New album, "Mono", from The Mavericks in 2015!

I've heard some dull and lifeless recordings, but Mono may have hit a new low, i would love to hear Steve's thoughts on it.

 

I ran out of time to listen to Mono last night but I can say that the lp is not muddy sounding to my ears. I only have the other albums on cd but agree they sound good. Hopefully I can give Mono a spin tonight.

 

You're very welcome. My main camera is a Canon XH-A1 - kind of long in the tooth, but a great image with a really exceptional lens. I shoot with it to Adobe OnLocation which I've been using since it was DVRack. That gets around the hour tape limit. Currently, I use a mix of other Canon camcorders (HF-S200) and a pair of GoPros for drums and keys, and sync and cut everything in Grass Valley's Edius.

No tweaking of the sound other than what I get from the board - which is what is going to the speakers. So it's a bit guitar shy, etc.

No problem, glad to. They are indeed the real deal.

 

In reading reviews on some other sites, many people buy this and assume that it sounds bad because it's in mono. For many, this will be their only experience with mono, and (wrongfully) assume that mono is inherently inferior to stereo.

 

All

All their other albums sound great. Not only is this their only bad sounding album, Mono is one of the worst recordings I have ever, ever heard and from a band I absolutely love. A reasonable conclusion for people to make. They really screwed this one up big time. I'm probably more upset than I should be because first, the songs are fantastic and second, someone let this thing out of the studio sounding like it does. NO excuse for that, when casual listeners over on Amazon are even complaining about it, which is quite unusual because as we all know, we are in the vast minority of folks that care about that issue. I look forward to hearing these songs properly on their upcoming live album!

 

That's really sad, i've played some vintage mono LPs for people who were just blown away by the sound, not even realizing they weren't listening to stereo until i told them.

 

Mono can sound fantastic as we all know. I should probably have clarified that I'm not against it per se. However, what I think happened is that Mono was recorded in a traditional fashion, and then someone (you would think Raul) was listening to some vintage vinyl (I have read that was the genesis of the idea) and thought it would be cool to get that vintage sound. I think it is likely it was revamped and/or remixed for mono, instead of the engineer (who may or may not have had any experience recording for mono) preparing and recording for the genre, and this is what we got...mud. In fact, the CD is so bad I thought the album was terrible until I got the vinyl, which is definitely better but far from a stellar listen and still a very lifeless recording, an attribute one would never associate with this band.

I would be totally up for them reissuing it in stereo, and I would certainly repurchased it. Weirder things have happened...we've seem a lot of product get reissued in mono lately, but of course all of that was originally issued that way and recorded properly for mono. I doubt many of today's engineers even know how they did that back in the 40's-60's.

 

It's crazy to think that if they were going for the "older sound", they couldn't have done it right. Off the top of my head, I an think of 2 cds that I have in my collection in which the artist was going for a vintage sound.

Martina McBride's TIMELESS cd and Huey Lewis' FOUR CHORDS were intended to sound vintage, and they aren't bad. In one or both cases, they used old equipment and old instruments.

Having said all of that, my purchase of The Maverick's MONO arrives today, so I'll get to take a listen, and decide for myself if I like it or not. I bought it and the IN TIME cd from Amazon, and got the free rip, so I've been listening on my IPOD. I know that TRAMPOLINE and MUSIC FOR ALL OCCASIONS sound very good, so I hope I'm not disappointed. I know the live versions of MONO that I heard in concert were great performances, so I hope that translates to a great live cd.

 

Ha...you are in for a shock...love Trampoline and agree it sounds great. Just paid stupid money for Music For All Occasions on vinyl and it sounds stellar as well. And really, I think I've heard at least six of their albums and all of them sound good, and their concert on DVD is spectacular sounding. The live album they are working on will likely be the best sounding version of Mono, and those guys are great lIve so that will work for me. The songs on Mono are really great...it is at least one of their top 3 albums imo. But I will be very curious to see what you think of the sound...hope you will post. At least it's worth having for the music, which is what its supposed to be all about anyway...you won't regret buying it.

 

I continue to be amazed by the piling-on about Mono’s “bad” sound, and by the argument that its aggressively retro monaural mix has nothing to do with the way people have been denouncing it right and left.

I love the way Mono sounds — especially on vinyl. It brings a vivid. rocking Wurlitzer jukebox vibe to my listening room.

 

Well, I gave the cd a spin tonight. Perhaps, I should say partial spin. From the opening notes of ALL NIGHT LONG, I knew I was not going to be happy. I gave a spin through SUMMERTIME and PARDON ME as well. I love all 3 tracks, and I would have to say that I've never heard a new release from a popular band sound this horrible.

30 years ago, I had a subscription to CD REVIEW. In the early days, they had 2 independent ratings for each cd reviewed, performance and sound quality. In this case, I'd give MONO a 2 for sound quality(and that's generous), and a 9.5 for performance. The music is tremendous. Since I just saw them live 5 days ago, I know these songs can and do sound terrific. To be honest, I don't even mind the mono recording. It has no dynamic range, or something else is badly missing. I love the Mavericks and Raul's solo material(as well as the Nashville Acoustic Sessions cd). His solo cds, the Nashville Acoustic cd, and The Mavericks cds(at least since MUSIC FOR ALL OCCASIONS) sound great sonically. I have no idea how they could release this cd, and think it's a good idea.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I bought this from Amazon, so I got the free MP3 rip in addition to the cd. For 2 days I've been listening to the mp3 version on my ipod over computer speakers. I'm not trying to be funny, but these sound better on a poor quality playback.

Well, rather than listen through the rest of this cd on my home system, I think I'll go open up IN TIME, and give it a spin.

 

I sell jukeboxes (and other coin op equipment). The sound is terrible on them...they are supposed to be loud, not sound good. And Mono is the perfect recording to sound good on something like that! I bet, to be honest, it does sound really good on that! You are absolutely right in saying the vinyl is better, but the digital copy sets an awfully low bar. The vinyl is merely listenable to me, it is better, but it is still bad compared to how I know it sounded when it was recorded. They intentionally destroyed all the dynamics. All I can say is it's ironic how sites with reviews from "normal" people site the terrible sound when normally no one on those sites (Amazon, etc) even cares about that. Anyway, I'm glad some do like it. I want these guys to keep selling records because they have an awesome, unique sound. I just want to "hear" the instruments again, the way they are supposed to sound!

 

Well, I'm glad you like the songs. I would give the CD the same exact rating you did, and a 2 is generous, I agree. I wish the album wasn't so darn good; I wouldn't care. But, I really think it's their best one and why they chose it to experiment I couldn't say. It's a testament to how strong the songs are that I can even stand to listen to it. I really appreciate good sound, and as you say, they are amazing live. I've heard some of the Mono songs live and agree they sound terrific. Well, a missed opportunity but we have their other albums to enjoy, and at least we have these songs however bad they sound. The upcoming live album will no doubt have many of the Mono songs, and I'm confident they will sound great. I have no problem either with mono as a format. It just clearly wasn't done right in this case.

 

Well, for those of us less than thrilled with the sound quality of the MONO cd, here is some good news. Although I'd much rather have a remixed version of the studio cd, I guess this will have to suffice.

The Mavericks detail 'All Night Live Vol 1' for Oct 14th | The Music Universe »

 

Very exiting news indeed! Since the release of "Mono" and "In Time," I've really been hoping for a 2CD live set. However, this says Vol. 1, which suggests the potential for more volumes in the future. One song I hope they include is 'Born To Be Blue,' which I heard them play at a show back in 2012.

 

Thanks for update!

 

I agree, a 2cd set would be nice. I saw them earlier this summer, and I'd love to have a soundboard recording of it. Great show, and I agree regarding "Born To Be Blue". Too bad it didn't make the cut for this first volume.

 

Sorry I have taken so long to respond. Actually, you are ahead of me! I'm still using Canon XL series, and had the same issue with the one hour limit. Last year I bought one of those Citi hard drives for each camera (4) and you can firewire right out to them. They hold around 3-5 hours depending on how it's configured. They work great...when they work. But once in a while it will drop a file and boy are you screwed. And last month I pulled a card out, put it in the computer (I use Adobe Premiere) and looked at a couple files direct from the card. It had two shows on it, about 2 hours, and then I went to copy and paste/backup the files and they were GONE. Or, I assume, corrupted for some reason even though they had just played back. Luckily I had used film as a backup for one of the events...whew! So, I have a love/hate relationship with recording digitally.

I agree...a good image is a good image. The XL cameras are outstanding (though not HD, but I don't need that for what I do) and they can be had for $500. And, they are so big that casual people that attend an event I'm filming "think" my videos will be great simply because the cameras look so professional, an issue I have with the newer, smaller cameras.

Thank you for all the info you have shared with us in regards to the Mavericks. I hope you will keep us updated on up and coming releases.

 

My favorite, which is also not on the live album, is Dance the Night Away. So, I will assume Raul was being smart and intentionally left it off Vol 1. He probably knows if they put it on Vol 2, we'll have to buy that as well! And, I will. I just wish it had been recorded better, but good music is good music.

 

The one utility you need to download is called PhotoRec. It's wonderful at recovering deleted and disappeared files. Save my butt more times than I can count. It's free, but I've sent the author money just to thank him.

Yeah, the XH-A1 should be retired - I'd love to replace it with a Canon HF-G30, but it would look silly on top of a nice tripod.

No problem.

 

I will definitely download that utility...thank you so much!!!! If it works, he'll get money from me too! Sure wish I had that two weeks ago as I know the files were definitely there.

 

Mono has been going for around $5.00 Brand New and free shipping from Importcds.com. I finally bought it and it should be here in a few days.

Has anyone who didn't like it originally changed their mind after having it for a few years?

I bought Brand New Day when it was released, and it reignited my Mavericks obsession that went out after Music For All Ocassions had been out for a few months, and I'm trying to play catch up getting their CDs I missed.

 

Well, my mind has changed a bit about Brand New Day. I still maintain Mono is probably their best album as far as consistency and song quality (my opinion is based on their albums starting with Trampoline) but it is still one of the worst sounding albums I've ever heard. If you do vinyl, it's listenable that way but still bad. I couldn't even listen to it or evaluate the songs on the CD or my download when it was new, before the vinyl came out. It is that bad imo and got in the way of the songs for me. A few don't see the big deal, which is quite a head scratcher to me, but you may fall in the camp and not see the issue. If you look on Amazon, there are a ton of negative comments regarding sound quality, which is pretty unusual as I assume that is the general market that wouldn't care as much about sound quality.

Brand New Day has grown on me. It isn't particuarily well mixed imo either, but I was listening to it on my other system a couple days ago (JVC vintage turntable) with my AT150 cart and it sounded pretty darn okay. Most of my compaints would fall under the subjective category, where one has to recognize there are no "wrong" choices, where Mono was egregiously bad all around. They seem to be going for that big sound again, like Music For All Ocassions, but I think some things are getting lost in the mix. They are a really good band and in my opinion the elements of their music doesn't need to be hidden by reverb or putting it way back ini the mix. I understand they have been using the same sound guy since Mono and it's pretty obvious that is when their sound started going south. You will really enjoy the tunes on Mono if you aren't picky about sound quality. That quality is a blessing...and a curse, that's for sure!

FYI: in case you are tempted, the new live album is pretty awful in the sound dept as well. I wish I could credit the member who recommended Raul's live solo album, as I owe that person a lot of thanks. It is wonderful, something for everyone, and it sounds decent too. I highly recommend anyone that is a fan just order a copy!!

 

The shame is that the Mavericks sound wonderful live. They bring in their own mics, boards and monitors and use the house system, and their guy does a wonderful job.

 

Yes, they would with that band! Their albums always sounded great until Mono and the new live album. Brand New Day is better than Mono. If you haven't heard Raul's live album, pick up a copy. The sound quality is excellent, especially for a live album...I know you will appreciate it.