I have heard very many terrible sounding remasters in my life. In fact, I usually avoid anything with the word "remastered" on the CD, Due to all of my bad experiences with them, I may test some tracks from one disc to another every now and then just for fun, But nine times out of ten you won't see me buyin! The top 5 worst remasters I have heard so far: 1. Queensryche: 2003 EMI Remasters. These ones have to be by far the worst! Especially Operation:Mindcrime. It made my toes curl at first listen! Terrible, Awful, Screeching compression, Distorting and clipping is all over the place on every one of these remasters. No dynamic range whatsoever. There is even a large amount of crackles and pops throughout them too. Trust me you will find yourself reaching for the volume knob fairly quickly when you hear these butchered discs. Guaranteed ear bleeders. My warning: AVOID!! AVOID!! THEY ARE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEARING! SEEK OUT THE ORIGINALS! 2. Judas Priest: Columbia/Legacy Remasters. The three remasters that bother my ears the most out of this catalog are: Defenders of The Faith, Screaming For Vengeance and Painkiller. While the rest still sound very very bad, These three are the most atrocious! Compressed to high heaven, Too much NR applied to many tracks. Reversed speaker channels on some. And did I mention the ear splitting compression? I tell ya, Jon Astley is an evil, evil man. I say only buy these remasters if you want to have your hearing shot. 3. Ozzy Osbourne: 2002 Remixes/Reissues. Okay, with these it's not just the crazy compression and wacky EQ. It's the damn re-recorded bass and drums! I was shocked to hear how different these sounded compared to the original recordings. It basically changed the face/overview of the albums. However, the original parts were faithfully restored in recent remasters last year. But they still sound terrible, And are jacked to the max with compressed audio. Stick with the original Jet/CBS CDs. Or the 1995 Remasters that weren't tampered with like the 2002 remixes. 4. Quiet Riot: Metal Health 2001 Legacy Remaster. Another toe curling ear bleeder! Although this one isn't quite as bad as the Queensryche ones, It is still compression city and is extremely shrill sounding in places. VERY hard on the ears. On some of the loud compressed guitar parts it makes me wince as if I have just stepped barefoot on broken glass! It's just plain painful to listen to, Even the original 80's CD doesn't sound that much better. So it's kinda hit or miss for this album. Great songs, Bad audio production. 5. Motley Crue: 2003 Remasters. I never purchased these ones, but had a chance to listen to samples of the audio. Boy do i regret it. I listened to the title track from Shout At The Devil (Remastered) Then compared it to the same track on the US Elektra CD. The difference was incredible. There is actually some static in places on these because they are compressed so horribly! All of the Crue reissues are equally bad, But Shout At The Devil and Theater Of Pain are the most distorted to me. Lots of clipping on the drums. Avoid them at all costs and try to find the original versions. If you have any bad experiences with loud, shrill, distorted remasters that you would like to share, Go ahead and comment!
Richard Betts: Highway Call I've a Japanese Polydor disc from the 1980's that sounds warm and dynamic, very similar to the vinyl. Who made the call to brickwall this album?!
Edgar Froese's Ambient Highway series, while not a remastered album, is a collection of 4 CDs made up mostly of remastered/reworked material. Here's an example of the aural disappointment:
It probably would not quantatatively be at all close to the worst re-master out there, but on a personal subjective level I was severely disappointed with the REM Document re-master this year. It was one of the few times that I felt that I had completely wasted my money on a purchase.
Full disclosure, I'm not one of those that despises all remasters that are boosted. There are numerous that I quiet like, but the two disc Yardbirds set by Rhino, titled Ultimate Yardbirds is very tough on the ears. Unmercifully loud. By far the most amped remastering I've had the displeasure of hearing. Shame too, because the track selection and layout are top notch.
Grant mentioned this in another thread and I agree with him: The sound of remasters is not the fault of the mastering engineer. They don't make those decisions; they just go along with them so they can work. Just sayin'... As for worst remaster, it's Rhino's atrocious "Chicago 16". It sound cold and compressed. Worse yet, there are radio edits where album versions should be. Thank you, Lee Loughnane. Check please... Ed
John Farnham "Whispering Jack" 2006 20th Anniversary Remaster "Screaming Jack" would have been a more appropriate title. Even Australians copped Sony's loudness.
Yeh those are a bummer ..... I agree the Queensryche ones pretty much ruined those albums ...... Horrid ...
The Stooges Collector's Edition from Rhino Handmade. It's not the same as the previous 2 cd rhino set. Totally brickwalled, bad EQ. Sounds all brittle and the John Cale mixes are slowed down.
+1 These albums was for me the reason to find out more what was wrong sonically with these cds. And by googling I found this fine site. The rest is history.
The Sweet - Off the record RCA/Sony 2005 remaster, the songs are so highly compressed, that it even affects the mix !
I don't buy enough of them to be an expert, but one that comes to mind was The Who 'Live At Leeds' double. There was something very wrong with the sound of that one. A friend wanted to trade his old original for my new one (despite my honest and very dire warning about the sound), and though a non-audiophile even he soon conceded the difference between quantity and quality
A little more volume is not a bad thing, but I will agree that the Judas Priest remaster of "Screaming for Vengeance" is awful. I grabbed the original Columbia CD press and am glad I did. Joe Jackson's first two are also not terribly wonderful remastered (original AM+ sound good, if a little thin), but the worst is that the remaster of "Look Sharp" has the track breaks screwed up so the first split second of each track is cut off.
The legend of Paul Revere on Legacy. All the hits are either remixed (badly) or (in the case of the pre Columbia stuff) needledrops from VG- vinyl. The previously unreleased stuff, on the other hand, sounds great.
Joe Jackson's BODY AND SOUL. Possibly one of best recordings ever made (even digital); the '90 remaster foul the wonderful balance of original recordings. Also NIGHT AND DAY '90 remaster is awful (Deluxe Edition is better). In fact, the best edition is the original vinyl issue; in cd the first mastering is fine, still lost 0-2 the match with lp.
Ranks number 1 on my list. Appalling that the re-recording notes are found only inside the package. Should be on the cover!
