Black Sabbath Sabotage 2021 digital

I’m certainly enjoying this set, lossy or not show sounds great and wow what a performance. I don’t feel ripped off in the slightest. Life is short people, listen to metal.

 

Understood but if the lossy sounding show sounds no better than the free bootleg I already have then paying £90 makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

 

But if these average people make MP3s out of the lossy-sourced concert, they're going to wonder why it doesn't sound so good all of a sudden.

 

The issue is quality and care. They've been VERY sloppy in putting this set together. In fact, with three boxes currently out, not a single one has been done with love and attention. Vol 4 had some cool stuff, so there's that (not coincidentally, Steve Wilson was involved in the truly quality material).

We're nearing the end of physical media. This may be the last time we'll ever have a chance to get a true "Super Deluxe" of Sabbath material. But instead of actually giving fans the "Super Deluxe" treatment they're paying for (and each of these sets have been obscenely priced) they gave us MP3 files burned to CD. At these prices don't we at least deserve the best they can offer? Otherwise, what are we paying for?

I'm glad you're happy, it's all about that at the end of the day. But this could have been so much better, and that's why it's shameful. This is especially true here, because a lossless source is freely available - yet they chose an MP3 file?! I mean, did they not at least Google the concert?!?

 

On the upside, you're probably helping somebody else out by stating what you did. If this experience brings you future added patience, you can heed the warnings of others and in the long run save money!
There has been a pattern with these Sabbath reissue box sets and the bonus content, outside the Steven Wilson mixes, which IMO weren't much and didn't justify the cost. I could be way off base, but I'd be surprised if Wilson spent more than 2 days on what he did.

 

Oh agreed, I always wanted to buy a silver CD of that show and never got around to it, and I got the set at a good price, so for me it was a no brainer.

I doubt very much I could even hear the difference between a lossy and non lossy for a live bootleg show.I’m a musician and I was not kind to my ears during the early days. To me it sounds fine and I enjoy it.

 

Most people simply won't know the live recording is lossy, and I don't blame them - why would anyone expect that a world-famous band would put out a lossy-sourced copy of a live show that is widely available in lossless quality? And it's not like it's mentioned on the cover. That's why I call it fraud. And I am far from sure that most people who still buy audio CDs in 2021 really wouldn't care if a CD is MP3-sourced if they got a chance to know about it.

That's great. Being ripped off or not is not a purely subjective condition though. It's more a question of how the price one has paid for something relates to its value. Last time I checked, the market value of MP3-sourced audio CDs was, well, close to zero (and that's without considering the fact that in this case, lossless copies of the same recording are available for free). To be sure, I am glad you're happy. I just don't think that makes this set any less of a rip-off. If Rhino for some reason want to sell lossy-sourced CDs, they should be honest about it, so potential sellers can objectively decide whether they need them and if they are willing to pay that kind of price for them.

This box set will not enable me to listen to any metal I wouldn't have listened to if it didn't exist. Rather the opposite: Every song on this set is available in better quality elsewhere and has been played on my stereo numerous times. In fact, I have listened to my favorite lossless copy of the Asbury Park show this morning and enjoyed it immensely.

 

You do realise that the live material has been available for free and in better quality for years?

 

That's all fine and all but let's not lose sight of this- One of the biggest names in rock history put out a "Super" Deluxe Edition that costs $50-100 and the level of care put in was slightly tweaking a nearly 20 year old bootleg that had been converted from MP3. I can't imagine how anyone wouldn't feel ripped off, but to each his own.

I'll be listening to metal very shortly. Lossless metal that I didn't overpay for.

 

Has anyone confronted Rhino on this lossy issue?
I mean, maybe they used the wrong files and will correct the issue if someone reports it.

 

To be fair, he said he didn't feel ripped off. Sometimes I don't feel like I have gray hair.





I have gray hair.

 

They definitely used the wrong files. They had a choice of different bootlegs to use and chose poorly. But while the set using lossy audio is the headline, that's not really the core of the issue. It's that they used a bootleg when releasing a recording that has been widely circulating for nearly 20 years. This deserved a release from the master. A master that surely has licensing fees involved and so if the holder was being unreasonable, then hold off until something can be worked out.

If they were to acknowledge the issue and redo it, I think at best they are just going to grab the lossless bootleg. At least then, they would be delivering CD quality on CD, but it's still a lame effort.

Paying the licensing fee in order to access the actual master = Super Deluxe Edition

Releasing the bootleg = $12 2CD release

 

I’m thinking this is the way to go for anyone who bought this boxset. Record Co’s in the past have rectified issues like this (the ZZ Top boxset/Eliminator replacement CDs off the top of my head).

 

I like physical format, not downloading things.

 

True, they used the wrong files for Twisted Sister Stay Hungry, I reported it and they sent replacement discs.

They even included a signed letter from Jay Jay French which I thought was a nice touch, included a guitar pic and TS button.

 

Can I ask why the live stuff is never on Spotify? Vol 4 didn't even have the outtakes available to stream. Pretty sure Sabbath is the only band to do this that I know of

 

There are no recording or mixing credits for the concert and there is no other information about it either in the SDE book - it does look suspect

 

Regardless of it being mp3 sourced, does the remastering on the live show sound better than the bootleg? Is it more digitally compressed, is the eq any better?

 

I don't feel that it sounds better but some might. It's kind of smiley faced. Some might like the bigger sound it gives it but I don't like what it does to Ozzy's vocals. I don't believe there has been any compression added. The waveforms actually look more dynamic but I believe that's due to the EQ processing.

 

So do i. That said, the Asbury Park show has been available on CD for many years.

 

Yes, I too had to get them to replace my Stay Hungry disc.

Regarding Sabbath; I sent a tweet...but if all the people complaining did the same or sent an email or Facebook post it might get things moving.

 

How much money did everyone pay Black Sabbath over the years for all these better quality bootlegs where less than $100 for 4 records, a 7” and well packaged box set feels like a scam? Sure it’d be great to know they used the absolute best analog source for an official release of a widely distributed bootleg but if they did that and priced it accordingly people would be complaining about them ripping them off for that too. I personally think these box sets have been excellent for the price

 

I'm sad to see that my favorite band isn't getting the treatment they deserve.

 

A Twisted Sister button? On your uniform??!

 

I see what you did, there!