What's the worst sounding CD in your collection?

I totally agree but, unfortunately, it may be due to the master tapes because I have an Australian import and European import that are only marginally better.

AJH

 

Van Halen: 1984 remaster - pierced my eardrums, sibilant beyond belief. "I can barely SSEE! the road from the heat..." in Panama kills all bats in 5 mile radius. Dynamics are gone, too.

Rush: Vapor Trails - Agreed, agreed & agreed, it's bad.

Sting: Bring On The Night, original 2CD, haven't heard the remaster.

Starcastle: Fountains Of Light, Renaissance records, muddy & distant.

 

Michael,
I just saw a Jay & the Americans two fer CD, I believe it was on the BGO label. I forget which titles where on the two fer. I wish I would of
picked it up now. I also have the "Legendary Master Series" and I have to agree with your dislike in the sound quality. Good stuff though!
Joe

 

What's wrong with them, exactly?

BTW, does anybody know if there's a difference between the current domestic and the current UK remaster of "Chips from the Chocolate Fireball?" The UK's a bit shrill...

-D

 

Ditto. It sounds like it was taped from an AM radio station.

 

I always hated the first issue of Disreali Gears, also had a horrible Yardbirds compilation on Charly in 1986-1987 with audible snaps, crackles, pops...

 

From a major label: Shirley Bassey's "I Capricorn" -- this album has huge dynamic range, and EMI denoised the life out of it. Horrible.

From an indie label: numerous releases by Unidisc, such as Kat Mandu's "I Wanna Dance" -- the harshest sounding disc I've ever heard; must've been mastered by half-deaf veteran club DJs. Sounds like the high frequencies were boosted by 15 dB. Also, their CD single of "Le Spank" by Le Pamplemousse", which was mastered from a cassette -- and they didn't even align the playback head, so the signal goes in and out of phase. ARRRGH!

 

Bob Segar & the Silver Bullet Band - Live Bullet remaster....
'nuff said.

 

Anything remastered at 'Abbey Road Studios'! LOL.

 

Hi David,

I've kept the original CD (bought in the UK on US import) of "Chips".

I heard the remaster (a little hot/LOUD) but decided not to replace my original.

Just my HO...

 

Extremely shrill and maximized to the point that they sound distorted in parts. I don't know if they are distorting, but it sounds that way to me.
So bad I can't even stand to listen to them on my stock car stereo.
Dan C

 

Yes it is from the 10 Best Series. The track listings are: 1. She Cried (Daryll/Richards)
2. Only in America (Leiber/Mann/Stoller/Weil)
3. Come a Little Bit Closer (Boyce/Farrell/Hart)
4. Let's Lock the Door (And Throw Away the... (Alfred/Farrell)
5. Think of the Good Times (Alfred/Farrell)
6. Cara, Mia (Lange/Trapani)
7. Sunday and Me (Diamond)
8. Crying (Melson/Orbison)
9. This Magic Moment (Pomus/Shuman)
10. Walkin' in the Rain (Mann/Spector/Weil)

In other words, it is perfect but it omits Some Enchanted Evening in favor of Think of The Good Times.

BGO has issued twofers of some of their albums as well.

 

Mew and Astley did not remaster the Abbey Road remaster of Red Simpson's first two albums twofered on 1 CD and this CD sounds great.

 

Carole King - Rhymes & Reasons -dull and lifeless

Beatles for Sale - Echhhh

 

The worst? Probably a boxed collection I bought cheap in the late 1980s called "Glory Days of Rock and Roll" or something like that. It was put out by some two-bit company from Canada, and while some of the transfers were OK (and it contained some Herman's Hermits that sounded OK), my strongest memory is of "Try the Impossible" by Lee Andrews and the Hearts, which sounded impossibly bad, as if it had been taped off the CBC in the late 1950s by someone standing 10 feet away from an AM speaker and pointing a microphone at it.

I could only imagine, based on the vinyl version, how bad the original version of the Time-Life Rock 'n' Roll Era: 1961 CD must sound. The VINYL version sounds as if it was transfered from a distant planet. I was just getting into Time-Life at the time, and the sound of this one made me seriously consider never ordering from them again. But things improved as time went on.

 

I'm going to have to agree with Dugan....

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band | Live Bullet (1999 Capitol 24089)

and another poor live recording...

Stray Cats | Struttin' Live

In the hypercompression category it's unquestionably...

Andrew W.K. | I Get Wet

 

I agree. I think they're a blast for listening, and mastered consistent with the entire Van Halen catalog.

They definitely use peak and low level extend for a slight nudge in gain. And those same processes that each allow a 1-bit increase in dynamic range, also increase output by 6dB. So someone listening on an older CD player, or an early HDCD player might possibly find these distorted, brash, and/or bright. But on a HDCD decoder made within the last five years, these sound really clean and extended.

Another great series of recent HDCD remasters are contained within the Doors and Grateful Dead boxsets, and the Beach Boys 'Pet Sound Sessions' - highly recommended.

 

AKA mentioned the first Foo Fighters album; buy this on vinyl, if you can, because it sounds MUCH better than on CD. I sold the disc when I found it on rekkid.

Beatles For Sale on CD is another offender. One of the worst EVER.

 

OK...Here are some and some that have been posted that I agree with...

Bob Seger 'Live Bullet' on of my all time favs., and the first release of this from Japan still sounds best. This was one of my first 100 or so CD's. What ever the hell they did with that mini-lp thingy was pathetic. The first pressing of 'Night Moves' was quite crappy too...just listen to that nice hiss buring the silent part of the song...ugh!!

Elton John's '11-17-70' first release was a total Joke (hiss beyond belief). I was ashamed to put this in a CD player thinking someone might think I was playing an old Radio Shack Realistic cassette copy of the vinyl. The original 'Here and There' was quite close in sucking too.

Rush 'Exit Stage Left'...the first edited version release of this CD was so bassy, it sounded like you were listening to the thing under water.

The first attempt at 'Disreali Gears'...I barfed and never lpayed it again.

To the person who said 'Brothers and Sisters' by the ABB was terrible...I agree. If you can find the MOFI...get that!

 

I'd forgotten about that one - the first CD I ever returned!

 

Would that have been Madacy?

 

Iggy Pop & The Stooges - Raw Power (remastered), although the original version is a pretty bad in a different way. Complete ear bleeder from start to finish, with almost no redeeming qualities whatsoever other than the music.

 

Although the 1987 Best of Johnny Rivers CD has a major amount of hiss that is taking over a lot of the music (nth generation tapes were used in compiling), I consider it an upgrade in music from the 10 Best CD of Johnny's due to more music and at least they left the mixes alone and are cut flat so in this case, if you can't afford the 2 CD set and do not want the 10 Best CD (which does sound great, BTW), stick with the 1987 CD.

 

Guess I lucked out...never got the CD.

 

Don't think so, though it might have been a predecessor company. I'll try to remember to check it when I am back by my CDs.

Many recent Madacys, at least in the Christmas genre, have been good, though very stingy on the number of tracks at times.