Artist who recorded pre-loudness wars without pre-loudness wars CDs

The only thing worse than trying to track down an artist's pre-loudness wars CDs (especially if they're OOP), is finding they never had any in the first place.

Arlo Guthrie only had a comp on CD pre-loudness wars. His albums proper seem to have been first released in 1997.

Charlie Dore's first two albums were only issued on CD in 2009, I think.

And to clarify this isn't an 'X isn't on CD yet' thread, it's a 'They only exist on CD post -loudness war' thread.

 

Hm....

Arlo was apparently released in 2005, and is DR14. Alice's Restaurant from 87 is DR12.

I don't know Charlie Dore, but note there was a CD issued in 95 called "Things Change". "Sleep all the Day" was released in 2004, "Cuckoo Hill" in 2006, and "The Hula Valley Songbook" in 2008.

I don't think you can simply lay a blanket over a period of time and have meaningful results. You have to look at individual releases, and get the DR values.

The Arlo release was from Rising Sun Records, RSR CD 6299.

Alice's Restaurant was from Reprise, 6267-2.

 

Yes, I forgot AR.

Arlo only had Alice and a GH comp until 1997. And the 2004 versions are louder than the 1997 versions I've had to compare. And they def aren't in line with mastering practices of pre-loudness wars. I have all of his releases including the 2 pre-loudness war CDs mentioned above.

For the sake of this thread, laying a blanket over a time period simply means X artist wasn't on CD until after the loudness wars began (roughly 1995). This really isn't about comparing DR values as much as having a list so people won't go searching for albums that don't exist. I say this because I've noticed of late that Discogs isn't exactly 100% and there are albums that exist that aren't on there. Knowing this, so some people may be trying to find versions of albums that aren't even out there. I myself did this until I realized some artists never had their core albums released at all on CD in the 80s/early 90s and that post-loudness wars editions were the only option other than needledropping.

Perhaps I should specify and say core/catalog albums.

EDIT: Those Dore albums were originally released after the loudness wars. Her first albums are the only ones released before hand, with the third being released around the emergence of the loudness wars.

EDIT 2: The Arlo album is largely quiet in the first place. But his electric ones like Running Down the Road, while not bad (either ''97 or 2004/5 mastering) are def. post-loudness wars.

 

I don't think the albums Jennifer and s/t from Jennifer Warnes had CD releases until after the loudness wars.

 

Yeah, TBH I'm not sure of why this is a valuable exercise, so I guess it's just going over my head. I'm surprised you say a DR14 is louder than an earlier version. DR14 ought to have excellent dynamics, and certainly ought not to be loud.

 

Pre loudness era noise reduction was just as big a problem for me

Swings and roundabouts I guess?

 

Figures on a Beach-Standing on Ceremony, 1987
Didn't get a compact disc release till Wounded Bird got a hold of it in 2008.
Ton's of 12 inch singles.

 

The DR you're referring to is for that specific album, correct? That is largely a live acoustic album, a far cry from his fully produced albums that followed. Or did you mean you found that DR in all of the 2004 releases?

 

That's the trade off. A lot of albums that never got original era CD releases get releases pot-loudness, but with excellent bonus tracks (usually a slew of 12"mixes). The Cherry Red label does this a lot.

 

Yes. For quite a few releases. I wish there had been an era in between that consistently used the master tapes but mastered without weird EQ or compression.

 

Shuggie Otis?

 

That specific release.

 

Shot Through the Heart, released in 1994 by BMG EU, sounds really great. Not compressed, not no-noised. Very natural,airy and open, with a nice pulse and pace. Also has many of her "greatest hits ". Highly recommended.

 

Got it and the BGO release.