BRIAN ENO- New reissues double lps 45rpm August 4th

I assume that at least 2 shops in Montreal will have both formats available. They already carry 33 and 45 versions of the Peter Gabriel catalog.

I doubt that they will carry both format for long though.

 

Oh my god, the SF Amoeba seems to have zero qualms about stocking bootlegs. Their Smiths, Bowie, and Sabbath sections, for example, are often well stocked with obviously sketchy pressings of albums like Meat is Murder or Low. I've often wanted to have a word with whomever does their ordering.

But still, I don't need these Eno albums, since I have nice early pressings of them, but I was nevertheless curious to at least check them out, but then surprised that neither Amoeba nor Rasputin has had them in stock (unless, for some reason, they ordered only a handful and they all sold in a flash on the day of release). Seems like demand for these would be significant and both stores would be well stocked.

 

See, now THERE'S a question. The 2004 digital releases were fine, weren't they?

 

Sadly unanswered...

 

Totally answered many pages back. The 2004 versions do not have the drop outs that are on the new 45 RPM releases.

That's 13 additional years of those tapes in storage, possibly degrading. Not unusual, which is why record companies are digitizing old master tapes these days.

 

Got that but were they not already digitized by 2004 and DSD mastered? Are you suggesting they used the analog master tapes to reissue the 2017 version?

 

If they did, this suddenly does jump into the same category as the glitches on the new Bowie set.

 

Oh no! The return of the monster magnet! Careful with that hard drive Eugene!

I am now searching for some confirmation of which master tape has been used to produce these and so far it is not conclusive...

 

Abbey Road engineer explains why half speed mastering produces great vinyl

I doubt you'll find any specifics about which tapes were used. Sometimes that information cannot be disclosed by engineers. You can always ask Miles Showell via Twitter.

Also liked this bit:

 

Miles Showell: "There’s digital and digital, basically. You can have shoddy digital and that’s not great to cut from and I’d never do a half-speed album from an over compressed, limited CD master."

Apart from Exile On Main Street - ok, it's not a shoddy CD master but it is 'over-compressed'...

 

Sure, compression was used. But is it over-compressed? That's down to taste. Lots of people like the sound of these releases.

 

I'm only referring to one release - I have plenty of other half-speed releases in this series that sound fine - if you'd read my post properly you would realise I'm specifically referring to the half-speed re-issue of Exile on Main Street, where it is clear he has been given a hi-res master but a compressed one that catered for, or was destined for CD - i.e. most folk on here are pretty convinced what was used was the 2010 Marcussen remaster which has been subjected to considerable compression compared to previous or alternative versions.

Of course it isn't Miles Showell's fault, he can only work with what he is given, but in this instance he should have been supplied with a flat transfer - if it could be used for the Japan SHM release then it could easily have been used for the half-speed vinyl.

 

No need to insult me. I interpreted your post to mean Eno and Exile. My bad.

I get it now, and you have a very good point.

 

Apologies, the intention was not to insult - what I should have made clear is I was pulling Miles Showell up on the statement of how he would never use a compressed master - I can't comment on the mastering of the Eno half-speeds as I haven't bought them, but the half-speed Exile for a lot of folk on here is a disappointment and a missed opportunity as far as the choice of source is concerned.

 

That’s the way I’ll go if I get these 33.3

 

My take on this is, and correct me if I am wrong, once the analog master tape has been converted to the digital realm using the best converters at a high bit rate then you have a digital flat version of your original master tape. Then multiple backup of the digital transfer are made (hopefully).

From there, many possibilities are in front of the label who can supply the mastering engineer lower bit rates files tempered with or untempered with. Not sure why they would do that but on a business case marketing perspective this could make sense.

I am more interested by what has been given to Miles Showell than his final 1/2 speed master process. This isn’t clear, best available analog digital, year?

I doubt very much that the 2017 version are from the CD master itself but rather from the hi-res transfer made at that time (2004). Reading from Miles comment, he won’t cut from it (CD master).

My query is still fully unanswered about why dropouts happenned on these reissues. So finally perhaps the 2004 analog to digital transfer was not great for this reissue afer all and they sourced other analog tapes.

As ad180, it might worth a try to ask Miles but he is probably under an NDA preventing him to disclose this type of information.

 

I went in on all 4 of these yesterday at Reckless Records down the street based upon the favorable reviews of people who reviewed them based upon actually hearing them (imagine that). They compared very favorably to the very good 2004 DSD CDs that I also have and treasure. These new reissues are not from the 2004 CD master.



These 45RPM remasters have a deeper, wider soundstage. Airier high frequencies. Deeper bass (tight, not flabby). More detail resolution and insight. Perception of impressive dynamic range. Not noticing any of the supposed drawbacks of half speed mastering. They sound musical and to these ears don’t suffer from any sense of limitations due to digital source files. If I was told these were cut using an all analog signal chain, I would believe it, although every indication from the experts is that it’s high res digital. All the previously mentioned benefits of going 45RPM. Quiet, flat pressings. A few touches of occasional surface noise. No noticeable incidents of the aforementioned dropouts, but will revisit with an ear to these later.



These will be my go-to versions from now on. Very happy. Thanks for sharing the positive reviews!

 

Where are the sound quality reviews here from people who haven’t heard them? That would be nuts. I haven’t seen any. Only good and not so good reviews from people who have them, such as the ones just upthread most recently discussing all the dropouts (#581 /#582 / #592).

 

Probably refering to negative comments, not negative reviews of peole who haven’t heard them.

 

No. I am interested in the thread and wondered what I was missing. Nothing useful, it seems.

 

Yes, thanks for articulating what I was trying to say Norco.

 

So negative comments and opinions about price, or splitting of the sides, by long term Eno fans and collectors constitute sound quality reviews and justify the nasty dig in your otherwise interesting post. Shame.

 

I totally respect and appreciate anyone’s input, especially yours related to price, and agree with your comments upthread about the 2004 remasters being a terrific option. Anytime someone is sharing advice and steering a reader towards a good value, it’s a public service IMO. Regarding the splitting of sides, that’s a compromise some people won’t make, and I’m down with personal preference there. My observations are more generally directed towards speculation (usually before the release hits the streets) that something will certainly, without a shred of a doubt, suck. No disrespect intended and the comment wasn’t directed at you.

 

Glad to hear there’s a noticeable difference between the 2004 CD and these new vinyl. I guess both have their merits.

I cannot wait to hear the 33 rpm. My main objections to acquire the 45 rpm were expanding to 4 sides the orignal vinyl and the fact that playing a 45 rpm vinyl on a Linn is a clumsy affair if a Lingo is not powering the TT motor. The later been a minor annoyance but adds to the first one. So de facto I am avoiding 45 rpm as they do not get much airplay at home.

 

I would argue the price issue is almost moot now since there will be 33rpm options at about $18 each.

They will probably have less extras in the packaging but it’s great to have options. I pre ordered all four of those coming in November.

I have a handful of 45rpm albums and tend to pull them out less.