What is the best CD of the Joshua Tree?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by John Sanders, Dec 15, 2009.

  1. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    The latter is a tweaked version of the former, with (among other things) digital silence between tracks.
     
  2. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    I do remember one of them sounding like dolby b was applied to one of them...
     
  3. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Same digital transfer, so Dolby wouldn't be a difference.
     
  4. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Sorry, 'muffled' should of been the descriptor then.
    IMO, this wasn't a great recording to begin with.
    I slightly preferred the 'Light Blue' over the Japan mastering. Vocals appeared more up front, clearer. Bass seemed somewhat tighter also
    I used Red Hill.
    Tell you the truth. And don't ever repeat this...
    I preferred the 2007, better overall presence. :shrug:
     
  5. Spruce

    Spruce Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brigg, England
    SO, IS THERE A VERSION ANYBODY CAN RECOMMEND? THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THE DRUMS ON?
     
  6. PH416156

    PH416156 Alea Iacta Est

    Location:
    Europe
    Another chart; now with similar masterings close to each other and - hopefully - better quality

    [​IMG]
     
  7. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    FYI, this is still an issue:

    That said, as helpful as that chart is, I have a feeling that much more information would be unwieldy, and more information *would* be helpful, such as matrix information and Discogs link. I'm not sure what the best format would be.
     
  8. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    For example, these are all of the pressings listed on Discogs just for the US, pre-remaster:

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/586021

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/7404905

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/8560066

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/6504203

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/8479559

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/7906933

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/8826341

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/9752201

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/8796449

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/3115578

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/4150365

    https://www.discogs.com/U2-The-Joshua-Tree/release/370670

    Some of those may contain the same physical pressing, but in the case of one listing, both the original (pink) and secret remaster (light blue) CRC pressings are noted, so there may be even more. Also confusing is that BMG apparently kept using the 7 90581-2/Atco artwork well after Island was purchased by PolyGram, so the inserts have the earlier information while the actual discs have the correct PolyGram information.

    And of course there is no shortage of foreign pressings.
     
  9. PH416156

    PH416156 Alea Iacta Est

    Location:
    Europe
    :) as I said before, I just collected the EAC peak levels that were suggested on the thread by @winopener or via PM. I tried to make a version with 13 columns (to include the SRC) and some blank spaces for future matrix info reference but unfortunately the chart was blurry and off, wouldn't have been an issue to type those numbers.
    Let's also consider that some discs have lots of matrix info; eg the WG PDO: 7567 90581-2 2897 160 01; if only for it, only 6 columns could've been visible. Of course the numbers could've been written down more rows but visually it was a mess. Will try again but for now this was the best I could do; basically it's a spreadsheet converted to bmp.

    For those who are reading and are curious, the SRC disc has these EAC peak levels: 97.0 / 94.9 / 99.9 / 80.3 / 80.3 / 86.0 / 89.6 / 76.5 / 99.8 / 86.2 / 56.6 % (light blue columns)
     
  10. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    The RE-1 pressing does, but the original pressing is the pink variation.
     
  11. PH416156

    PH416156 Alea Iacta Est

    Location:
    Europe
    ah,I stand corrected. Forgot about it. Don't know what could be done...maybe one chart for the USA and one for the rest of the world?
     
  12. Mbe

    Mbe Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Well that is quite an amount of releases / editions to comprehend.

    This forum certainly stirs up memories from somewhat muddy pools;

    I remember at the time (pre-release) I would visit a friend on a Saturday afternoon for the dual purpose of a smoke and music listening.
    Before the afternoon proceeded as it usually would, BBC Radio was the initial background to conversations in the room,
    then came an announcement for three in a row from the upcoming Lp The Joshua Tree, to which our host remarked “turn that sh** off, I f****** hate U2”!

    Thankfully common sense prevailed; I think the majority in the house at the time were totally blown away by the U2 offerings played that afternoon
    and the release was now awaited with an eager anticipation, at least by me if not the host.

    Never heard the 2007 remaster and intrigued by comments it is now on the way.
     
    ARK, hi_watt and Tuco like this.
  13. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    A couple of the tracks on 2007 do have some peaks hitting 0
    But this is one of the few times I've seen a standard remaster not being a buzz cut, this master actually retains the peaks and valleys. Rare
     
    danielbravo likes this.
  14. S. P. Honeybunch

    S. P. Honeybunch Presidente de Kokomo, Endless Mikelovemoney

    Did you compare the peaks on "Exit" on the 2007 to any of the earlier editions? The DR Meter measures it as 7 on the 2007 and 11 on the P35D.
     
  15. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Just did, yep that one is slammed.
    I'll post samples of the three mastering's I have tomorrow if you guys are interested. Just let me know what tune
     
    BeatlesBop likes this.
  16. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    I should amend my comment: I *think* the latter is a tweaked version of the former. I had it in my mind that the two stayed in digital sync, but checking again, they don't. Also, some tracks on the light blue version have digital silence between them, but not all.

    Also, it seems like some tracks are more different than others. I really can't detect a difference with In God's Country, but One Tree Hill has noticeably different EQ.

    These are the copies I have at the moment:

    Catalog: 7 90581-2
    Matrix: 90581-2 SRC-05
    Peaks: 91.3/94.5/98.1/79.6/80.5/77.7/80.9/75.4/89.7/79.8/55.6
    Indexing: Correct
    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    Catalog: 7 90581-2
    Matrix: 90581-2 28!
    Peaks: 97.0/94.9/99.9/80.3/80.3/86.0/89.6/76.5/99.8/86.2/56.6
    Indexing: Correct
    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    Catalog: 7 90581-2
    Matrix: 3 90581-2 RE-1 SRC+11
    Peaks: 97.0/94.9/99.9/80.3/80.3/86.0/89.6/76.5/99.8/86.2/56.6
    Indexing: Incorrect
    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    Catalog: 422-842 298-2
    Matrix: 4228 42 2982 04!
    Peaks: 97.0/94.9/99.9/80.3/80.3/86.0/89.6/76.5/99.8/86.2/56.6
    Indexing: Incorrect
    U2 - The Joshua Tree

    The last 3 are digitally identical, and only differ in offset and index points.
     
    PH416156 and c-eling like this.
  17. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    This release is a complete mess...
    Two US SRC pressings using different mastering's/level shifts? Geesh
    Lukpac what did you favor?
     
    grandegi likes this.
  18. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    I can't say I've done extensive A/B comparisons with the whole album. For the most part I haven't noticed a ton of difference, and it's nice that the original version is a bit more "pure" between songs, but One Tree Hill is a bit less congested on the later version.

    I'm curious to hear the various European issues, both to see if they are directly related to one of the US versions and to see how they sound in general.
     
    c-eling likes this.
  19. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Agreed
    If someone has samples for either the MPO pressing or PDO UK they could post
     
    lukpac likes this.
  20. grandegi

    grandegi Blind test maniac

    Location:
    Rome, Italy
    I'm willing to post samples from the yellow mastering (the only version I own)
     
  21. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Listening some more, the later version seems to have a similar adjustment on most or all of the album. I'm hearing it most with the cymbals, which have a bit more clarity.

    The tweaking between songs is detrimental in at least one place: the beginning of Running To Stand Still fades up somewhat (there's basically a fade-up applied to the fade-up already on the mix), which makes the beginning harder to hear.
     
  22. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    @lukpac @c-eling you guys are both ignoring him. Look up from your charts! ;)

    Spruce, I long ago sold off my original cd and only have the same remaster that you do. I used to have this album on cassette but never on vinyl. To my ears, I have always loved the songs but have never been blown away by the SQ. one of the band members (edge?) comments about the poor mixing decisions made at the time in the Classic Album documentary. But I think he was apologizing to Adam about lack of bass and saying something along lines of "at least we got it right live".

    I read an interview with Bono where he talked about hitch hiking in the Midwest once on JT tour. A young guy in a Camaro or something had a killer car stereo and had Def Leppard's "Hysteria" blasting, and when the kid recognized his passenger switched CDs to JT. Bono said the SQ was strikingly anemic and weak by comparison. He said it was an influence on how they toughened up the sonics on "Achtung Baby".
     
  23. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Agreed on the SQ opinion, thanks for the extra incite Jeff. I'm thinking there isn't a one that rules them all for this recording
     
  24. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    Cory, I bought my first cd player in summer '87 and was so excited to hear this great album on cd, and recall being underwhelmed at the time compared to some other contempory release at the time by Genesis and Duran Duran.
     
    c-eling likes this.
  25. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    ELO-Time was my first back in 89 or so. Was expecting a revelation over the cassette. Didn't happen.
     
    JeffMo likes this.

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