Cheap old 80's CDs that actually sound terrific

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steven Henry, Jul 9, 2018.

  1. Steven Henry

    Steven Henry Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Recently I came across a post by a forum member recommending a cheap mid-line priced "Motown Compact Classic" series CD as his go-to release of What's Going On. "Ha!" thought I... until I saw Mr. Steve Hoffman's endorsement a comment or two down. I believe he replied, "That's the one."

    So I gambled $3 on Discogs, and I'll be damned. To my ear, the clarity and scope of sound beat all of the vinyl versions I've heard to date. I began to do a little more investigation and discovered a few more CDs released prior to the '94/'95 20-bit remastering craze that sound as good or better than their subsequent remastered versions. A few that are hard to beat IMO:

    The Best Of Isaac Hayes (Volumes 1 and 2)
    (1986) Stax/Enterprise, remastered from analog tapes by Joe Tarantino

    Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions / The Anthology 1961-1977
    (1992) MCA, remastered by Robert Stoughton

    Big Star #1 Record / Radio City
    (1987) Line Records, mastering unknown

    Any other favorite great-sounding CDs from the 80s and early 90s?
     
  2. billnunan

    billnunan Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    "The Nightfly" by Donald Fagan

    Rickie Lee Jones debut album

    "John Wesley Harding" by Bob Dylan
     
  3. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I've always liked the original Columbia CD of Blue Öyster Cult - Spectres.
     
  4. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    Jennifer Warnes covering her longtime iconic friend, Leornard Cohen, on Famous Blue Raincoat
     
  5. fluffskul

    fluffskul Would rather be at a concert

    Location:
    albany, ny
    Most of them.
     
    dude, TheRealMcCoy, Dyland and 65 others like this.
  6. heepsterandrey

    heepsterandrey Forum Resident

    I was spinning that one a few days ago. Such a smooth listen.
     
  7. Jack_Straw

    Jack_Straw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wichita, KS
    You must be new here!

    There are thousands of great sounding discs from the '80s and early '90s (before the loudness wars). Probably hundreds of threads here that discuss them. Not sure of the best way to find those threads (maybe do a search for a specific title that you are interested in).

    Some examples of great sounding discs:

    Virtually any of the Time-Life compilations from before '94 or '95.

    Almost all of the '80s Motown mastered by John Matousek.

    Anything mastered by Bill Inglot - pre-1994 or so.

    Anything mastered by Barry Diament.

    Anything mastered by Steve Hoffman.

    Anything mastered by Dennis Drake.
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2018
  8. HotelYorba101

    HotelYorba101 Senior Member

    Location:
    California
    The Police - Ghost In The Machine
     
  9. Jack_Straw

    Jack_Straw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wichita, KS
    Almost anything by the following artists mastered to CD in the '80s:

    Steely Dan
    Grateful Dead
    Led Zeppelin
    The Police
    Prince
    David Bowie
    Paul Simon
    Paul McCartney
    Queen
    Yes
    Rush
    Rolling Stones
    Fleetwood Mac
    Supertramp
     
  10. Steven Henry

    Steven Henry Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Hey thanks for helping me get ramped up, I am pretty new to the forum. I was aware of Bill Inglot’s great work on Rhino reissues from the era, but not the others.
     
    dav-here and bluejimbop like this.
  11. Thievius

    Thievius Blue Oyster Cult-ist

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    The old Virgin/Charisma Genesis CDs from the 80s. Not perfect by any means, as those old albums didn't benefit from high production values, but the old CDs are fairly true to the original sound of those recordings. I'm talking mostly about the oldest albums, Foxtrot through Selling England. But the Atcos and Atlantics of subsequent albums are also preferable over the more recent remasters, which are either remixed or use noise reduction. My old Genesis CDs are my pride and joy. :love:
     
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  12. Steven Henry

    Steven Henry Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    As a former Tower Records employee, I had multiple CDs by nearly all of these artists back in the day. However, by the mid-90s I was seduced by the boosted bass and high end of a lot of the 20-bit and, later, 24-bit reissues. A lot of 80s versions seemed pretty thin-sounding by comparison. To be honest, some of them still do (to my ears, at least) - but I’m surprised at how many discs I’d dismissed back then are so... listenable now. Of course, having a better grade of equipment now than I did back then probably doesn’t hurt, either.
     
  13. moops

    moops Senior Member

    Location:
    Geebung, Australia
    Any Original Jazz Classics CD, usually with one of these names as the mastering credit on the back ......

    Kirk Felton
    Joe Tarantino
    Phil De Lancie
    Gary Hobish
     
  14. onlyconnect

    onlyconnect The prose and the passion

    Location:
    Winchester, UK
    Tracy Chapman self-titled

    Tim
     
    poe_man, Terry, ibis and 12 others like this.
  15. moops

    moops Senior Member

    Location:
    Geebung, Australia
    There should be plenty of threads here with suggestions.
    There's also some duds from the early days, so take note of those when they're mentioned as well.
     
  16. hi_watt

    hi_watt The Road Warrior

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
    Magical Mystery Tour
     
    Plexiclone, MLutthans, Dyland and 8 others like this.
  17. stagnation

    stagnation Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bridlington UK
    I’ve always thought that the original Tears For Fears’ “songs from the great chair” is a great sounding CD
     
  18. Anarseo

    Anarseo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Venice, Italy
    Tears for Fears' The Seeds of Love
    (OK that was easy)
     
  19. Anarseo

    Anarseo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Venice, Italy
    I was writing pretty much the same thing but in two seconds I realized how titanic was "The Seeds of Love" at the time
     
  20. AdrianSoundchaser

    AdrianSoundchaser Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sheffield, UK
    I just picked up Tango In The Night by Fleetwood Mac. 1987 release. Absolutely amazing.

    I also continue to recommend the original Chrysalis releases of Pat Benatar's first two albums. Best bass sound ever.
     
  21. Anarseo

    Anarseo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Venice, Italy
    if you like some easy listening jazz, all the old Lee Ritenour catalogue on GRP is quite impressive
    I was spinning "Festival" yesterday, Brazilian infected smooth jazz, beautful sound, if you turn the volume up just a little bit
     
  22. AdrianSoundchaser

    AdrianSoundchaser Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sheffield, UK
    And don't buy any RVG Blue Note CDs. The original 80s CDs blow them away. Mastered by the aptly named Ron McMaster.
     
    Randy, mozz, TheRealMcCoy and 17 others like this.
  23. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialist™

    Location:
    B.C.
    @Steven Henry there's a rule I follow generally that holds up very well. With a few boutique audiophile labels exceptions, some DCC, MFSL, Audio Fidelity and Analogue Productions releases, older is better. Those first Japanese and German production engineers really knew their stuff and it's played out many times for myself and others.
     
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  24. Teufelzkerl

    Teufelzkerl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Few in my collection really stand out on a great system, two from the top of my head:

    Grace Jones - Island Life
    The The - Mind Bomb
     
  25. abzach

    abzach Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    This shouldn't be news to anyone on a this forum, most of them are superior to later remasters.
     

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