Exile on Main St. on CD - Is there anything better than the 1994 Virgin RM

There is so much praise here for the Virgin that I am going to reevaluate it and see if I still prefer the original CBS. I will report my findings.

 

The SACD is so overrated on this forum, I can say that because I own it. It's too bright for my liking.

 

I only own the Virgin CD, so I have nothing to compare it to; however, I have no complaints at all about the sound quality. It's how I heard Exile for the first time (only about a month ago), and I was pleasantly surprised after reading all the talk about how bad the album supposedly sounds.

 

You betcha it is!! Mine two, in fact I've got it cued up in the ol cd player waiting later for 'Beer Thirty'!

You betcha!
the beave

 

$38 with air mail shipping to U.S. — but my bad, and that’s not bad and better than the higher prices that turned up when I searched Google and Discogs....

Of course there are plentiful copies of the 1994 Virgin CD available on Discogs for about $8 bucks.... if price is a factor.

 

Same here, the 1994 Virgin CD of Exile is the only CD copy I've owned of it (and any of the Stones core albums besides the ABKCO CDs) and it's always sounded great to me.

 

The SHM-SACD is my favorite version, but the Virgin cd is excellent.

 

Damn right!!!

 

CBS CD was always a favorite of mine.

I have the SACD flat transfer which is great but the sound varies a lot from track to track.
I'd have to listen to it again but I seem to remember "Sweet Virginia" on the SACD lacking bass for example.
Being a flat transfer of the master tape, it really shows the difference between tracks recorded at Olympic and tracks recorded at Nelcotte.
Although this is interesting to hear, I find it less enjoyable than the old CBS CD which tends to follow the original LP in terms of EQ choices.

 

SHM-CD for me, then the Virgin not too far behind. And that's it.

 

I own the Virgin copy as mastered by Bob Ludwig. Is this the 94 remaster?

 

Is there a clip online of this "Sweet Virginia" error? My curiosity has peaked...

Yes

 

Yes, lots of variation. You can really hear it on the saxd.
The better your system gets, the better this recording sounds, all versions, cd, sacd and vinyl.

With the exception of that awful marcussen remastering, the worse your system, the better that thing sounds, the better your system, the worse it sounds. truly built to play on earbuds or computer speakers.

 

Thanks for the information UltraSoundSquid!

 

wasn't the blue ray a flat transfer?
It sounds good to these ears!

 

As far as I remember the '94 Virgin sounds a (made in the) shade punchier than the CBS.
The packaging is superb, with postcards included.

 

Agreed.

 

The Virgin '94 cd had the postcards?
The original postcards are wider than a cd jewel box

 

I think so ... Not positive.

 

They are in the center of the CD booklet, but you don't get actually postcards

 

You do if you get the mini-album version.
Don't forget, the Virgins are available both as jewel case editions and mini-albums.
I also got Sticky Fingers and Some Girls like that because of the elaborate nature of the album covers. The ones I have are shoved inside a plastic slipcase, but they also exist without those, re-released in 1999 I think. My Exile's like that.

 

I probably have more versions of Exile than any other album I own, including a lovely Artisan cut Monarch pressing that I picked up at Off the Record in San Diego for $12.99 while ditching class back in 1991. Those were certainly the days, but I digress!

To be honest, aside from the overblown version that came with the deluxe edition in 2010 (which admittedly sounds fine in the car), I've never minded any of the CD versions of Exile, including the CBS. I loved the Virgin when it came out, as it had some heft to it that I found appropriate to the music, but it still sounded slightly small (for lack of a better word) compared to my vinyl copy. The SHM-SACD is thrilling; it presents the album in remarkable clarity without violating its essential sonic character - that is to say, the voodoo is still very much intact. I agree with those who claim that the mix is not murky, but it is dense and dark and, above all, powerful. The SHM-SACD lets you inhabit that mix for what it is, revealing its layers and subtleties without getting too clinical and detracting from the experience of the music, itself. After all, this ain't science class; this is rock and roll.

That said, after living with the SHM-SACD for a while, there were certain aspects of the vinyl that I began to miss: the deep, almost amorphous bass of "Turd on the Run"; the layer of fog that hung over "I Just Want to See His Face"; that initial SLAM of Charlie's snare in "Tumbling Dice." There were things that were simply understated due to the flat transfer of the SHM-SACD. So I made a hi-res transfer and EQ'ed it, matching it as best I could to the original vinyl. To my ears, I was able to produce a near-definitive version, though I feel a bit immodest saying so. To other ears, it might well sound awful. As a novelty, however, it works for me.

As far as what's available out there, I'd say the only misstep would be the 2010 version. The others all boil down to matters of taste, though the Virgin probably represents the best value considering what it delivers and how inexpensive it still is. The SHM versions sure sound great, though.

 

I have a copy of the Exile On Main St. SHM-SACD on the way. I read over at AVS that someone who bought the Blu-ray thought it might have the same mastering as the SHM-SACD. Would that be true?

 

I long time ago I downloaded a pbthal needledrop and to date that is the best version I have heard of this fantastic album