CSNY - Deja Vu sound quality

I have a vinyl copy of CSNY's Deja Vu, mastered by George Piros, and the one thing that really sticks out to me is the varying sound quality between tracks. "Carry On" sounds great, as does "Our House" and others. But when "Teach Your Children" comes on, it sounds like the proverbial blanket has been dropped over the speakers. Is this just a product of the original recording? I have no other copy to compare it to and haven't listened to this album for years like some, but I have a feeling it's not due to Piros's mastering.

 

Do a search. The variability in the sound of the tracks has been discussed previously. Some feel the later Sam Feldman (sf/atl) cut has the best overall sound quality.

 

Thanks. I know about the Sam Feldman mastering, but there are a lot of threads with "Deja vu" in the title. Guess I'll do some wading...

 

I've got the Japanese mini LP HDCD version. Super Hissy. I used to dismiss it but on more listens it sounds good but there is huge room for improvement.

 

This one needs to be given the remaster/bonus trax treatment that 'Couch' and Daylight Again received...
So does the 'Boat' album!!!

 

Yes. Some songs were multi-tracked to death.

I've compared so many pressings of this I feel like TP. They are all a compromise due to the varying recording process. Some masterings are better for the bright tracks and some are better for the dark ones. You either just play one copy that strikes a balance (like the CD) or you have different copies for each side or for different songs.

 

I hear that the MFSL pressing is good. I have a Classic Records 200g pressing that I like.

 

Classic had/has a vinyl issue that I like.

SQ better than any of the other US vinyl I have heard.


The engineers were not at the top of their game, I guess.

 

the HDCD japanese version (there is no U.S. HDCD) is usually considered the best, even with the hiss.

and yes this was multi-tracked to death, stills has been quoted that they spent over 800 hours in the studio.

 

Its not that -- several great engineers worked on this LP over the years. Its that the finalized tracks all vary. There seems to be no ultimate 'best' copy. However there are several really good cuttings of this album. The key is getting one that hasn't had the upper frequencies tweaked or pushed into distortion like many of early cuttings have.

- original Atco Monarch pressings with L/L matrices (a bit toppy yet smooth + great dynamics and attack, probably best on a tube system)
- George Piros with G/F matrices (overall best balance, fantastic low end and smooth vocals)
-late 70's Geo. Piros w/ R/R and S/S matrices (warm & smooth yet detailed, probably best for a solid state system)
-late 70's Sam Feldman w/ T/T matrices (same)

 

Thanks for this info. I'll have to check when I get home to see which matrices my Piros has, and I'll keep and eye out for the others.

The thing about "Teach You Children" is that it almost sounds like a non-Dolby tape played back on a Dolby machine. Anyone else have this impression? I'm not saying that's what happened, just that's what it sounds like.

 

This is my current fave (running tubes and planars). The 70's Sam Feldman w/ T/T matrices sounds slightly brighter. Hard to make a generalization as they are all room and system dependent.

 

Album tracks vary considerably on a forensic system

Its not all the same by a long chalk.

 

And w/ an album like this, the time of day, (the grid) can make a big difference. Same for Ambrosia's first.

 

the Uk plum is very good as well. One of my favorite.

 

Interesting album. They recorded a majority of it around the corner from where I live. It is now called Hyde Street Studios. The point being,I believe they used several studios recording this album. Mostly Heiders in SF and LA but others as well.
I would imagine and this is total conjecture on my part,that they mixed and mastered at different studios as well.
If that were the case it would make perfect sense that the album would not have great consistancy as each room and playback systems are different and who know who mastered or mixed any particular song ?
Mastering is an artform like no other. A matter of EQ,Compression,Limiting etc. I never understood how these guys could make a song pop,but they do if they are good.

 

It is? I thought it was said to be heavily compressed? Hmmmm ...

Original UK Atlantic Plum does the trick for me.

 

i have a CD-R of the HDCD and i play it the most.

 

I have the japn mini lp from the mid '90s, and it is phenomenal. Love the textured cover.

 

Just got home and checked. My Piros has the R/R matrices.

 

Yes the UK Atlantic Plum label is the best cut done by Bill Foster at the CBS Studios in London, I've yet to hear a CD as good as this cut.

 

The textured cover is phenomenal or the sound? I can get a textured cover for $2 in its full size glory at a thrift store.

I could have sworn that it was pretty well established the JPN HDCD mini was very bright if not compressed ...

Pretty interesting thread here:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=151622

 

The JPN HDCD is certainly not the end all. I listen to my original Atlantic when I don't feel like spinning vinyl. There currently is no great version of this title out there digitally in my opnion. A bit of a mucked up result no matter how you listen to it, but I dig it all the same.

 

The Mo-Fi is my go to listen lp. This might change as I just recieved the other lp that is getting mentioned here (ATL,...)
As for the classic abortion treatment of this great album you can find cd's or lp cut's that will blow it out of the water.
Last but not least for the fellow who cant stand the tape hiss on the lp this lp was recorded at Wally Heider studio's SF on 16 track with no noise reduction to 2-track. Of course it's hissy. Other album's made during this period include Santana's Abraxis and J.A. Volunteers which also sound like they overdubbed a snake on 1 of the track's. That's just the way it sound's.

 

Why has this great album not been remastered on CD, at least in America? When I was picking up CSNY on CD, I was disappointed to learn a remastered edition was not available for Deja Vu. An outfit like Audio Fidelity could surely release an album like this that has been ignored.