Best Rush Cds

Resurrecting this thread.

I bought Hemispheres Mercury CD (silver hub) today and it sounds fantastic! It's so much better than Chronicles I couldn't believe it.

My question, is this the best mastering out there, although I doubt there's a better one.

Also, did we ever get a definitive list of Rush CDs to look for? I may start picking these old CDs up if they all sound this good.

 

My one and only Rush album is the WG Atomic of Moving Pictures, which sounds great to me.

 

Discounting variations like the West German and USA PDO pressings, the Rush catalog has had a few distinct masterings (some are the same within):

Canada Anthem
Polygram
CBS Sony Japan
Atlantic Japan (post-CBS, pre-remaster)
MoFi

I have 'em all. Never really did a shootout. I should.

The post-CBS pre-remaster Japanese ones are pretty difficult to find.

 

Bought a W.G. Atomic Fly By Night today and am very disappoint with the sound. Very dark and lifeless.

 

Jamie, please provide a bit more detail. Is it veiled on the top end and/or overall to give this a dark and lifeless sound... or has slight compression been used that causes the bass to sound harder and the whole album sounds kind of murky?

 

It's not a compression thing. It sounds like a higher generation tape combined with a top end cut on the EQ (probably to reduce the hiss). It doesn't have a boomy bottom end or anything, just the cymbals and upper harmonics of everything are cut off. Pretty dull sound.

 

If the W. German Atomic "Fly By Night" you're talking about is 822-524-2, I have that one. I haven't listened in awhile, so I don't remember what I thought of it at the time. Not a big fan of that album.

Anyone got a recomendation on better sounding versions of this?

 

Actually, the remasters are a big improvement IMHO. I have not heard the MoFi's. Especially the two Rupert Hines produced CD's (Presto and Roll the Bones) that now have better low end. The albums I think with the worst production, regardless of version, : Hold Your Fire, Fly By Night, and Vapor Trails. The last LP Snakes and arrows has excellent sonic characteristics for hard rock. Rush is releasing a Retrospect 3 -The Atlantic Years in December with some remastered Vapor Trails tracks.

 

Did you miss my post and subsequent quote above? Try that one, I think you'll like it.

 

I did. Which is the best?

 

Same one that was before you moved.

 

Hi Dave. If you're referring to your post #14, you list "Fly By Night Anthem Records ANC-1-1002" as you're preferred version, but you also say that the W. German Atomic pressings share the same mastering as the Anthem Canada pressings. So I'm assuming the disc Jamie and I have sounds the same as the one you list there.

 

Here's everything I know regarding Rush releases available on CD.

 

Read a few months back that the Anthem's did not always share the Atomic mastering. Which would explain Fly By Night at any rate. I just can't seem to find that thread.

 

Honestly, a lot of those Rush CDs (early that is) didn't sound very good.

 

However many of them have and probably will never be surpassed. Also keep in mind that many of these albums were not the best recorded to begin with and Digital Compression will only succeed in bringing forth more of their flaws.

 

Everything is subjective and it depends. For example, I prefer the 90s MoFi CDs. Some of the Japanese pressings aren't bad, but the original mastering jobs left something to be desired.

The remasters really aren't bad - they're far from over compressed IMO since they were done in the mid-90s.

 

The remasters aren't bad by standards today, no. They aren't compressed, but they are EQ'd funny. That's my guess anyway. They're good enough that they are how I fell in love with Rush's music, but I've since acquired much better sounding cd's and realize how subpar those remasters are.

 

The MOFI's are pretty good. Although 2112 was much to harsh for my taste. For me the Atomic and 25 8P blow it away. Regarding MFSL Signals, regardless of the reasons The Weapon, one of my favorite Rush tracks, is in effect a different mix. It's not the way the LP or any of the CD's were/are and is not as I remember it. As a result I stick with the Atomic or 25 8P.

Great way of putting it, not awful but sub par. Like you my feeling is, just because they are not horrible by no means makes them good.

Rick

 

Does anyone have any information on the green triangle releases? Is the mastering different from the other early Mercury releases? Seems like they're really hard to find.

 

True re: Signals, but it still sounds great. One of these days I'm going to really have to do an Atlantic Japan (1st AMCY pressing) vs. 25 vs. other pressing comparison.

I think it depends on each album. Some of the EQ was odd, but in other cases it worked. It's never a given everything is the best. But again, it is all personal preference as to what you are looking for. For example, I never loved the sound of the first HYF pressings; it was always a bit lacking. THe remaster is better.

 

Are you referring to the WG atomics? Which titles exactly? I love my WG atomics of: Caress Of Steel, 2112, AFTK, and Hemispheres. They sound great and I think they blow away the Rush Remasters. I've been looking for a WG atomic for Fly By Night for a long while now but based off of Jamie's comments I might try for a different pressing. I think the Gilbert Kong vinyl for FBN is excellent. I've never been lucky enough to hear any of the Japan CD versions yet...

 

To me when you compare original cds to remasters, it's a tough call. The remasters are compressed and a few have wonky eq. The good thing about them is they (most likely) used the original master.

The main problem I have with original cds is I don't think many of them used the original master, they used an eq'ed and compressed copy that was used for lp cutting. Were they all? Who knows. Jamie's "Fly By Night" sounds like it is probably a copy of a copy of a copy. Why would they do that? The other problem I have with the originals is where to find them. The only place I can find them is online, and it's a pain to try to figure out what version of the cds people are selling online.

 

Don't be too sure that most of the Atomics were not from the original tapes. Also in my mind so what if they are not the original tapes. Unless they are going to be treated with the respect they deserve and not mangled digitally during mastering I for one could not care less. This time, to my surprise there is at least one other person on the forum that agrees with me....




http://stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=200249&postcount=1

I get asked all the time why I prefer some older CD masters over the new loud ones. Frequent SH Forum members know why I do, but for some of you newbies, here is a "reprint" of my post from the Billy Joel thread:

Remember, in the '80's, record companies used any old tape to make a CD master.

THIS IS NOT ALWAYS A BAD THING!

Why?

Because, what ever tape they used, be it copy or cutting master, it's still an analog product, copied by a real engineer from the master tape. It might be with a little added compression or some slight EQ'ing, but for the most part, nice sounding.

Today, one can take the original master and totally ruin it in one instant using digital processing insensitively. So who gives a da*m if they use the original master or not? It's pointless!

For me, unless the new version is mastered by a trusted engineer like Doug Sax or someone who skips the careless digital tune-wrecking compression, I'll stick with the old versions. Think about it; those old tapes were used to cut the LP versions world wide. Some of them sound pretty good!

Your comments and opinions (differing or otherwise) would be appreciated.
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