Genesis - A Trick of the Tail: Blind Listening Test

A little less than 2 hours left...

 

The poll's closed. Here are the results:

Sample A = Definitive Edition Remaster - 15 votes
Sample B = West German Yellow Rays/Blue-face - 14 votes
Sample C = US Atco - 7 votes

Surprising, no? To be fair, the DE just barely won over the WG CD. If I had changed my mind and went with B instead, then it wouldn't have been such a shocking reveal. So in a way, the DE's victory was kinda my fault. Really though, Trick is actually one of the better DEs IMHO even though lots of people here say it's one of the worst. Equally surprising is that the Atco, which is held in very high regard on this forum, turned out to be the least popular sample. Irony at its finest, I guess! Maybe C would've gotten more votes if I had used the V/C mastering instead, but there are 2 things that I must address about that. 1. I don't have it anymore, and 2. IIRC, both it and the Atco come from the same digital tape source and have identical EQ. I don't think it really would've made much of a difference, so it is what it is. Hopefully the WG disc can be reevaluated by more people here because it's definitely very nice. The other masterings are great too, so why not just own 'em all (except for the stereo remix of course)!

The next poll will be Yes - 90125. Stay tuned for that one!

Thanks to everyone who participated. This turned out to be my most successful blind test yet and I really appreciate you guys for making it turn out this way.

 

I haven't heard the West German disc--nice to hear another mastering, even if it is kind of pale and wan-sounding, to my ears.

I have the US ATCO and I've always liked it very well. I didn't "peek" (or the audio equivalent) at my copy to compare, but I had a sneaking suspicion that was the source of Sample C. Either way, a clear favorite for me, no question.

I'm surprised Sample A won and Sample C came in third--Sample A was a real "loudness button" mastering, I thought--but life is full of surprises, and this was a fun comparison. Thanks!

 

That's funny, usually the DE masters get flack for being Noise Reduced.

 

I'm glad I kept all my DE discs just in case they suddenly become the favored versions! Phew!

 

I have Japan Atco and Japanese mini LP from 1999 that uses DE mastering. Sample A sounds nothing like it - more bass and more sibilance. 30 seconds is enough to hear the difference. So, either 1999 from Toshiba-EMI does not use DE remasters, or something isn't right. I am fine w/ Toshiba- EMI but sample A was simply unbearable to me.

 

Huh. I just checked to see which version I had. Sample A. The Definitive Edition Remaster. Didn't even know it. Almost gave it away too after buying the CD/DVD version.

Interesting results. Thank you Diablo for this. I look forward to playing the next round.

 

C would have been my second choice (and I own the Atco on Cd) but I heard what sounded like a small drop or glitch. Still not sure if that was a flaw in the sample or the actual master, but other than that I thought A and C were virtually identical. B just didn't sound right to me.

 

Noise reduction is most apparent during intros and fades, which were not part of the samples. It is possible that the DE has noise reduction but because of the sample cuts, it was not noticed.

I am personally surprised about the love for sample B which is far brighter than the other two to my ears.

I am also surprised that the DE is supposedly a victim of the loudness war; all samples are equally dynamic within +/- 1 db with the DE having the biggest DR measures.

 

Very interesting results! thank you for awesome test for an excellent/beautiful music title
I wanted B to win (second choice C ) ,since the results are so close I am going to take it to the UN security council tonight !

On this taste this is the first time that I heard
the West German Yellow Rays/Blue-face , I like it a lot/

The 3 cds that I have are: the US Atco,The V/C and the DE ,
regarding my cds- I love the V/C ,I also like the Atco (excellent treble , no bloated bass.

 

Yes, with Genesis from Trespass to Trick I keep everything. I have never had a US Atco Trick (or any other Genesis cd) though. Amazing how many different sounding cds of some albums there are. Fun but also kind of makes the continuing search for perfect sound forever never ending!

 

Interesting. So i was right with B and C (i guess the US ATCO is just a level shifted version of the V/C Nimbus CD). I haven't listened to the DE for years. Maybe i should give it another try.
Anyway,thanks for that test!

 

I may have voted A but I'm sticking with my US Atco. That disc sounds great.

 

I love the Atco cd) ,,, It is strange but I don't hear the drop out in the Atco cd like the drop out from the sample here from the Atco cd ( sample C from the track Squonk --- on 1:13 after the word too

 

Well, well, well.....I went with sample C, the CD pressing I have, and it sounded totally different than what I was used to, ha!

I will say I was swayed with Sample A a bit, I really liked the attack on the toms, but what turned me off was an exaggeration compared to Sample C, and also the extended, almost harsh, treble.

Thank you for setting up the listening comparisons!

 

I kind of knew that I was voting for the DE with "A," since it was so obviously no-noised and louder, but I didn't care. Everything was clearer and more defined on that one. C was my next choice, as it sounded the most natural.

I was listening on headphones; maybe things would have been different with loudspeakers.

 

i voted like you by listening on my little computer speakers .

 

First, thanks @Diablo Griffin for organising the blind test!

I was quite confident about sample B being my version, I'm so used to that laid-back and a bit dull sound .
I could also smell the DE in sample A, given the EQ and the congested sound of the loud parts.

Re-listening again B vs. C ... I have to say that the opening song sounds better/punchier on sample C than B, but I'm not sure about the other tracks. Entangled wasn't included in the blind test... I remember reading on the thread about Genesis Early CDs that it was better on the WG Blue Face (sample B).

What about the glitch in sample C? Is it also on the CD?

 

The V/C generally gets the thumbs up on the forum. Without it in the test, we can't really judge the merits of the other discs.

 

I guess you mean the V/C Nimbus. To my understanding, the V/C Nimbus should be a level-shifted version of Sample C. See here:
Genesis - early CD versions thread (Ver. 2)

 

I'm surprised that the Atco received only 7 votes. I prefer it over my DE and remix, but I've never owned or heard the West German....perhaps I should start looking.

 

Just my luck that I would fall in love with the obscure 30+ year old German version

How hard is it to find that one? I looked it up, and wow that "sun-ray" design is a thing of beauty! Will definitely keep an eye out for a reasonably priced copy.

Are there any easier-to-find versions that share that mastering, besides the "blue-face"? Do all blue-face discs have that mastering, or just certain matrices? What are the characteristics that I need to look for?

In the meantime, just ordered an Atco, so I guess that will have to do for now.

Big thanks to Diablo for doing the test - it was fun!

 

By the way, how many different masters are there for TOTT?

 

The Genesis Definitive Editions from the 90s are at or near the top as far as dr.loudness-war.info rankings go.

 

I agree 200%, its an astonishingly wonderful disc, I would put it on a par with SH's "Aja", could be a Barry Diament, but not proven.