Just why does Queen's ''Jazz'' album sound so bad?*

because it's Queen?

 

That’s a great way at looking at album. Why did they return to him? Why leave Stone?

 

News of the World does not sound as good as Jazz IMO. Not close even.

 

Exactly.

 

I love News but sound/production is atrocious.

 

Maybe on vinyl. Sorry, should've specified I'm only familiar with the CD versions (early EMI pressings). At least on that format, News sounds big and ballsy, if a bit rough. It fits the record though. Jazz sounds weak by comparison.

 

I’ve got both in both configurations. And multiple versions. Jazz has better fidelity than NOTW. And it’s not really close IMO.

 

Jazz isn't the best production-wise, but Queen II makes Jazz sound like sonic heaven lol

 

Maybe it’s just me, but I think NOTW sounds awesome. Powerful and gritty, like it should be.

 

Bollocks!

 

I read in the 80s in International Musician magazine, I think, an interview or profile on Roy Thomas Baker where he said something like the key to making good records was knowing how to put middle on them and that people had kind of forgotten that.

 

This is pretty much what I mean. Like I said above, I can understand 'Jazz' having a bit more of a high fidelity/detailed/clear sound. But in terms of tonality, it just sounds weak. The guitars on Dead On Time and Let Me Entertain you sound pushed back and flat. NOTW might not have as good fidelity, but it is a lot meatier and, as you said, powerful.

 

Some posters on this thread might want to read this:

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...ules-regarding-your-equipment-profile.224254/

 

Who knows? It’s quite unusual for any artist or band to do such a thing and kinda at odds with the change of direction they were pursuing.
Maybe they used their instincts a la U2, who also tend to bounce between producers, to see if RTB’s approach would catch on with the new material.
This might have been an ideal moment for Mack to appear.

 

The production of NOTW rules, imo.
The best examples of this, imo, are Fight From The Inside and Get Down, Make Love.
Listen to the intro of the former, for instance. It sounds like how the album cover looks; raw and in-your-face with a disregard to any fancy window dressing.

As far as Jazz being hi-fi or anywhere near demo material, and this is just my humble opinion, if that were true I’ll eat my bicycle.
But then again, it wouldn’t be Jazz if it sounded any different.

 

Well I'll tell you this- it's one where I keep it on both formats (lp and orig emi cd) as I haven't decided if digital is a definitive upgrade. Also will tell you the US elektra mono/stereo promo of Don't stop me now....unlike other queen mono promos, the mono fold down doesn't really add anything to the track

 

This is a good point, weird they went back to Roy Thomas Baker.

 

This point is valid!

 

They had become tax exiles in France specifically to hold onto more of their cash. As a result, some of the album was recorded in Nice as well as Montreux.

 

It's one of my favourite sounding albums by the band. I think the sound is big and i love the drum sound.

 

Didn’t they buy that place some time after?
Funny when you realize that about a decade earlier they had to sneak in through the backdoors of the De Lane Lea studios in the small hours...

 

Yes. Most of the rest of their projects were recorded there. Today, you can tour it for free in Montreux, Switzerland, and it's well-worth seeing. Is a little smaller than I had realized, but it's big enough for a 4-piece. Not enough space for a lot of reverb on drums, which may explain why they didn't seem to get their best drum sounds on the albums recorded there.

Here's my son playing with the mix on a song at that studio, summer of 2019:

 

I used to have a copy of Jazz on vinyl without the poster and black inner sleeve. Most likely a German reissue which they used to sell in Holland in the late 80’s. It had the levelled out Mustapha and Let Me Entertain You, so I discovered all that with the early 00’s Toshiba remaster.

 

Interesting.

Looks can be deceiving, but if the gatefold pic of Jazz is supposed to represent the studios the place seems HUGE.

 

It's quite small, actually, but this is only the control room. There's two other decent-size rooms next to it.