I owned most of the LPs in the Stones box. Got them with the exception of Sticky Fingers and Exile. Not crazy about those either. I did keep the box itself and now I store all my copies of Exile and Sticky Fingers in it.
I don’t know that I think they’re horrendous. The ones I have heard range from pretty good (Disraeli Gears mono) to awful (Exile on Main St 2016-ish, not the box set version) with most being just okay. I think his mastering skills and process/chain are rate limiting factors, but the sources he is provided to work with are also a rate limiting factor (arguably the biggest). I also find almost everything he masters to be unbalanced by a couple of dBs (which is likely an issue with the chain at Abbey Road). Bottom line IMO: An announcement of an Abbey Road Half-Speed cut shouldn’t be met with excitement or anticipation but rather disappointment it wasn’t being done elsewhere by one of the consistently good mastering engineers/mastering chains.
Chad owns the metal parts to the Classic re-issue and it's a god damned sonic miracle. Possibly even a tube cut. Wait till he gets around to re-pressing it.
The marketing hype wants you to believe that it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don’t even think Showell is the best mastering engineer at Abbey Road.
@Sir Talbot Buxomly Don't know about unanimity (does that ever exist in audio?) but this post I made received 7 "Likes" so my opinion is at least shared. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On - 50th anniversary speculation & wishlist thread
KG Tommy reissue is the best I’ve heard. Live at Leeds 3 lp is very good. It’s the best Miles HSM I have heard. In Rock by Deep Purple is nowhere near a UK first press. Very much a dull lifeless HSM.
Fwiw I have the 1989 Tommy (Who 25th Anniversary) cut by KPG though iirc his initials appear on 3 and not 4 sides. I have read good things - hopefully from more than one member - about that 2014 pressing. Haven't clicked to buy quite yet, lol.
Perhaps too or more so because that Leeds 3 LP set is a full remix as well? Who knows. I have that one too but find myself listening to the downloads of the remix offered instead but you've piqued my interest in playing the LPs .
It's been about a month since you asked and nobody else has chimed in yet but I think the answer is no. I admire his mastering but he's still a gun for hire and will work with digital files and dubs. (Mixed reviews of his digital Lola re-issue come to mind.) It's still likely a better bet than the half speed though, because he's just good at what he does.
My only experience with the Abbey Road half-speed mastering is Genesis - Seconds Out. and WOW. Better than any version I've heard. Great low end and the guitars are clear along with the vocals. Based only on this pressing I would be interested to hear Tommy, but I find it hard to think it will be the Classic Records version
Calling a mastering technique of half speed mastering a gimmick is ignorant. It's not and has been around and done since modern LPs in the 50s came about. One could say the mastering technique is being hyped, just like a whole bunch of other things to sell records. As far as this Tommy issue, it hasn't even been heard yet, how can you say it's bad. It could very well be the definitive copy of this title, but we don't know that yet. However getting back to Half Speed, there are a number of this title out in half speed already. Miles already done it half speed in 2012 at Metropolis Mastering for The Who – The Studio Albums box set. After the box came out all the records also have been out individually continuously since then. Early pressings will have MILES in the dead wax and Metropolis logo. When Miles moved to Abbey Road in 2013 he continued to supply new lacquer cuts of it for the pressing plants, so they can keep pressing it. So later records will have Miles Abbey Road Room 30 in the dead wax. In fact if you have any new Who records pressed after 2011 for the EU & US markets, most likely they are half speed mastered by Miles as he did the majority of the catalog for them. He's has also done the majority of new issues and live records for The who that have come out the past ten years. Just because they don't have an Abbey Road OBI wrapped around the cover, he is still cutting them at Abbey Road room 30. So we know he's done the Tommy title half speed continuously for the past ten years even prior to moving to Abbey Road. The Who moved with Miles to have Abbey Road continue to put out their records of different random titles in recent years. They call them Half Speed Remastered at Abbey Road and put an OBI on them. But are they really remastered? or just some small changes that Miles wanted to do? I don't know it just seems like chasing one's tail around at some point because of Hype Stickers and a different barcode. There is a constant demand for big artist like The Who, they will continue a constant supply of new pressings worldwide. It's funny the flack Abbey Road and Miles work gets on sites like this and Youtube. It totally isn't warranted, in fact some of the ones doing the complaining, probably have Miles half speed work on many records they have and don't even know about. He's been mastering since 1984. But as soon as they see a Abbey Road Half Speed Mastering OBI on the cover, blood shoots out their eyes. LMAO The KPG cut of Tommy is also been out since 2014 and you can still buy it in stores. However this one is also getting long in the tooth also, so if you want it you should grab it before it's OOP.
Not interested! Just another thing to get you to spend your money on endless reissues. Nominal improvements on sound quality at best. All the suckers will take the bail though.
You might have been around awhile, but there are new people getting into buying records. They are not the ones needing to compare every pressing. They walk into a record store see a title and want it, so they buy it. This is the reason for every reissue since the first pressing of any title is to supply the demand of the record. Fifty years ago when I walked into a record store and bought a title that was out 4 years already, I didn't look at it as a reissue, it was just a title of a record I wanted. I was at the record store the other day and at the counter checking out. I looked at the guy checking out at the other register, he look like he was about 45-50 years old. He had one record in his hand to buy, it was the DSOTM. I thought to myself, that guy has to be very new to buying records. I thought that because any old rocker getting into records for the first or second time just about buys DSOTM as one of the first 10 titles they get. They didn't care if it was a Bernie Grundman mastering, or if it was digitally or analog mastered source. They bought it because that's what's in the stores right now to buy for that title. The same thing goes for all these Abbey Road records or any records being put out today. It's what is in the store to buy, and labels trying to keep up with the demand to supply the records. The majority buying records care little about anything past reading the title.
I find the half speeds of the last few years are a mixed bag…with some there’s a discernible difference for the better, with others, not so much at all. Far as giving this one a chance, it all gets down to what the album’s meant to you over the years. For me? It’s one of “those” so I’ll be eagerly giving it that chance. Do we know when this is coming out??
I don't get too caught up in the half-speed remaster hype. Regardless of the mastering technique, generally I am happy to see some of my favorite titles reissued on vinyl. There have been mixed reviews of Exile On Main Street, but I picked up the half-speed remaster because I wanted the album on vinyl (and could not find other new pressings) and was very happy with it. I have held off on getting Tommy on vinyl (have multiple CD versions), but I might check this out.
The OP says July. As far as me with this specific title I have so many old issues, a simply vinyl copy and the half speed box set I mentioned. It's not even an important title for me to have so I'll not be buying it. My main point in this thread is the rabbid responses people have for these Abbey Road records. Abbey Road is supplying the market with records that are in demand at a pretty low cost. People act like they should be the best ever pressing of the title ever made and then proceed to bad mouth them. The fact is they are putting out decent records that the majority of people will be satisfied with at a low cost. I have many of them and they sound fine, in fact the quality of pressings are even better than what MFSL is putting out including the $125 One Steps. You want to talk about Hype and Gimmicks, look no further than MFSL. At least the quality of the Abbey Road records outweigh the prices they charge for them, I can't say that with many of the MFSL issues they are putting out.
You know I was going to talk about that, it's only hype if you fall for it, LOL. But really the problem today is there really is to much info on records, people have bias before they ever give a listen to a record. Oh it has digital in the chain, then if they do buy it, they will say something stupid like it sounds like a CD, it's cold and bright. Where do they get this? Digital in the chain = Bright, Thin, Edgy & Cold, lackluster Analog = Warm, full, Dynamic, Lush But that comes from bias built on myths and reading about records prior to listening to them. I'd love to sit some of these so called golden ear reviewers in front of my system blindfolded and let me play records for them. They wouldn't have a clue what the hell they are listening to, only if something sounds good or not. Music and sound quality is subjective, but bias built on myths today and info overload doesn't help anyone. Skip the bias and listen, if the end result sounds good it's good no matter the path to get there. Bias trends are not truthful be they trends of today or in the past.
By all means, if you don't have this record already, then go for it. It is one of the all time classics. My post was more or less intended for those folks who keep taking the bait on all these supposed "Gucci" reissues. Why this record is not constantly in print is beyond me. It was not like some obscure record that nobody has heard of. It would be like "Led Zeppelin" not being in print. If you are new to buying vinyl, the go for what is out there.
I have probably 10-15 copies now already. This record has been being pressed and in print for at least the past 15 years since records started to catch on again. This Abbey Road copy is just adding on to that and maybe some of the other past issues have reached their licencing limit. Since when is a label that puts out $25 single LP records considered Gucci? That's a pretty cheap price for records today. However I think this title being 3 LPs will probably be closer to $50-$60 today with all the inflation and cost involved doing 3 LP. Is it Gucci because it's not a used old US pressing that can be bought for $10? In fact the 3 LP live at Leeds was around $50-$60 4 years ago, but it is the only whole concert expanded addition on vinyl.
I do not appreciate being called ignorant. That’s a very strong word and it’s not warranted. And yes, I know that half speed mastering has been around for a long time. I have enough Mobile Fidelity albums that were cut by Stan Ricker. What Miles Showell and Abbey Road Studios are doing is tantamount to gimmickry. I don’t care what anyone says. His cuttings rarely sound better than the originals, yet they are hyped as if they are special. I highly doubt the Miles cut of Tommy will be the definitive version. That means it would have to top a UK Track pressing, the Classic Records version or the Kevin Gray remaster from 2014. Anything is possible, but I don’t see it happening. I have quite a few records that have been mastered by Showell. While I’m not as enthusiastic about Mobile Fidelity as I used to be, I don’t think his work on the whole betters what Mofi puts out. Additionally, the AR half speed masters aren’t cheap at all. I paid $40 for The Who’s My Generation. At least with something that is reissued by AP or MoFi you are getting more bang for your buck at that price point.
