[jsaliga]

I for one thought the Analogue Productions reissue of Fragile (remastered by Steve Hoffman) was pretty bad when compared to my original 1972 pressing.  It was one of the few times that I was very disappointed in a Hoffman remaster.

--Jerome

[kenreau]

New ORG pressings of Nirvana titles.








Still sealed.  I'm in a state of flux as I later learned, after purchasing, these are probably not the colored vinyl versions.  I had assumed originally there was only one.  Now, I suspect there is a standard black vinyl version and colored vinyl issues. 

Hopefully this weekend I can move these to the "What LPs have you listened to recently?" Folder

Kenreau

[vinyl_guy]

OK: another DoFP question: there's the original mastering and then there's the late mastering. There are a few difference between them, the one that sticks out in my mind is on Side 2.

The first song, "The Afternoon," ends with "Time to Get Away" and it melts into "Evening..." For the original mix, they sing (I think) "Evening, time to get away" more than once and it fades into the next song. On the original mix, they sing that three times. On the later mix, they only sing it twice.

So (like nobody has anything better to do), how many times do they sing it on the Speakers Corner reissue? You see, from what I've read, the original mix may be better and it would mean I should look for a European copy vs. a reissue. Jerome has that original copy, if it's an import, maybe he can dig it up when not tired and give it a spin...

Paul

Paul,

Tonight, with the baseball game on in the background, sound off, and nothing better to do, I listened to 3 copies of DOFP, side 2. Two are from 1967 (both USA pressings), and the 3d is the Speakers Corner reissue. They sing "time to get away" 3 times on all three copies. This little listening session also reminded me how good the Speakers Corner reissue is. Lots of detail and clarity--an excelllent pressing IMO. Listening to the Moodies is always a pleasant experience, and much better than the baseball talking heads.

Laura

[vinyl_guy]

Kenreau,

what tone arm is on your turntable in the Nirvana album pictures?

thanks,

Laura

[kenreau]

Kenreau,

what tone arm is on your turntable in the Nirvana album pictures?

thanks,

Laura

SME 309. 

[jsaliga]

The same tonearm I have mounted on my SOTA Star Sapphire.  BTW, thanks for posting about the Nirvana ORG pressings.  They are on my radar.

--Jerome

[Wayner]

I for one thought the Analogue Productions reissue of Fragile (remastered by Steve Hoffman) was pretty bad when compared to my original 1972 pressing.  It was one of the few times that I was very disappointed in a Hoffman remaster.

--Jerome

I'd agree that it sounds different then the original, which I also have, but not worse.

Wayner  aa

[jsaliga]

Wayner, there will always be some difference of opinion on any given release.  You can take that to the bank.  I thought the Hoffman remaster suffered from grossly exaggerated bass, has no vibrancy in the middle, and is a little thin on top.  Two spins of the AP reissue was enough for me to decide that I really don't want to hear it again.  So I don't judge it to be different.  I consider it to be inferior, and by a pretty wide margin.  But to each his own.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

These just in today...



--Jerome

[kenreau]

The same tonearm I have mounted on my SOTA Star Sapphire.  BTW, thanks for posting about the Nirvana ORG pressings.  They are on my radar.

--Jerome

My SME 309 is also on a SOTA (Cosmos).  I sure hope these Nirvana reissues nail the sound quality.  All I have to compare them to is the seedee versions.  I imagine they will get reviewed in a magazine or two.

Ciao
Kenreau

[Wayner]

Jerome, of course I value your opinion, however, I'll bet that 99 out of 100 re-mastered LPs are going to sound "different" then their earlier forerunner. On the topic of Fragile, I thought the original was bass thin. I have been to many Yes concerts and thought the band was actually one of the few that could sound like the LP release (musically wise), even in a crummy hall. Someday I'll listen to the remaster and the original back to back to see where you are coming from, but there are those that have never heard the original. If the situation were backwards, they might not like the original. Some of these earlier recordings were done on some pretty old equipment. God only knows what the electronics were, the tape trasport and other associated equipment may have been ancient. Also, who knows about the guy that was cutting the master, did he do a little fiddling while he was cutting? That situation would be impossible to duplicate. Also, the poor master tape is 30 some years old, some having some Dolby or dbx processing to it. In many cases, I think that this re-master is the best that someone can do given the circumstances. It's not like this is a digital file and all that had to be done was burn it to a CD. I'll bet all the LPs you've bought lately sound different from their originals as well. Some better, some worse but I'm still glad I have the remaster in many cases, just to have something in better condition then my 30-35 year old beat up original.

That's all I'm trying to get at. By the way, I've been on the recording side of music for many years and know it's a bitch to pull off a nice recording, especially live. I do have a certain admiration for at least the attempt, tho sometimes wishing that it was better, but understanding that it probably can't. I'm sure that Hoffman and company tried their best, as this is a very important piece of music, at least for the time.

Enjoy your new LPs.

Wayner 

[jsaliga]

Wayner, honestly I don't analyze these things to nearly the degree that you seem to.  I am way too busy with my professional life to spend a lot of time waxing philosophical about the whole thing.  And given how much money I invest in audio in general and vinyl in particular, it saddens me a bit that I don't have more time to enjoy it.  Today is the first time in 3 days that I have listened to any vinyl.

In any event, I simply put on a record and listen to it.  I'll then judge it on its own merits.  If it is a reissue/remaster then I will probably compare it to the original release if I have it or the CD if I have that to see which one I prefer.  But I don't "deduct points" if a remaster doesn't sound like the original.  If that was the expectation then why even bother with remasters?  Still, I can't get excited about a remaster that lags behind the sound quality of the original.  You may disagree with my assessment of the sound of the AP reissue of Fragile, and you of course you are welcome to do so.  Sound quality is in the ear of the listener after all  , so I think there is room enough for us to come to different conclusions about this or any other album without either of us feeling like we have to overcome the other's position or find fault with their judgment.  I'm glad that you like the AP Fragile reissue.  I just spun the Rhino remaster of The Queen is Dead by The Smiths and absolutely loved it!  Someone else might find a bucketload of faults with it.  C'est la vie.

As for Hoffman...I own a lot of his work on vinyl and CD and he gets it right way more often than he doesn't.  So having one or two that don't suit my listening tastes is not a deal breaker for me.  If it was then I doubt seriously that I would have thousands invested in a lot of the 45 RPM Blue Note and Riverside remasters he's done.   

--Jerome

[Wayner]

Right now, audio is my professional life! Actually, I think we are on the same page and we all have high expectations about our new vinyl purchases. If I'm going to spend 25-30 or more on a piece of vinyl, It better be damn good in many ways. I am really disappointed with the Friday Music remaster of Yes's Close to the Edge. Many bowls of hemp (by others) has been consumed, listening to this LP and they did not get it right....at all. I do see that they are re-remastering it, but I am now gun shy. If I could do a trade-in, that would be good.

Has anyone bought a recent new LP that has had gross defects with it and tried to send it back? I have 2 that are really bad and the 30 day window is closing in on me.

Wayner

[jsaliga]

Has anyone bought a recent new LP that has had gross defects with it and tried to send it back? I have 2 that are really bad and the 30 day window is closing in on me.

LOTS!    Way too many, in fact.  I'll be starting a thread on this very subject since it's been on my mind a lot lately.

--Jerome

[orthobiz]

Has anyone bought a recent new LP that has had gross defects with it and tried to send it back? I have 2 that are really bad and the 30 day window is closing in on me.

Wayner

I never send anything back! I've been pretty lucky but it seems that I buy way more than I can listen to. I loved the 1 hr documentary on Warren Zevon's last recording where Zevon talks (as I recollect) about collecting. The example was books, buying more than you can possibly read.

It's not that you're buying the book, but "buying" the "time" to read the book, like you're always expecting to get to it someday. If that's the case at 22 minutes a side, I'm gonna live forever!

Paul

[orthobiz]

Paul,

Tonight, with the baseball game on in the background, sound off, and nothing better to do, I listened to 3 copies of DOFP, side 2. Two are from 1967 (both USA pressings), and the 3d is the Speakers Corner reissue. They sing "time to get away" 3 times on all three copies. This little listening session also reminded me how good the Speakers Corner reissue is. Lots of detail and clarity--an excelllent pressing IMO. Listening to the Moddies is always a pleasant experience, and much better than the baseball talking heads.

Laura

Thanks for the investigative work! I may just try the Speakers Corner and give the whole holy grail search a rest!

Paul

[vinyl_guy]

Kenreau,

what tone arm is on your turntable in the Nirvana album pictures?

thanks,

Laura

SME 309.

I thought it looked like an SME, but wasn't sure of the Model.

thanks again.

[kenreau]

Kenreau,

what tone arm is on your turntable in the Nirvana album pictures?

thanks,

Laura

SME 309.

I thought it looked like an SME, but wasn't sure of the Model.

thanks again.

Certainly.  I see you have the SME IV.  I imagine it really works well with the SME table.  I was hoping to find a IV (pre-owned) for about a month without any luck and just happen to spot this 309 so I jumped on it. 

[vinyl_guy]

The Electric Prunes - I Had Too Much to Dream (last night), Get Me to the World on Time. 180 gram Warner Brothers/Reprise reissue.

[kenreau]

The same tonearm I have mounted on my SOTA Star Sapphire.  BTW, thanks for posting about the Nirvana ORG pressings.  They are on my radar.

--Jerome

Just a heads up if anyone is considering buying these Nirvana ORG pressings.  See my link in the above "where to buy vinyl online" folder above.  Fred Meyer has them for $18.98 plus free shipping for orders over $25.

Kenreau