Bowie's Young Americans blind listening test

I guess i'm the only one who likes B.

 

I guess it doesn't hurt to ask this here. Are there hard and fast rules concerning sample length? Either forum or legal? I've often wondered.

 

up to 60 seconds i think.

 

I wonder how long it'll be before all fair use exemptions are gone for good. Every time i sing in the shower i expect to find a takedown notice waiting for me on my doormat!

 

Could be a counterfeit notice from the neighbors, depending on your talent

 

I fear my talent is so lacking that what comes out of my mouth could never be recognised as an actual song. Perhaps i should have said, 'paramedics waiting for me on my doorstep...'

So when do we get to find out that A and C are two glorious and impossible-to-beat RCA discs. One WG and one Japanese?*

*Of course i could be wrong

 

it's a shame that this only intrigued 25 enough to participate. so despite the apparent runaway winners, it's not really a big enough sample to draw any conclusions from.
fair to say your assumption is correct anyhow. < mouse over for spoiler.

 

Hopefully the Ziggy,Hunky blind tests will draw more people in.I'm happy to put some together when/if the op needs a break.I don't have the R32's though

 

I'm in France, where case law is around 10% of the full song. For typical Bowie songs, this goes somewhere between 20 and 30 seconds, which is just fine in my opinion. You have to compare several songs and several masters, and that multiplies quickly. If you have to go through long and long minutes of listening, I think I'll get even less participants.

And I think 20 or 30 seconds is the best compromise; you have the time to look for some subtilities, while remembering a bit of the previous sample quite fairly. The longer the samples, the more you forget what you really heard just before, I think. I fear I'd get some really vague comments like "E is better, I felt like the musicians were right in front of me!" or stuff like that.

The next test, for The Man Who Sold the World will contain 4 samples which are probably going to be around 30 seconds. The songs are more prog-rock, so they need this, in my opinion.

I don't think I'll do Ziggy for the moment; I'm missing at least 4 masterings, and (believe it or not) I almost don't care for this album, sorry... Maybe later, with some help. Hunky Dory is going to be third, though.

 

Can you announce the results please? Or send them in a PM. I need to know!

 

B: Enjoyed the top end detail on the reverb tails but heard some sibilant notes too.
C: Sounded "right".
D and G: Wonky and muffled.

I vote C.

 

We want the results! We want the results! We want the results! We want the results! We want the results!

 

I want the files, they're no longer on Google Drive...

PS. I still have to buy all the Bowie CDs. I only have Let's Dance and a compilation (and the Blackstar vinyl).

 

Working link in Post #4

 

I like samples A and C. Both seem equally balanced. A has a bit more bass, so it got my vote. Although I like C the best on Can You Hear Me.
Sample B is boosted, both in bass and treble. Really harsh treble
Sample D seems nice too, although it sounds a little muffled.
Samples E and F sound like modern, compressed masters to me.
Sample G is one harsh treble fest. Ugly.

 

Thank you very much!

I think we're getting a reasonnable number of votes now. The next test will appear soon, and I think I'm going to keep this one open for a little while, because the next thread might hopefully bring a few more voters here...

 

Time for some results?

 

Yes... I guess I need a bit more motivation for the next test.

So here you go.

Results! Results! Results!

Sample A: RCA WG for EUR, PD80998. 9/29 votes (31.0%)
Sample B: Virgin 2007 (CD). Sometimes more a remix than a remaster. 1/29 votes (3.4%)
Sample C: RCA JPN for US, PCD1-0998. 12/29 votes (41.4%) WINNER
Sample D: EMI 1991 (aka Silver Ryko), CDP 79-6436-2. 2/29 votes (6.9%)
Sample E: Parlophone 2016, Who Can I Be Now? box set. 2/29 votes (6.9%)
Sample F: RCA JPN for JPN, R32P-1038. 1/29 votes (3.4%)
Sample G: EMI 1999. 2/29 votes (6.9%)

Some personal notes about this... feel free to add your own!

Pool size: almost 30 voters in total, which is not bad, but still it's small so the results need a lot of precautions. It's hard to draw conclusions from 1/29 or 2/29 votes, for example. I saw a lot of people defending the Rykos or the new Parlophone remaster in other threads, but unfortunately not of lot of them came here to do a blind test and vote.
About the winner: the RCA JPN for US wins with a clear advantage, which is a bit of a surprise (I think most people were thinking that the RCA WG would win, and I thought the Parlophone had a bigger chance). Of course, only two small samples were given, and some other master might have been prefered for some other parts of the album. To be noted: the RCA JPN for US is the only digital master lacking the first opening drum beats of the title track, and it's quite hissy between tracks. Looks like people felt it had a sligthly better EQ than the others, although the RCA WG was never really far behind and did receive a lot of votes as well.
RCA vs. Ryko vs. Parlophone...: Combined, the 3 RCA masters make up for around 3/4 of the votes. The latest Parlophone remaster doesn't really shine, a lot of people thought it sounded muffled. Some people still preferer the Ryko or EMI-1999, so yes it's really a matter of taste.
Bias?: I wonder if everyone has voted before reading other people's comments. I think some people saw a consensus and followed it, consciously or not.
Personal vote: I thought the RCA WG or RCA JPN for JPN would win. Before this, my favourite master was the JPN for JPN (R32P), because I thought the RCA WG lacked a bit of "oomph", while the JPN for US was a bit too hissy. In the end, the JPN for JPN only received a single vote, and it wasn't mine. I voted for the RCA WG, but then aphexj made me concentrate on the drums, and so I think the JPN for US is my favourite, now (I'd need to add the missing drumbeats...). I'm really surprised that the JPN for JPN didn't see much love.

Suggestions for the next test are very welcome. What I've noted: more samples, longer samples (a bit), try to add some Gold AU20 Ryko, add a note to post #1 in case the download link doesn't work anymore ("use your mouse-wheel!"), easier download...

Thanks everyone!

 

I’ll be honest. I had voted E and then was too embarrassed to admit it after then reading comments.
It sounded clearer to me but I was using a laptop and Apple ear buds in a hotel room so not the best gear!
Will have another listen soon with proper headphones

 

Thanks for doing the test. I look forward to more!

I would say the original RCA releases were so good that it's a shame they don't just keep reissuing them, instead of inferior remasters. Of course the same can be said of most albums.

I think most of us Bowie fans can pick an original RCA out of a line-up pretty easily. I wonder what you can blind test that would be more unpredictable, for want of a better word. Still, it's always interesting to hear what others find in each sample and what they are hearing.

 

C was my choice. I didn't really care for any of the others too much, but D seemed to be the second best if I had to pick one.

 

This is very interesting, as A sounded very bright to me. Now, I'll have to dig through my CD's (boxed up in storage) and see which RCA I actually have.

Thanks for this test.

 

Yes, it's terrible. It's the album version or nothing for me.

 

A toss-up between G, F, and B - you'll find that I am not allergic to treble. I found A and C to be pretty clear in the vocals but the instruments were indistinguishable. I didn't even realize there was acoustic guitar in "Young Americans" until the second run-through on either sample B or G (the only '70s album I've not listened to yet, for some reason). D is pretty decent, but E sounds muffled. A and C just feel a bit dull to me. I like the clarity that G, B, and F bring. I'll tentatively go with G because it sounds the most clear to me, but I thought all three sounded fine.

EDIT: Once again, I've proven that my ears suck! Haha. I was expecting sample E to be the Ryko. Was surprised that the RCA Japan for Japan sounded so much different than the other two. My guesses would have been A, C, and D for the RCAs and E for the Ryko.

Thanks for this, though - it's good to know that I don't need to worry about tracking down expensive/new CDs, because a blind test on a song I've never heard proved that I liked the ones I already have best. Thanks!

 

I don't think your ears suck or anything. It looks like you just prefer more treble and hearing more details in the mix, and that's a perfectly fine opinion. Maybe it's your personal equipment, or just your personal taste. But in any case it's very interesting, thank you very much.

If this test helps people chosing what they really prefer, and if it saves them some time or money, then yes, that's one of its goals, and I'm really happy seeing this. Thank you.

(Still, I'll keep my RCA )