2. music
  3. 138467-115924

Alabama Shakes

Recently purchased Alabama Shakes first album, Boys and Girls. I purchased this on iTunes right after it came out and just loved it. Gave me hope for the moribund state of rock and roll.

Now that I have an actual hi-fi system I'm buying CDs of my favorite music to replace the iTunes versions.

I'm researching the older music and getting the best CD recordings I can find. This has been VERY gratifying. So much good stuff out there. But with newer music there isn't much choice in terms of CDs recordings. Usually just one.

And I have to say this CD is a real disappointment. The SQ just isn't there. Very tinny. Her voice is way too out front of the music. Grates on my nerves. Volume is too high.....I guess its a loudness issue. At about 1/3 volume on my line stage it is as loud (decibel-wise) as my older (and better) CDs are at 1/2 volume....and nothing is gained by going higher.

This makes me wonder about Sound and Color, their second album. I do not like it as much as the first album but at least on iTunes it sounds like a very well produced album. I wonder if that CD is as bad is this one.

I know CDs are a dying if not dead media. I get that they don't account for much in the way of sales. So my question is this: Are CDs being produced for new music all low quality? Is anyone making high quality CD recordings of new music? 
n80

Showing 5 responses by n80

n80 OP
2,100 posts
 
Oh, as for vinyl....I just can't get into it. So I guess I'm not an old enough fart. ;-)
n80 OP
2,100 posts
 
I guess I'm just an old fart stuck in a bygone time. I'm fairly tech savvy, especially when it comes to digital photography and high end image editing and printing....so its not that I'm a Luddite...I just prefer to own my stuff...and for the most part I want that stuff to be real.

When I want to read I buy books. If it is a good book I get it in hard back. When I take a digital image I make an archival print. I'd like my music to be the same. Silly I guess.

There is always HD Tracks but again, that's just 1s and 0s too. 

Oh well. 
n80 OP
2,100 posts
 
slaw, I’d still like to hear about it. It might not move me to get heavily into vinyl but I’d like to know if newer artists are recording _anything_ in quality fashion.

I mention this because I just purchased Neko Case’s album "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" on CD. Good music. Bad recording. Super loud, just like "Boys and Girls". Fatiguing to listen to. So I went to the dynamic range database...the CD rates simply awful. Among the worst I’ve seen on that site. The HDTracks version is only slightly better. There were no tests results on the vinyl. But multiple reviews of the vinyl complain of low quality pressings with clicks and pops right out of the sleeve.

tdimler, That is truly a shame about Sound and Color because it is the type of album that demands high SQ to make the high level of musicianship stand out. It staggers the imagination that the band would allow an album like that...superb writing, arranging, performing and singing and leave out that last critical piece of the formula...especially on an album that was never going to achieve huge popular success anyway.

And the sad thing about this is bands like Steely Dan recorded high quality CDs in the midst of these Loudness Wars.....so we know it can be done.

Edit: Just checked the DR for the Sound and Color CD. Worse than Fox Confessor with an average DR of 5. (The scale is 0-14+ with 11 and up considered good). The vinyl rates slightly better but still in the unacceptable range.

n80 OP
2,100 posts
 
uberwaltz, don't dismiss the vinyl on my account. The info I have relates only to DR, which doesn't entirely account for SQ

slaw, do you have Sound and Color on vinyl and if so what is your impression?
n80 OP
2,100 posts
 
Del Shannon's "Runaway" for the TV series Crime Story.
More to discover