I usually listen to Genesis on vinyl, but this thread got me thinking about the various cd's I own. It's time to break them out and give them a spin. This is what I have......... Foxtrot- Definitive Edition Remaster (mid 90's) I use to have an early pressing, but got rid of it when I got this one (dumb, I know). Not a huge fan of the sound on this one. I will probably seek out an earlier disc. Selling England By The Pound- I have the the Atlantic West German By Sonopress. I like the Sonics on this one, was playing it earlier today and sounded nice. A Trick Of The Tail- I own two, the 2007 remix and the 80's US Atco. I don't have an axe to grind when it comes to remixing albums, but I like the original on this one. Wind & Wuthering- I got lucky and found an Atco Japan by Sanyo several years ago. The mastering on this one is a delight. ....And Then There Were Three- I have two, the 2007 remix, and the 80's US Atlantic. I don't know, this album never sounded good to me. Abacab- I have the West German target. Great sounding disc, playing it now. Genesis s/t (1983)- I have the 80's US Atlantic. I haven't listened to this one in a while. Oh well, looks like I need to beef up my Genesis cd collection.
I don't know if this was already mentioned, but I noticed there are different masterings on these two editions of Selling England By The Pound: (1) Virgin / Charisma CASCD 1074, ordinary disc face, matrix "VIRGIN MEGASTORE CASCD 1074" Genesis - Selling England By The Pound EAC peak levels: 96.2 - 93.0 - 98.9 - 61.3 - 91.6 -58.2 - 90.4 - 64.6 (2) Virgin / Charisma CASCDP 1074, picture disc, matrix "CASCD-1074 12 A2 DADC AUSTRIA" Genesis - Selling England By The Pound / The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway I & II EAC peak levels: 99.5 - 96.5 - 97.7 - 62.4 - 78.2 - 53.9 - 75.4 - 61.1 They are very close, but it seems to me the picture disc is richer sounding with a little bit less treble. Also the editing between Cinema Show and Aisle Of Plenty is different, on the picture disc the very last bar of Cinema Show is tacked onto the beginning of track 8 with a fade-up, whereas on the ordinary CD, it is at the ending of track 7 and fades down. PS: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway picture disc from the above release set has identical mastering to my ordinary NIMBUS 2 CD set (Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway ).
You're right, I have participated in that thread, but was also frustrated that posters often didn't specify the album they were writing about. Info on the different versions of SEBTP is on the first page, posted 10 years ago.
Your versions of Selling England, Trick, Wind, and Abacab are keepers. No need to look further. I appreciate how the DE Foxtrot has more highs than the old CD's since I did find them a bit veiled in certain spots, but the noise reduction just wasn't needed. There's no good ATTWT CD IMO; the Atlantic's midrange overpowers the other frequencies, the V/C is somewhat bright and thin, and the DE is too smiley-faced. For s/t, it's the same deal for the most part. I'd probably give the Atlantic the edge since it's smoother than the other CD's. The V/C and Target have less bass and more treble in comparison, so they might not be everyone's cup of tea. Both of those discs might have been mastered from the same digital source (they stay in sync when lined up correctly) and sound almost identical once the latter is de-emphasized.
I just recently added Nursery Cryme and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway......both are the DE. I was in my favorite record shop, and the owner let me have them super cheap ($5 for both). I plan on doing some headphone listening this weekend.
The problem with such statements is that, as we have shown in the Versions thread (linked earlier), there are different V/Cs! I assume you are talking about The Lamb? If so, all pre-DEs are the same with the noted peculiarities on Disc One.
Yep, but the cover art is better displayed on the US copy. Never did like what they did on the UK V/C releases.
Have to agree with you on that. Did you know that they used the slightly different US/Canadian artwork? The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway - album 1974 No idea what they are talking about with regard to the different text, as the "Rael starts to run..." line appears two paragraphs later than the "With casual..." line (i.e., both lines appear in the text of all the versions I can find pictured online).
I know. I should have stated I'd go for "my" V/Cs. Of course, without specifying which ones they are (which is irrelevant in one of the two cases)
I'm fully aware of that, me and others have previously posted more detailed information about that in other threads - even so, a general statement is useful for those who doesn't care about minor differences.
Im a big fan of genesis all through except maybe the last couple. I got the sacd box sets. I enjoy them, the 5.1 mixes and tge extra stuff. The albums i would most recommend if you are limiting your purchases, would be nursary cryme. Lamb lies down, then there were three and duke. I think all the albums except, the last two have good stuff to offer.
But surely anyone participating in a thread called "Best Genesis on CD?" would care about the differences?
Trespass MCA CD is Fantastic! very open and Airy/clear sound, such a revelation after my first introduction with Trespass through the Muddy Trespass 1994 remastered cd , on the 1994 cd the music is actually swimming in a pool of Noise reduction. Trespass MCA CD = an Excellent mastering for beautiful Music. The original UK cd Virgin is also very nice.
So......I usually prefer vinyl when listening to my favorite music, but I've found that digital is the way I'm leaning when it comes to Genesis. The sonics are lacking on the vinyl pressings I own, and I find myself enjoying the cd versions (especially with headphones) somewhat more. I'm doing a little comparison of the DE and the V/C of Foxtrot at the moment.
Please let us know of your results. I don't think all of the DE's deserve the knee-jerk negative reaction they usually get. I almost always prefer Genesis on vinyl simply because it sounds more balanced. Except for Duke. On my systems, the original cd shocked me. I didn't know it could sound that good.
I hear ya about some of the Definitive Editions (the ones I've heard).......I like the sound on the DE of Foxtrot, it has some nice detail on Supper's Ready. The V/C also has it merits, but there is not necessarily a clear winner when it comes to sonics.
FWIW, I had a blind-listening poll for Trick running a few weeks ago. Surprisingly, the winner was the DE, though the West German mastering was only one vote behind. The DE Trick is also regarded as one of the worst titles from the series, so its victory might be even more perplexing if you fall into that camp. I think some of the DEs are definitely worth reevaluating, though Trespass deserves its negative rep.
