Paul Simon - Graceland CD remasters - 2004 Rhino vs 2011 Sony

I tried this (twice) in another thread with no luck, maybe the third time will be the charm, having its own thread and all.

Unlike the other recent Sony reissues of Paul Simon's studio albums which recycle the 2004 Rhino mastering, my understanding is the 2011 Sony CD of Graceland is a new mastering. How does it compare to the 2004 Rhino CD?

That is all. Thanks!

 

That's interesting. I hadn't heard that the 2011 was a new mastering. Evidently there is a big Graceland 25th anniversary box set coming out next year along with a tour to mark it. I guess maybe they remastered it for that reason and will use the new remaster on the box next year.

I'm also curious to hear any comparisons between the 2004 and 2011 remasters. I've only got the original cd which I've never felt sounded that great. Always meant to get the remaster of it and haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

Bump

 

Mastered by Greg Calbi in 2011. The 2011 issue sounds good imo. Don't have the 2004 version to compare it with, though.

 

I'm not wild about Calbi's other recent work--the Patti Smith reissues are too loud and compressed. Here's hoping he treats Paul Simon's albums better...

 

Say, has anyone compared the 2004 Rhino to the 2011 Sony?

 

I have the brand new Sony Blu-Spec CD of GRACELAND and the OBI indicates it's the 2004 remaster. Haven't opened or played the disc yet, so the inner sleeve credits might tell a different story. Will report back.

 

I do not like Greg Calibi's work at all. He may do some nice projects, but I have not heard any of these. What I have heard from Greg is generally WAY TOOO LOUD for my tastes, and also bright.

 

I also only own the original West German version of this title, no bar code and silver to the middle. I love the way that it sounds; rich, warm, analog and very dynamic. This is one of the discs that I never felt needed to be remastered.

 

I own the original cd but not the 2004 Rhino and just bought the 2011 Greg Calbi remaster on Sony. (Copyright says 2004 but credit for 2011 remastering is given in the booklet.)

To my ears it sounds better than the original cd and the Graceland tracks on the Rhino Paul Simon collection which I own. Crisp and clear but not unnaturally so. Reminds me of the Mark Wilder jazz remasters on Sony.

 

I have the blu-spec mini-LP release, which features the 2004 remastering. I just bought the 2011 reissue featuring the new remastering by Greg Calbi. I prefer the 2011. It is less bright than the Bill Inglot 2004 remaster. Greg Calbi has shown a nice touch in the past with Paul Simon. I believe he mastered Negotiations and Love Songs, which IMHO is still the best and best-sounding Paul Simon compilation.

 

What don't you like about it? I think it's lovely.

I have an old Australian pressing, the 2004 remaster in digipack, and the Warner-Pioneer 32XD-443 JPN. The Japanese CD is very nice but so is the Aussie disc. I love the album so the 2011 remaster interests me.

 

I listen to the original cd, not because it's great but because I'm not a fan of the Rhino or new Sony remaster. The Rhino remaster sounds too sharp, and both sound like they've been squeezed a bit. I'm still partial to the mastering on the 1993 box set. It's not a great compilation, that's for sure, but the mastering is better than the original cd's. They haven't been squashed like most modern remasters and the eq is fine, they don't have the same treble boost you'd find on later Paul Simon remasters.

 

Just curious here. Has anyone confirmed that none of the other Sony Paul Simon titles are remastered? I was surprised to read that Graceland was. I bought it. The notes do indeed credit Greg Calbi 2011. Do we know for a fact that none of the others are new remasters, or has everyone just assumed they were because they have the same bonus tracks? I've only listened to it in the car, but it sounds pretty damn good to me. It's obviously a modern remaster, but I kept going to the volume knob to crank it up and it kept sounding good.

 

Live Rhymin' is remastered by Dan Hersch. It also has two bonus tracks.

 

I was aware of Live Rhymin'. I thought that was the only one that was remastered and then hit this thread about Graceland. Any others?

 

The 2011 remaster is definitely better than the Rhino.... I prefer this one over the original.

 

I broke down and purchased the "new" (2011) remaster of GRACELAND ... haven't played (or compared) the discs yet ...

 

Sad to say, according to EAC levels the 32XD Jp CD is the same mastering as stock European and US versions contemporary to original release. I only found this out after buying one for a decent amount more I could have paid for the standard original.

 

The original U.S. cd always sounded good to me and can be had for about 2 bucks.

 

Could someone please post some wave-forms from the new 2011 mastering? The 2004 was awful and was very compressed, the original is miles ahead of the 2004 remaster.

Would be interested in the 2011 remaster but if it is also bothered by some limiting, I will probably stay away from it since I quite like the sound of the original version.

 

+1 And I'll add I liked all the original cds of Paul Simon's solo career.....the only thing that sounded better was Steve's vinyl dcc releases of the 1st two.

 

Just looking on amazon marketplace.

The original (US) release can be had for about 38 cents. The 2004 remaster can be had for 96 cents and up. The latest one is $4-5. (New from $4.75.)

I will rule out the 2004, as I'm quite sure from comments here the new one will be better than the 2004. But will it really be better than the original? Decisions, decisions.

 

I am still interested in learning more about the 2011 remaster of Graceland. It seems like the tonality is good (not too bright). I would like to know more about the dynamic range. Could someone post some figures, and/or maybe a screenshot of a wave-form, just to see if these are squashed or not.

That would be greatly appreciated.

 

Really?

Today, I compared the new 2011 remaster with the 2004 remaster and the original mastering (not sure if there are different "original" masterings - we compared two different early CD pressings today and they were both the same).

The 2011 remaster is a tad less bright than the 2004 remaster, but dynamically, it is even further squeezed/squashed. It is way too loud, not a pleasure to listen to. I would say: Avoid!

I am posting some dynamic range readings of the original, the 2004 remaster and the 2011 remaster (only for the main album).

I am also psoting a wave-form of the original vs. the 2011 remaster for the song "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes".

The original CD is - in my opinion - by far the best sounding version.

I wonder why the record companies keep throwing crap at us and are wondering why CD sales are down...

Code:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Simon, Paul / Graceland (Original CD version)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR         Peak         RMS     Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR15      -0.25 dB   -17.33 dB      3:59 01-The Boy In The Bubble  (englisch)
DR13      -1.47 dB   -17.47 dB      4:51 02-Graceland  (englisch)
DR15      -0.80 dB   -18.25 dB      3:13 03-I Know What I Know  (englisch)
DR13      -2.67 dB   -18.72 dB      2:45 04-Gumboots  (englisch)
DR16      -0.29 dB   -19.70 dB      5:48 05-Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes  (englisch)
DR16      -0.29 dB   -18.16 dB      4:40 06-You Can Call Me Al  (englisch)
DR14      -1.35 dB   -19.75 dB      3:37 07-Under African Skies  (englisch)
DR15      -3.14 dB   -23.06 dB      3:48 08-Homeless  (englisch)
DR14      -1.29 dB   -19.94 dB      4:19 09-Crazy Love Vol.II  (englisch)
DR14      -1.84 dB   -18.58 dB      2:53 10-That Was Your Mother  (englisch)
DR14      -2.36 dB   -19.15 dB      3:15 11-All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints  (englisch)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks:  11
Official DR value: DR14

Samplerate:        44100 Hz
Channels:          2
Bits per sample:   16
Bitrate:           1411 kbps
Codec:             CDDA
================================================================================

Code:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Paul Simon / Graceland (2004 Remaster)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR         Peak         RMS     Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR9       -0.10 dB   -11.56 dB      4:00 01-The Boy In The Bubble
DR9       -0.10 dB   -11.68 dB      4:51 02-Graceland
DR10      -0.10 dB   -11.49 dB      3:14 03-I Know What I Know
DR10      -0.26 dB   -13.26 dB      2:45 04-Gumboots
DR9       -0.10 dB   -11.99 dB      5:51 05-Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
DR9       -0.10 dB   -11.33 dB      4:41 06-You Can Call Me Al
DR8       -0.10 dB   -11.73 dB      3:37 07-Under African Skies
DR12      -0.10 dB   -15.63 dB      3:49 08-Homeless
DR9       -0.10 dB   -11.47 dB      4:20 09-Crazy Love Vol. II
DR10      -0.10 dB   -11.84 dB      2:53 10-That Was Your Mother
DR9       -0.10 dB   -12.08 dB      3:26 11-All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks:  11
Official DR value: DR10

Samplerate:        44100 Hz
Channels:          2
Bits per sample:   16
Bitrate:           1411 kbps
Codec:             CDDA
================================================================================

Code:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Paul Simon / Graceland (2011 Remaster)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR         Peak         RMS     Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR8       -0.16 dB   -10.77 dB      4:00 01-The Boy In The Bubble
DR8       -0.22 dB   -10.28 dB      4:51 02-Graceland
DR9       -0.08 dB   -10.67 dB      3:13 03-I Know What I Know
DR9       -0.01 dB   -11.76 dB      2:45 04-Gumboots
DR8       -0.06 dB   -10.73 dB      5:51 05-Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
DR8       -0.23 dB   -10.50 dB      4:41 06-You Can Call Me Al
DR8       -0.34 dB   -11.31 dB      3:37 07-Under African Skies
DR11      -0.35 dB   -14.94 dB      3:48 08-Homeless
DR9       -0.20 dB   -12.24 dB      4:19 09-Crazy Love, Vol II
DR9       -0.21 dB   -10.79 dB      2:53 10-That Was Your Mother
DR9       -0.02 dB   -11.28 dB      3:27 11-All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks:  11
Official DR value: DR9

Samplerate:        44100 Hz
Channels:          2
Bits per sample:   16
Bitrate:           1411 kbps
Codec:             CDDA
================================================================================