FLEETWOOD MAC Rumours -- New WB vinyl, "Gold Dust Woman" mix variation question...

Scotland Yard would be quite proud.

 

The 5.1 DVD-A mix has a soft moan which seems to rise through the rear speakers leading to a slightly louder scream/moan/wail? rising with entensity through the center speaker to end.


Very interesting thread!

 

A joke! The target cd shreds it for dynamics, but not volume (of course).

 

Steve,

I appreciate all your efforts in doing justice to this landmark album (Rumours). If any one can, it's you! Can't wait to hear this!

 

Holy crap this sounds killer to me! Done yet?

 

Room for Silver Springs this time?
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Or is that a wait & see?

 

So - great to pay attention to details. As a recording engineer myself, I know all too well how things go. So - with that in mind, I was just looking at this, and thought this an excellent place to bring up this point:

>>The EQ notes for older versions call for +15 db at 10k,-15 db at 100 cycles, etc. for all songs. Urggh, this is supreme overkill. This is one of the most famous albums of all time; please don't think I've forgotten that for one minute... We will let the music speak for itself and let your turntable capture the true sound of the master tapes, possibly for the first time ever.<<

So - the notes were made so that the vinyl issue (correct me if I am wrong) was as they intended you to hear the finished album. As a recording engineer, flaws in the monitoring system can cause unusual response when the master tape is played outside of the room it is mixed in - such as lack of highs and overly full bass. Or in the case of "chemically fueled" mixing in those heady days, other odd artifacts of (mis)judgement. The master tape is sometimes (often in those days) not perfect sounding, and they used mastering to correct that.

It is often argued that the master tapes do not portray the intended sound as much as the original mastered vinyl does. Fair enough. But as a mix engineer, I sometimes argue the opposite - when mastering is taken too far as a "sound control" method. But with those notes in hand - wacky and extreme, yes, but an excellent documentation btw - we have an idea how they intended it to be processed to "sound right". Compared to the original issue vinyl, one could easily get close to that sound. Otherwise, it becomes creative interpretation on "what sounds good" and that opens the field up to all sorts of manipulation.

So - what is correct - assuming they were wrong in how it should sound, or doing it to match closely to what they intended when they first cut it? Either way seems like a dangerous route, claiming accuracy or not.

It's ALL an interpretation with modern ears, isn't it? [In the same way this very song starts or ends - what they intended was n the initial release. Other factors influence it after that, but other listeners might find it "not right", fair enough.]

 

Wow - looking at those figures again +15@10k, -15@100Hz!! If the tapes sounded "fine" originally, this ought to make the records sound pretty bad, but they don't...

Or if the master tapes do indeed sound poor, this would certainly indicate corrective EQ that is needed... especially that they do it universally across "all tracks".

 

But that still leaves 5dB unnaccounted for.

 

FWIW, I gave my white vinyl a spin last knight. Side one has Mastered by Capitol and Int'l in the dead wax. It sounds like it has the 10k boost and the bass cut on it. The cymbals sound un-natural and the bass that's there sounds tight with no guts to the kick drum. Side two just has the matrix# in the dead wax. The treble sounds much better and the bass is more pronounced if a little much mid-bass at times, still not much kick to the kick drums. The bad part is an upper midrange boost that's quite offensive at times, that screeching is painful.

My HMV Classic limited CD box on the other hand sounds pretty well mastered. This has the medium ending.

If anyone can bring the best out of this tape it's Steve. I'll just wait to hear this again until I get the new cut, could be a long wait though.

 

Too bad, I love that song!

Pat

 

That works for me. I love the song too, but it wasn't part of the official Rumours. My memories of the album do not include it and I am always thrown when I hear a version that has SS in it.

On a practical note, SS would probably seriously impair the sound quality of the lp. For those with inner-groove distortion issues, this would be a dealbreaker. Blue was done in an interesting fashion. Steve and KG pressed that title so that there is an almost shokingly large run-out groove on each side. Can't see how IGD could be a problem. If they can pull the same magic with Rumours, then I am doubly interested in buying the album.

 

Wow - never heard about that console. But it sounds murderous!?! How could they do anything with that?

Even if it were true (hmm, as he said) that still leaves a strong +5dB on the top!? Sure sounds more like the tapes have issues from mixing... Can't all be that console (which now has me very curious what it was - any initials?! SC? SM? SS?)

Looking forward to this...

 

And btw - what most people consider "dark" sound now matches the acoustic world we hear around us! Keep it dark, if needed!

 

FYI - In the menu of the DVD-A, when you scan the photos during the playing of "Gold Dust Woman" it says:

"Stevie performed the wailing, howling, and screaming. This was one of her favorite parts of "Gold Dust Woman"

 

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=2628242&postcount=48

 

Metoo, too.
Mesorry

 

Hi Steve,

The Magtec 7 1/2" open reel tape has the loud wailing. One of my 2 LP copies does and it is a WLP. The loudest wailing on this is on the WB Norway issue which apparently uses the Radio Test mastering. I don't know about the UK or West German LP copies.

 

Hi Steve and all,

Also remember that the analogue original tapes of this were very heavily used and some EQ moves may well have been extreme to compensate. The multi-track tapes really got a workout during the sessions. That Slow console and lack of transient response plays into this too. This album always sounded warmer and lusher than "Fleetwood Mac" which had more lively sonics.

 

I already mentioned this a long time ago on this thread.

Oops! Thanks Ben for pointing this out before. I hadn't read your post when I posted this message before.

 

I just pulled out my copy of "Rumours" and checked the matrix numbers. This is what I found:

Palm Trees label, Mastered By Capitol stamped in the runout on both sides.

Side 1: BSK-1-3010 LW1 F6

Side 2: BSK-2-3010 SM2 F7

Can anyone tell when this might have been cut and pressed? Is this one from early in the albums' press run or later?