. I think it was Camelot, though.

Camelot was also the site of many killer deals on laserdisc in the last days of the format, c. 1997-98.

Steve, have you heard this CD? Any idea who at WB might have mastered it?

 

It's the fifth CD I ever owned.

 

Thanks Gardo! I had long forgotten about this one. I dug it out and yes it does sound quite good. Owner Of A Lonely Heart is stellar on this version.

 

Sorry, Steve. I rotated the image before I uploaded it, but apparently I forgot to save the rotated file. My bad.

Laura Branigan--Self Control
Chicago--Stay The Night
The Cars--Drive
Christopher Cross--Run Like The Wind
Yes--Owner of a Lonely Heart
Fleetwood Mac--Hold Me
Paul Simon--Allergies
Donald Fagen--Maxine
Rickie Lee Jones--The Real End
Ry Cooder--Down In Hollywood
Al Jarreau--Boogie Down
Randy Newman--I Love L. A.

 

Steve, the Ry Cooder, Donald Fagen, and maybe the Rikki Lee Jones tracks were digital recordings.

 

On a completely unrelated note , would you mind reposting the address where you can be reached, Steve. Just in case I wanted to send you a crate of oranges for Christmas, say? .

As for the sound quality, Dave is right: OOALH is absolutely stellar. Trevor Horn does all kind of cutsie stuff with phase in that tune, and they all come across big time in this master. The two highlights for me are the guitar solo, which in addition to being very cool and imaginative does a little Tazmanian Devil spin right in front of you with some super-rapid pans, and one of the baawooobaawooos on bass, which seems to come from somewhere behind me. (THAT was a first.)

Other highlights on the disc for me are "Maxine" (my fave from Nightfly), with its lovely harmony vocals very precisely positioned and rendered with loving detail; "Hold Me" (what a witty arrangment!) and its great instrumental timbres; "The Real End" with its great dynamics; "Boogie Down" with its scary depth; and "I Love L.A." because it's Randy Newman and he's never sounded better.

 

Steve, I did not know that. The disc was made in 1985...

 

So, this must mean that the first compact disc issuse of digital recordings, such as Fagan's "The Nightfly" and Billy Joel's "The Nylon Curtain" were actually made from analog masters?

 

Roscoe...what the heck was bringin' you to my hometown? Not much happenin' around here...unless your passin' thorough toward Nashville...

The ol' Camelot has long been replaced by FYE.

 

Well, I grew up in Metropolis - right across the river. Lots of family still there. Paducah was our big city!

When I stopped by the mall a few months ago, the Camelot was still there, but Disc Jockey was gone.

 

The first Nightfly CD came out in '84. So was the CD redone in '86 with the PCM 1630? I'm confused...

 

I read in an interview that the original Nylon Curtain CD was taken from a third generation analog copy that had been equalized for LP cutting. I remember it sounded terrible - all highs, no bass and painful. The Nightfly sounded much better than that.

 

I was amazed when I heard the remaster of that record. I never knew there was so much more fidelity than I had ever heard before. Great, great mixes. This is one for headphones. She Right On Time has some cleaver guitar parts that may be hidden if you're not listening for them. Real transient drum hits on Surprises.

 

Steve, i'll have to dig up my copy and compare it to the greatest hits anf the latest best of.

Concerning the "Nylon Curtain" remaster, I agree that the sound is quite good, but I can hear the limiting action in it. What I want to know is, is the remaster from the actual digital master, or analog?