Well... This is a well recorded album. Quadruple tracked guitars. Very broad sounding on the original CD. But the DCC beats it, of course. I saw my brother for the first time in a few years at xmas. He was a big Queensryche fan from back in the days of Rage for Order, The Warning, etc. He gave it the thumbs up, and he has never been sure of what to make of my growing Gold CD collection. So you get two opinions in one post.
A lot of people love Empire, but I think it sounds too clinical for my tastes. Part of it is the performance and part of it is the recording. I have the DCC but I have nothing to compare it to. Still waiting for Steve to remix/remaster ..and Justice for All.
Patrick M, I used to work with both Queensryche's and Metallica's management company (at least their management at the time). MoFi approached QR about licensing 'Empire' in the mid-90's. I had to tell them I thought it was an all digital recording (they were interested in getting the flat analog masters). Conversations with the group and the EMI (their label at the time) storage facility failed to reveal any type of an analog master. So MoFi bailed. My discussions over the years with the producer and engineer of '...And Justice For all" show that they totally disagreed with the sound of the album, but bowed to the group's decisions. Evidently, the bass was the last music recorded (Jason Newsted was new to the band) and if you listen to the album, the bass is VERY poorly integrated into the overall sound as Jason had no sonic spaces for his bass. A couple of years later I broached the subject of the recording quality of album with Lars Ulrich of the group and he basically said (I paraphrase) 'The album sound sucks. We should have listened to the producer.' I asked about remixing it and he said that it would make no difference. What is on the multi-tracks is what you here: i.e. the overall sonics suck. Although I'd like to hear Steve take a stab at remixing the album (drool drool) and then remastering.
Hey, thanks for your post! Q: Do you know why MoFi (or someone else) didn't pursue Operation Mindcrime? I understand that Michael Barbiero mixed AJFA. I like his other work (e.g., Tesla), so there could be something to this "You can't fix it" theory. I also remember reading that Jason may have been mixed out as a hazing tactic for being the new guy. Now that Jason is gone -- somewhat inimicably -- from the band, I have to think they wouldn't be very keen on a remix that pumps up the bass more. Steve, can you provide any technical details on Empire? Type of tape used, that sort of thing?
Tim, You can not go wrong with the DCC release of this album. Recording quality is superb, and what Steve Hoffman does with it in the mastering realm is simply phenomenal. To me, this is in the top 3 DCC compact disc releases with respect to sound quality.
The DCC version is superior to the regular release, but the differences didn't leap out at me. I synched up the two versions and listened for a good ten minutes (headphones), switching back and forth, before noticing the sound of the snare drum. The DCC has a smoother, less "emphasized" sound, most clearly heard in the higher frequencies (drums and cymbals). Overall, I would say that the regular version has that "boosted" sound that sounds better in a car than on a home hifi, and the DCC is more balanced and less fatiguing, especially at high volumes. Once again, I felt that the differences were subtle, and I would emphasize that to any Queensryche fan that asked for my recommendation. One surprise - I expected the DCC to have better sounding bass, but I couldn't tell any difference.
I don't own the DCC of Empire, I never really liked the album that much. Now 'Mindcrime', I would love to hear a Hoffmann remaster of that one. As far as 'Justice', I'm sure a remaster could improve it somewhat, but it's really ruined in the mix. The bass is weak and the guitars just don't stand out well enough. I also think the drums sound boxy. Perhaps a remix would help, but who knows?
I have the DCC gold of this one, and was thinking of selling it on ebay. If anyone's interested, I'd let them have it for $25 including shipping. It's used, but still has the outer slip cover and appears to be in excellent condition. I'll probably list it this weekend if no here wants it.
Patrick M, The reason Queensryche's "Op Mind" wasn't done by MoFi is that it is also a full digital recording, hence MoFi would not have been interested, although I admit I didn't even ask them at the time if they were interested. Even QR's previous album from 1986/87, "Rage For Order," is full digital. There would be something for a Steve supervised "Op Mind" remaster. I know the engineer of that album was pissed at something EMI did after mastering and before pressing of the CD. He went into a detailed explanation with me once, of which I understood zilch. He always wanted to remaster it again, although the group, management and the record company were all satisfied with the original CD mastering and pressing. As for Metalica's AJFA, I don't think hazing of Jason was too much of a factor. Remember, he had already recorded with Metallica for the "Garage Days Re-Revisited" project and that sounded great compared with AJFA. I think it was simply that the other band members recorded their parts individually and did not lay down the basic tracks together as a band. Plus, I believe Lars and James had a particular sound in mind. It is just unfortunate that that sound sucked!!
Thanks for the info Hoboken Lad. It's hard to believe that the band was satisfied with Operation Mindcrime. It really sounds B-A-D!
You mean the "not very produced" GDRR? I think I read the bit about the bass/hazing theory in a Playboy interview.
Yeah. Musically Operation mindcrime is very good, but I had the CD-PROMO (Capitol) of "Eyes Of A Stranger" a while back. That, as an example of the sound, can only tell me that Queensryche WANTED that gaty-compressed sound. It totally knocks anything natural out of the recording. Then getting the actual CD to listen to, holy moly. It could have been a great record if they didn't kill it sonically.
Why would that be? MoFi did do Sting's Dream of the Blue Turtles as well as ...Nothing Like the Sun, and those were both full digital recordings as well.
What can I say, Goldenboy? As soon as I told MoFi (it was in 1997 or 1998) that "Empire" was a full digital recording, they said "thank you" and moved on. And Skcott, I think you're right about QR wanting that sound for "Op Mind." I have a preliminary, rough mix of most of the album, and the overall sound, pre-mastering, was very similar to the final, released version.
