Sparkle and smoothery is what kills Red Sails (my favourite) for me, just goes to show each must listen and decide for themselves with remixes, as we all know
Okay, so out of sheer curiosity, I brought up New Career in a New Town in Spotify, and I did a little back and forth between that and my rips of the RCA CDs in iTunes, listening with headphones. I realize this is an extremely unideal way to do this, but I just wanted to get a very general sense of the differences. The new Low sounded much bassier on Spotify than my rip of the WG RCA CD. At times the bass guitar and kick drum together sounded a bit farty! I really don't think Low needed that. 'Heroes' was the opposite: on Spotify it actually sounded brighter than my WG RCA CD. The new remaster sounds closer to the relatively brighter JPN for US RCA CD, but still a bit brighter than that. That said, the new 'Heroes' also seemed to have some low frequency "oomph" to it, so it didn't sound anemic or anything. Again, this was very unscientific, casual a/b-ing, not done under ideal circumstances, but that's what I was hearing. Next, I'm going to give the Lodger remix a listen.
My thoughts on the Lodger remix: I was enjoying some of the new-found clarity to the instrumentation in "Fantastic Voyage", but then the reverb kicked in on DB's voice...uhhh, what??? That's messing with perfection. Bad call, TV. A lot of the new panning/phasing effects sound like a kid sitting down in front of a mixing console for the first time, fiddling with the knobs and switches because "it makes it sound funny". Oh dear. The much-hyped "Arabic rap" was more of a mumble. "Red Sails" epic Belew closing salvo butchered. I won't be bothering with this one again.
That was me. It honestly sounds like a mistake. The rest of the bass is certainly full sounding, but it’s evenly EQ’d throughout the frequency range...until you get down into the very low frequencies. Then it sounds very uneven in comparison. It just completely overwhelms the rest of the song. Maybe Visconti went in and started mucking around with the bass after everyone went home.
Sorry if this has been asked but from this boxset, which albums are likely to get stand alone releases?
Even if it wasn't him, I wish he would sod off. Everything got worse for me since his oar got stuck in the reissues. Somebody please book him on an endless loop touring the world with that Bowie songs show of his, with no days off. Thankyou and bonne nuit, goodbye for now, tchuß xx
Again, I was only hearing it on Spotify, but "Speed of Life" does sound off, and it's the most negatively impacted by the bass boost. I too kind of wonder if someone goofed?
If the label is going to be consistent with what it did on the past sets, then the four studio albums and Stage will get standalone releases.
I like most of the Ryko/EMI 1990/91 Bowie remasters and Low in that series sounds just fine to me. But they are all a bit on the cold side of neutral. Kind of an "unmastered" flat sound. So far only listened to a few songs from Low from the new box. A bit bass heavy, yes, but I like it for what it does. Warm sounding and easy on the ear. Kind of the opposite mastering moves compared with the Ryko/EMI.
That’s crazy to me, but different tastes and all. However I still don’t buy that this is how Bowie and Visconti wanted the album to sound in 1979. The remix sounds nothing like Bowie’s other albums from that period, or hell, any period of his career.
Listening to the Lodger remix. I have to say, overall I'm enjoying it. Not a replacement for the original by any means, but it's fun to hear the album in a different light, and the new mix sometimes brings new, little details to the fore that are buried on the original. I also like how it has a more spacious, reverb-y sound and a wider soundstage. It opens up the mix a bit, and kind of envelopes the listener more in its world. But I agree with BlueSpeedway that "Red Sails" suffers: the original has kind of a wild, adventurous quality that Visconti tames on this new mix. I'm also not keen on the remix of "Boys Keep Swinging": Visconti really sidelines those jagged, buzzing rhythm guitars in the verses, favoring instead the violin, organ, and piano parts. It's like he undid the awesome wrongness of the original, which, to my understanding, was kind of the whole point of that recording. My issue with the original Lodger mix is that to me it always sounded a bit dull and murky. Widening the soundstage on this remix (not to mention adding some reverb) really helps to remedy that problem, and livens things up, making it sound more spacious. But I feel like he went too far with "Red Sails" and "Boys," and those two tracks really suffer.
And that's the way I like it and also the major factor in getting into all his albums in the first place.
Same as usual. Box-only on: Re:Call remixed studio album (this time, "Lodger" remix) historical version of historical live album. Also, too.. this time out, they're not dropping the "Heroes" EP standalone. Full gory details: A NEW CAREER IN A NEW TOWN (1977 – 1982) - David Bowie Official Blog
What's the usual delay? I bought Young Americans & Station to Station this year when they were released individually, is it likely to be same delay?
Pretty typical Hoffman timeline. First reactions to the Lodger remix this morning were generally positive, but now the overwrought complaints are coming out.
The Lodger remix is just like any other remix AFAIC...it’s an interesting curiousity that’s good for a couple of listens. And after that, the appeal wears off. I will always want to hear the original mix, warts and all, going forward....nothing overwrought about it. That’s just the way it is. I don’t listen to the Fame ‘90 remix anymore either.
I’ve just listened to Low on vinyl and I thought it sounded well balanced and clear. Side two especially. I wouldn’t say it was bass heavy at all. It’s a flawless pressing too. Onto “Heroes” now and it’s more of the same although there is quite a bit of surface noise on side2, which may go after a clean. I’m sure I heard a drop in sound levels halfway through the title track. I will go back and investigate after I’ve played the whole album.