Cheap old 80's CDs that actually sound terrific

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steven Henry, Jul 9, 2018.

  1. mozz

    mozz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madrid, Spain
    "Tango In The Night" (already mentioned) is also a wonderful sounding CD. I like "Mistery To Me" from the previous Mac incarnation. Most of the 80's Warner cds are very good sounding discs.
     
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  2. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Im a big fan of the original S/T and Rumours as well.
     
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  3. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    The remaster/remix (save for "Back In Baby's Arms") on MCAD 12-R is superior, cheap, and easy to find. And also reverted to the original 1967 cover art.
     
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  4. mdm08033

    mdm08033 Senior Member

    Thank forum member Barry Diament for those.
     
  5. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
  6. scribbs

    scribbs Resident Mockery

    Location:
    Surf City USA
    My first CD, Ultravox's The Collection, and my second CD, Tears For Fears' The Hurting, both sound great. But just about all of the music I listened to in the '80s sounded good on CD.
     
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  7. Anarseo

    Anarseo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Venice, Italy
    Michael Franks old material is also very well recorded, "Tiger in the Rain" and "The Art of Tea" especially
     
    Lurgan Lad likes this.
  8. basie-fan

    basie-fan Forum Resident

    Rage Against the Machine's S/T debut is one fine sounding CD. Not 1980's, it was released in '92. Avoid the later remaster with the bonus tracks.
     
  9. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    In another thread, where I asked people to post their 25 best sounding CDs, I posted my list. Of my 25, 15 were cheap old 80s CDs:

    Anita Baker - Rapture - Diament
    Depeche Mode - Violator - Sire/Reprise
    Steely Dan - Aja - Japan for USA, MCA
    Steely Dan - Gaucho - Japan for USA, MCA
    Rachmaninoff - Paganini Rhapsody - Rudy/Jansons - EMI
    Phil Collins - Face Value - Diament
    Madonna - Madonna - 32XD
    AC/DC - Back In Black - Diament
    Queen - The Game - CP32
    Run DMC - Run DMC - Japan for USA
    Michael Jackson - Thriller - ESCA 5408
    Marvin Gaye - What's Goin' On - A Motown Compact Classic
    Bob Marley - Legend - Diament
    Suzanne Vega - Solitude Standing
    Steve Winwood - Back In The High Life - Japan for USA
     
  10. goodnitesteve

    goodnitesteve bootleger

    I like the triangle song
     
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  11. zongo

    zongo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Davis, CA
    How do you definitely identify the Dave Mason "Alone Together" CD that was mastered by Steve Hoffman? I didn't actually realize he had ever mastered that title.
     
  12. zongo

    zongo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Davis, CA
    Unfortunately, the (musically) best FM album (IMO), "Future Games", could really use a nicely done CD remaster. The original CD is not painful to listen to, but a UK original vinyl or the newer vinyl reissue blow it away completely. There is room for improvement.
     
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  13. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    The common MCA CD.
     
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  14. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialistâ„¢

    Location:
    B.C.
    @eelkiller @ricks Gentlemen, are you speaking of this one, this one, this one, or this one? Where and what exactly should I be listening for? If it's any of the above I don't believe I've ever heard them.
    Having tried quite a few being, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one and this one I can say I have a big preference for this one and so far I'm not hearing any glitches you both speak of and I just finished listening to the complete album. You can hear the tape hiss and it sounds very relaxed compared to others including the MFSL I used to have.
    The only issues I have with any of the ones I've previously heard is that they're a touch to considerably bright sounding somewhat congested and pinched with unnatural sounding overly present bass on some. Admittedly they're not that bad just not my cup of Tea.
     
  15. street legal

    street legal Senior Member

    Location:
    west milford, nj
    I must strongly disagree here, regarding "New Sensations" and particularly "Legendary Hearts".
    When I compared to my vinyl, those 2 CD's went bye-bye very, very quickly.
    In fact, I would go so far as to say that the original 80's RCA CD of "Legendary Hearts" is among one of the worst sounding CD's I have ever heard.
     
  16. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    You sure he did this? It's not in the discography, and prior threads on the CD don't seem to ever have anyone point out Steve mastered it. They talk about Kevin mastering the vinyl. Not saying the common MCA can't sound great, I'm just not seeing prior indications Steve mastered it.
     
  17. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialistâ„¢

    Location:
    B.C.
    I tend to agree and found I preferred the MFSL over it but not by much. It doesn't sound like Steve's work to me.
     
  18. danielbravo

    danielbravo Senior Member

    Location:
    Caracas. DC
    That currently meet both criteria: cheap and with great sound
    The Clash: The Story Of The Clash Vol.1 (and any of the first CDs manufactured by Epic)
    Queen: Greatest Hits
    Fleetwood Mac: Rumors
    Bob Marley: Legend
    Eric Clapton: Crossroads (Box Set)
    Talking Heads: Remain In Light, Talking Heads 77, Fear Of Music, More Songs About Buildings and Foot
    Madness: One Step Beyond

    Uff, and many more...
     
  19. featheredfiend

    featheredfiend Forum Resident

    Location:
    Morris Plains, NJ
    Don't have time to scroll through all the pages to see if these two have been listed already - apologies if they have:

    - Kinks: Sleepwalker
    - Mott The Hoople: All The Young Dudes

    Both of these sound phenomenal (to my ears anyway)...nice deep base and terrific high end on both!
     
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  20. ricks

    ricks Senior Member

    Location:
    127.0.0.1:443
    This one assuming the date on digogs is correct? ;
    The Alan Parsons Project - I Robot

    Here is a thread with details:
    Alan Parsons Project - "I Robot" 1984 WG Arista CD - right channel distortion

    As I recall you also have not noticed the issues with the original Columbia Pink Floyd The Wall 50DP based [later used on 48DP and Japan for US and US for US] mastering. As proved in another thread with sample all 50DP's have it including my overall 1st pressing. My opinion is if you are not hearing or noticing flaws in a mastering then perhaps better not to purposely listen for them. Ignorance is bliss in effect and for at least a couple of masterings over the years I do wish I had remained that way :)

    Folks for a tremendous I Robot that is easily available got for the MOFI SACD. I got mine on sale for $21 two years back.

    Here are my current I Robot Digital rankings:

    1) MFSL SACD - Nice balanced sound, warm smooth bass. An excellent mastering of an already audiophile recording. Is it worth the money if you already have the HDAD? Depends on if your a fan of the album as while now my preferred digital it's really, really close and differences could lie in hardware playback in my case the SACD is DSD direct to my amp, vs DVD-Audio playback. You do get a Redbook layer on this MFSL which for many is key.

    2) HDAD 24/192 layer - Excellent Master tape sound quality, of course without ever hearing the masters it's purely speculation. I've never listened to the 24/96 side. While I feel it's no longer the clear Digital King for this album I still recommend it if you can find a copy priced near it's original $30 cost.

    2a) The DSD download from 2016 [or was it 2015?] - really nice but you get nothing physical for decent cash outlay and at for most almost nothing that you can play it on :)

    3) Original 1987 Arista - excellent in relation to the small amount this CD now costs. Please note the earlier WG based based mastering is not as good as this Arista Mid 80's Japan based mastering [Japan for US and US for US]. The WG has glitches.

    4) MFSL CD - Solid mastering but in effect equal to #3 on my list and as such I feel its simply not worth the amount the disc costs.

    Below 2 are the the worst:

    Original 1984 WG Arista - OK sound but has some glitches [mainly distortion] which I feel is indicative of higher gen tapes and or a slipshod transfer effort, by association it gives early CD's a bad name. With so many nice sounding options for the album available I feel it's best to AVOID unless you are a collector.

    2007/2008 remaster - simply not good sounding. I feel its a loud abrasive stinker and a firm AVOID.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2018
  21. jdrueke

    jdrueke Handsome Man

    Location:
    Atlanta, Georgia
    My old copy of John Cougar Mellencamp's "Uh-Hu" is one of the best sounding CDs I've ever heard.
     
  22. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialistâ„¢

    Location:
    B.C.
    Perhaps you're confusing that 610 142-222, notice there's no UPC on the back artwork, with this 610 142-222 with the UPC code. The first one I have and I don't recall the distortion in the right channel. I'll check again tomorrow.

    The Wall Columbia 50DP? Do you mean the CBS/Sony? My 50DP does not have the click if that's what you're speaking of and I have heard it on both the 48DP and Canadian C2K pressings I used to own. BTW, I'm not insinuating that it's not present on some 50DP pressings as that would be close minded and speculatory at best.

    Do I require a special player to hear the benefits of the HDAD or is it standard redbook as well? From what you say though I am better off trying the MFSL SACD having an SACD player and all.
     
  23. ricks

    ricks Senior Member

    Location:
    127.0.0.1:443
    On the HDAD; DVD capable transport for the 24/96 side of the disc and DVD-Audio capable transport for the 24/192 side. I have only listened to the 24/192 side.

    The SACD also has a Redbook which the HDAD lacks. The icing on the cake is the MFSL SACD costs less and is still in print.
     
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  24. IanM007

    IanM007 CDs, please!

    Location:
    Shrewsbury, UK
    You know the only reason that's never been remastered? 'Fast Car' is so depressing the sound guy kills himself between the first listen and starting work...!!!
     
  25. IanM007

    IanM007 CDs, please!

    Location:
    Shrewsbury, UK
    I collect, as of about a year ago, 80s CDs. So many sound so great - not all of course, but many. Check out Simple Minds' 'New Gold Dream' (UK, Nimbus) as a great start point...
     
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