As far as Police comps go, that '92 Greatest Hits is my go-to. The track levels vary a bit, but they sound like they came straight from the best sounding AM+ discs.
That's the only Police CD I own (got all the albums on LP). I bought it recently and only played it in the car. Today I listened to the first 5 tracks on my home hi-fi, the first three were good then the next two (Message & Walking on the Moon) sounded great. Of course now I want to track down the individual CD albums that sound as good as that.
None of the individual Albums sound anything like the '92 Greatest Hits. They all have more Bass and a fuller, rich sound..although the SHM-SACDs are the closest in that respect. Unfortunately they have brighter high frequencies than the GH. The '92 Greatest Hits Album has a unique sound. Very relaxed, polite, dynamic and inoffensive. Finding the best version of every song in The Police catalogue means hand picking from various masterings. I will say the 'perfect' versions have yet to be made. You get a tantalising glimpse here and there in the existing catalogue, but there are flaws too. If only our host, SH would take up the challenge.
I do have the 1992 Greatest hits CD But I wouldn't say it's a great sounding disc Far from it. It sounds digital, lifeless, lacking bottom end and quite bright-sounding. Quite similar to ABBA's 'Greatest Hits' from the same year. Pretty sure that they only used digital files to compile and master the CD. Really hope someday soon AF will do SACD of this!
Message In A Box is essential for the unreleased early tracks and the kickass mono version of The Bed's Too Big Without You. The sound of the album tracks is compressed and bright. Not a fan.
Picked up a mint 10" by 10" version of Message in a Box on Friday for £15 from a shop. Completely agree with your comments on MIAB (the riff now reminds me of Don't Gear the Reaper BTW) and So Lonely, but overall well pleased with most of the rest. One thing that struck me on hearing this stuff again after thirty plus years, is what phenominal muscisions they were. Also I 'get' more of the stuff now that I didn't back in the day, infact just spent two nights with it and have not skipped a track.
I compared the original, MIAB, and 2003 versions of Outlandos today, and here's what I think of them: Original US CD: Smooth, analog-like sound quality. Very crankable. The drums have a nice amount of thump. Why can't modern CDs sound like this? My only gripe is that the highs are somewhat smeary. I guess that's the result of the primitive A/D converters of the time. Other than that, the sound is excellent. Message in a Box remaster: Compression isn't the main issue here. My problem is that this version is, for lack of a better word. dull. There's not much bass and the treble sounds "muted". The reverb decay seemed a little different too. Maybe noise reduction was used? That could explain the issues I pointed out. For you more technical folks out there, the absolute phase is inverted compared to the other 2 CDs as well. 2003 redbook remaster: Yes, it's more compressed than the other masterings, but I really like how this CD favors the bass and lower-mids. The treble isn't as grainy as the original CD, which, again, I assume is due to A/D converters improving over time. You can't turn this CD up as loud as the original, but it still sounds exciting in it's own way. To be honest, I'm shocked at how much I like it. While I was comparing these 3 CDs, I noticed something about the 2003 remaster. The the first 6 songs are in a slightly higher pitch (about 1 percent) compared to the other CDs. Also, Roxanne and Hole in My Life no longer have that awful tape drag that plagued the older masterings, nor does Can't Stand Losing You come from a needledrop. For these reasons, the 2003 remaster may become my go-to CD for this album. However, the real test will be seeing how the 2003 SACD fares. I ordered the hybrid-SACDs for Outlandos and Reggatta earlier this week and they should be arriving soon. If I like them, then I'll also check out Ghost at some point. Not sure Synchronicity yet, seeing as I'm already satisfied with the Platinum SHM-CD. I sold the 2003 Zenyatta SACD sometime last year, so I don't really need to get it again unless I can find the hybrid version for a cheap price.
The only releases that i'm aware of that don't use the needledrop album version are the three compilations. Speaking of which, i had a chance to listen to the '90 compilation. In short, it has the high DR of the '86 and '92, less bright than the former but not as muted as the latter, and like the other two has very little Bass compared to the Album releases. Having listened to the original albums on vinyl recently, i won't be revisiting The Police on CD ever again though. They got it right with the vinyl releases. Everything since is problematic for me to some degree.
I only have the Reggatta and Zenyatta SHM SACDs, but I like both. The latter is better than the former which may be too bright for some. Nice 'big' sound to RDB though.
Has anyone else ever noticed the tape drag at the beginning of Hole in My Life on Outlandos before? I feel like I'm the only one here who's mentioned it.
I got the Outlandos and Reggatta hybrid-SACDs today. After listening to each SACD layer on my Sony BDP-S390, I concluded that that they aren't worth the money. Why? They sound just as compressed as the standard 2003 remasters. However, I wanted proof of what I was hearing, so I recorded the SACD layers with my with my Behringer U-Control UCA202 (it only goes up to 16/44.1, but it can still give a good overview of the sound). I loaded both versions in Audacity and guess what? Turns out my suspicions were correct; the SACD and redbook layers are more or less identical. Still, I don't hate the way they sound. But I will say that if you want to check out the 2003 SACDs, DON'T. Just get the redbook versions if you're really curious about how they sound. You'll be saving lots of cash if you do. Or better yet, just get one of the older CDs.
I've got the 2003 Ghost In The Machine SACD. I didn't find it to be bad. Just less spectacular than the Japanese SHMs of ZM and RDB I mentioned earlier. The Police have a really small catalogue. It shouldn't be this hard to find the best versions of their albums.
A few people on this thread have stated that Ghost is the second best 2003 SACD, so maybe that one would be a diamond in the rough like Zenyatta. I'm very happy with the US DADC for this one, so I don't need the SACD just yet. The collector in me wants it now, though...
At least the 2003 SACDs are still available.. I paid around £20 for my copy of GITM. That's not bad for a SACD here.
I have a blind listening test for Reggatta that's currently going on here: The Police - Reggatta de Blanc on CD: Blind Listening Test Poll
For anyone who wants the early Japan or Japan CDs, please avoid the discs with POCM in the catalog number as these contain the Message in a Box remasters. Just a friendly reminder in case anyone forgot or simply didn't know.
I have got these on my iPod and am fairly happy with my choices thus far: GITM - Original issued 80's CD Zenyatta - Platinum SHM Reggatta - Original issued 80's CD Synchronicity - Platinum SHM Outlandos - Original issued 80's CD I have the Platinum SHM of Reggatta and it sounds very clear however the well balanced EQ of the original edges out the almost-shrill nature of the Platinum. Synchronity is the one I love hearing the most, the Platinum sounds golden
Negatory. Gold is worth more than platinum! Code: Precious Metal Spot Price Change Gold $1,262.20 -0.38% Silver $16.56 -0.36% Platinum $951.80 0.05% Palladium $896.10 -0.17%
