DCC Archive Bee Gees - The Record

Have great anticipation for this Bee Gees CD. Spent a lot of money to mail order it from HMV Japan hoping for better Japanese sound as Bee Gees songs are my favorite...

Sound completely flat, extremely compressed, lifeless !!! Absolutely the worst CD I have ever listened. Saw the Microsoft logo with HDCD, so the whole thing may have been "digitally remastered" to make sure it sound this bad.

Damn.. I wonder whether it is the problem with the master tape, or the "remastering" process, or HDCD, or...

 

Just how is the sound of this CD? Some people say it's superb, others say it stinks! What is the general opinion? Is it better than the box set, or not any better and not worth buying? Or is it worse?

 

I agree it sounds waaay too wacky. Problem is in processing (bitrates) and mastering. It's mastered with "hot" EQ then boosted high over your head (WAY over DB limits!). More of the same. EQ'd, then encoded in insane bitrates, Amped, then sent to 16bit. CD info gets ouched something fierce. Borrowed it from a friend, passed it by last night. Ended up buying a Monk (Brilliant Corners, Riverside) and Guaraldi (Good Grief, WB) CD. Paid $23 for both, walked out happy. Hope that helps.

 

Now, I hav not heard ONE person say this disc is bad! All of the remastering engineers who have heard it love it! I love it! And, that is just UN-decoded!

I have never heard such presence and detail from the Brothers Gibb before! It is not anywhere near FLAT! I have the US domestic version. I don't know what happened with the Japanese imports.

Anyone out there play this back on an HDCD player?

My only complaint is the exclusion of "IO IO" (title?) and "Boogie Child".

[ December 28, 2001: Message edited by: Grant T. ]

 

I agree with Grant on this one. This compilation is easily the best sounding CD of the Bee Gees material I've heard besides the box set. Especially the 60's tracks and early 70's cuts like "Lonely Days" and "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart". The stuff from "Main Course" thru "Spirits Having Flown" are clearer have more detail, though the "Saturday Night Fever" tracks especially "How Deep Is Your Love" don't sound any different than the Mobile Fidelity CD, great but not stunning. Overall Bob Ludwig did a good job mastering this package.

 

Again, Kenny, maybe something is wrong with that import you bought.