Worst mastering you've ever heard?

The Tears - The Tears

Brought tears to my eyes from my last memory

 

Isn't the mix itself the main culprit?

 

The first few seconds of each song on the MCA CD version of Steppenwolf's first album.

 

That's odd.

 

That's tape drag.

One of those head scratchers making you wonder how the CD ever got released.

 

While I haven't heard the Jensen Legend I actually prefer the Jensen remasters to the Diament's. I realise I may be the only one here who does. i don't find the Jensen's I have to be horrible or even close.

 

Aren't they remixes?

Or was it the subsequent batch of "remasters" that were remixed?

 

The one's I mean are the 2001 reissues mastered by Ted Jensen and supervised by Bill Levenson. I like them but all here seem to disregard them and prefer the earlier Diament's. To my ears the Jensen's sound better. Maybe the fact that I can't play them really loud has something to do with it?

 

Bruce Springsteen's 'Magic'...absolutely embarrassingly bad.

 

Dead Can Dance - Wake compilation - remastered tracks
Cocteau Twins - all remasters
Chameleons - Script of the Bridge cd remaster - hopefully the upcoming vinyl remaster will be better.
Genesis - Wind & Wuthering cd/dvd remaster. Unlistenable.
The Cure - Head on the Door cd remaster. What did they do to the vocals???

 

I can't imagine listening "In That Quiet Earth" or "Eleventh Earl of Mar" if they are remastered! I don't even touch remastered copies! I've heard a lot of bad feedback about Genesis remasters.

 

It's remix. And yes, unlistenable crap.

 

I find Wind and Wuthering CD and DVD quite acceptable. I listen to the CD regularly and enjoy it.

 

Get the Canadian copy of the MCA issue of this CD. Taken from Steve's master and it sounds great.

 

right up there with fleetwood mac's "say you will"

 

I wish I could. Maybe if I had better playback equipment? I don't even mind the remix, it's just so harsh.

I'm quite surprised some here like the Cure's Head on the Door remaster. Wonder if they've ever compared it. It's glaringly different.

 

Yes, horrible.

 

Metallica "Death Magnetic" is worse than even the worst modern masterings (like Rush's "Vapor Trails"). How that went through quality control, I have no idea.

 

I think they were going for a AM radio/60's wall of sound feel, which works relatively well with the material, but it's one of the loudest CD I have ever heard: absolutely no dynamic range at all.
It would have been more effective if it hadn't taken to such extremes.

 

+1
That's really beyond my comprehension.

 

Just heard the new Leon Russell/Elton LP, it sounded like I was listening to mp 3`s, what made it more enraging was that the music itself was great ! It`s got to be the worst I have heard recently if not ever !

 

Just listened Robert Plant's Dreamland. Nice album. But some tracks are TOTALLY brickwalled! WHY!?

 

Me too. I much prefer it to the 1994 DE.

 

Citing mp3's as a pejorative signifier is so 1990's. Modern mp3's made from a well-mastered/mixed album sound dozens of times better than a full resolution format saddled with a poorly mixed/mastered source. I'll take the former every time.

 

Totally agree. In fact, to these ears, each of Elton's last three studio efforts have had that very same muddy mp3 sound. No dynamic range at all. Peachtree Road was bad, The Captain And The Kid worse and The Union is just plain horrible. Too bad because much of the material on these releases is stellar.