Best CD version of David Bowie - Station to Station

I'm lost. There's the Rykos (multiple versions?), the RCAs (German vs. Japan?, Au20?), the Virgins, the EMIs, etc. I'm not looking for an all-out best Bowie CDs thread-- just this album, Station to Station, one of my favorites. What do you think? Thanks.

 

RCA WG.

the Ryko Au20 is well liked but it's not faithful to the LP IMO.

BUT you should wait to see how the EMI 3 disc SE sounds. original producer Harry Maslin is in charge and the set will include the original album, a 5.1 mix and the Nassau Coliseum show (2 tracks appeared on the Ryko as bonus tracks). due in June i believe.

 

the ryko au20 is a mess, its clipping left and right. If they hadn't screwed that up it might be the best version. The RCA WG is the best at this point. Perhaps the special edition coming out later this year (or was it next?) may have a good version on it, the surround mix will be fun if they leave the vox alone, but it is unlikely we'll get a good stereo copy. Maybe audio fidelity can get it?

 

I prefer the RCA German as well.

 

WG RCA

 

The German RCA is great - the Japan RCA nearly as great. The German has just a little more punch.

 

Personally, I found the difference between the German RCA and the Japanese RCA a bit more significant, but we're one the same page.

BTW the only version I haven't heard is the Ryko AU20, but it sounds like I'm not missing much there.

 

You probably know there is a deluxe version due this year, but who knows how that one's going to sound? The bonus will be, I believe, a 5.1 mix, if you're into that kind of thing, and a live recording from the Nassau Coliseum 1976 tour.

 

At least one poster mentioned the AU20 was his preference. I actually like the Ryko (EMI UK) vinyl reissue. Sounds nothing like the original, but it really grew on me.

 

West-German (or German) RCA.

The original LP has a more bass and funkier guitar, but the CD has more "resolution"; they're pretty close.

 

STS: http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/5268/stsg.jpg
TVC15: http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/5230/tvc.jpg

 

For me, the German RCA lacks high end, making the vocals sound really echoey.

I like the Au20 best, but with Steve's EQ corrections. But beware, some Au20s seem to have two different masterings, one shrill as hell, the other much better. My Au20 Ziggy will peel paint and make plants wilt...

 

Thanks for the waveforms. Wonder what that EMI cd version looks like?

 

What were the corrections? And was there really a second mastering?

 

Nothing official, but the widely differing opinions on the Au20s of STS and Ziggy have led me to strongly suspect there was a secret remastering.

Comparing my Au20 of Ziggy to the 1990 EMI version is like night and day--the latter sounds nice and smooth, while the Au20's vocals are like fingernails on the blackboard.

 

Do know if it's been confirmed they will re-release the vinyl too, like they did with Space Oddity?

 

Would it be too much trouble to post some peak levels?
You've really got me curious.

I'd be happy to provide some from the EMI and Ryko (not Au20) versions of Space Oddity.

 

Wow - I couldn't disagree more. To me, the Japan RCA sound like it was taken from a dreadful tape source - one of the first CDs I got rid of as soon as I bought it; completely unacceptable. Apart from the first 'Lodger' pressing (with complete dropouts on one channel on the songs from side two), I'd say it's the sounding Japan RCA.

 

Other than the volume being really low on the US RCA cd, what's so dreadful about it? I think it sounds great. I haven't heard the German RCA, but don't really feel the need to. I have compared some of the same tracks to tracks that appear on other Bowie RCA comps and couldn't tell a huge difference.

 

Is the us like the japan cd? If so, there is a funky treble thing going on. I remember hearing a sample and noticed the reverb was way off.

 

Whoops. I meant Japan for US RCA cd.

I don't recall there being anything weird with the treble. Are you saying the treble is off? It sounds balanced to me. I don't recall any issues with reverb either. I'll have to give it a listen tonight when I get home from work.

 

Everything sounds off to me; the vocals sound like someone hit the Dolby button on a cassette deck, there's odd tape noises in the fadeouts like it was badly transferred from a late generation tape and everything sounds ill-defined and "boxy", almost as if I had too much wax in my ears or had accidentally poked a hole in my woofers.

This one, along with the flawed 'Lodger' and the first CD of Lou Reed's 'Transformer' made me wonder if RCA were trying to sabotage the CD format.

 

Well, I will say the volume level bothers me slightly. I was making an RCA Bowie mix the other day on cd and I decided to normalize the Station To Station tracks, so they would flow better with the other tracks. I think I'm going to revisit some of the tracks tonight and see how it holds up.

 

Are there any external signs of different masterings?

 

1990 EMI: 95.1 / 88.1 / 89.8 / 97.7 / 96.8 / 97.7 / 87.5 / 93.8
Silver Ryko: 97.3 / 90.2 / 91.9 / 100.0 / 99.1 / 99.9 / 89.5 / 96.0