"The Genius Of Ray Charles", one of the greatest albums ever recorded, one of the worst sounding..

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Mar 20, 2013.

  1. td19

    td19 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Zealand
    Prompted me to dig out my UK London American Jazz Recording version LTZ-K.1590 which I think I bought 1962 or 1963, an import which in those days were hard to get due to foreign exchange restrictions in New Zealand. The only stamps are AML1490 -1B (side 1) and AML1491-2B (side 2). Extensive songwriter/publisher info on the labels. I don't even know if it is mono or stereo! I'll give it a clean and then listen to it. ... and find out
     
  2. khronikos

    khronikos Forum Resident

    Location:
    MN
    So is the MFSL of this album worth buying or not really?

    Well I bought it so I hope it is decent. Never even heard this recording before.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2017
  3. Artur Torres

    Artur Torres New Improved Full Dimensional Stereo

    Location:
    Brazil
    Good to discover this topic. Actually, these burning defects are terrible. However, I think that if they re-discovered the supposed 8-track tapes and remastered from them and reduced the distortions, perhaps they would lose the energy the album conveys. But I may be wrong in my opinion.
     
  4. rxcory

    rxcory proud jazz band/marching band parent

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    The distortion is in the recording. Remixing the album would not lessen or eliminate the distortion. The MFSL mastering is as good as it gets.
     
  5. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Great album, bad sound. Never have figured it out.
     
    aoxomoxoa, rxcory and g.z. like this.
  6. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    I have a possible conjecture about this. Wonder if the gain structure or gain staging of the A&R Studios recording console was different from the recording console then used at Atlantic Studios? Because that could have contributed to the overload distortion problem on this album.
     
    Steve Hoffman and Artur Torres like this.
  7. dasacco

    dasacco Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachussetts
    Anyone heard the RHINO 2009 50th Anniversary issue?
     
  8. Artur Torres

    Artur Torres New Improved Full Dimensional Stereo

    Location:
    Brazil
    The less distorted sound I heard from the stereo mix comes from this cd that was released in 1993:

    [​IMG]
     
  9. dasacco

    dasacco Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachussetts
    I bought one of these out of curiosity and I'm sure glad I read this thread first or I'd be obsessing over what was wrong with my system for days :)

    Hard to tell in the deadwax, but it looks like Kevin Gray's initials, or maybe a "KM" ?

    Anyway, it's wickid distohdid (apply Boston accent there) and far worse on Side 1 than Side 2. Side 2 has the "quieter" numbers and the distortion is less evident there, but not gone by any means.

    BTW, in the same purchase I got the Doug Sax mastered Rhino 2010 The Great Ray Charles. This one sounds very nice!
     
  10. Somerset Scholar

    Somerset Scholar Ace of Spades

    Location:
    Bath
    An interesting thread. I wondered if this album could sound better. My own copy is a modern release by DOL from 2012. Manufactured in Europe, but seems like a Russian label! Sonics are just generally ok.
    Would like to get a better sounding version so this thread has been helpful.
    "Tell me you'll wait for me" and "Don't let the sun catch you cryin" are my favourite tracks. Some of the most emotionally moving music I have ever heard. Period.
     
  11. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    I just got the mono box, and this album is certainly the most sonically compromised of the seven.

    The distortion really comes through on the vocals, but I don’t hear it as much from the band. Steve, is it possible that it was (just) a hot vocal mic that messed up this lovely album? Just wondering.
     
  12. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Mr. Distorto bump.
     
    grx8 likes this.
  13. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member

    Location:
    My lab
    So what's the best digital version of this album if we can't play vinyl? The original Atlantic CD or Steve's CD mastering?
     

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