the song remains the same is really nicely mastered. i was bored by the performances when the original came out but i can hear now how fine they really are. not as good a performance as how the west was one but the sonics are even better i think. and its only "not as good" as other led zeppelin performances, it is still astounding rock and roll to these old ears. the 4 players are each quite brilliant. on to the other new mastering.
mothership sounded good to me at first but after reading Metralla here and numerous other folks at steve hoffman forums all pointing to the 80's as being straight transfers from the analog, i had to check it out.
i realized i had actually never tried them but because i never liked the 90's remasters (compared to my analog copies) i just assumed the 80's were worse - this based on prejudice from hating the 80's cd's i tried from other catalogs (miles davis is a good example). these tryouts are what kept me from buying a cd player until the 90's.
so, this morning i got an 80's copy of zep I at "turn it up" in brattleboro vt. sat down with mothership and after going back and forth a whole bunch came to the same conclusion as Metralla. these are better.
i eat my hat.
blech...
i think a good mastering/manufacturing job now would surpass these 80's transfers due to so much ground being gained in 16 bit since then. even a needle drop of a classic records zep might smoke the 80's cd if done properly. certainly the vinyl is way better.
if you can, compare momship to the 80's diament mastering like i did.try this: turn up a diament cut til plant is pretty loud. all will be well, i promise. now - swap it for mommaship and turn up that same song til plant is as loud as you just heard him on your 80's cd. i promise that your ears will hurt from the loudness/piercing quality of one instrument or another.
at low/careful volume the mom reveals a lot of detail and appears to have great soundstage. this can be seductive. but there is an artificiality to some of the tonal shadings and the imaging if you compare to the vinyl or the diament. it can sound really SUPER, but thats just what it is - there's a bit of super natural vs natural sonics being played out.
i love that (if it's not too loud) on an Air cd, or on a bjork cd etc etc etc. digitally recorded music can have some effects/results that sound amazing on good gear. but here we are talking about an analog recordings, and unless you are simply enamored with that digital thang, i think you will find that the diament mastering/transfer represent what is actually there a lot more closely than the 90's remasters or the mommaboat stuff.
this from a guy who was wowed by the mom stuff until he 1) listened to the classic vinyl again and 2) did the a/b thing with the diament.
ok. now i am done eating my hat. yuck...
still though, if you have zip to compare/relate it to, mothership could rock your boat. i still enjoy it, but not as much as the diament cds.
mothership sounded good to me at first but after reading Metralla here and numerous other folks at steve hoffman forums all pointing to the 80's as being straight transfers from the analog, i had to check it out.
i realized i had actually never tried them but because i never liked the 90's remasters (compared to my analog copies) i just assumed the 80's were worse - this based on prejudice from hating the 80's cd's i tried from other catalogs (miles davis is a good example). these tryouts are what kept me from buying a cd player until the 90's.
so, this morning i got an 80's copy of zep I at "turn it up" in brattleboro vt. sat down with mothership and after going back and forth a whole bunch came to the same conclusion as Metralla. these are better.
i eat my hat.
blech...
i think a good mastering/manufacturing job now would surpass these 80's transfers due to so much ground being gained in 16 bit since then. even a needle drop of a classic records zep might smoke the 80's cd if done properly. certainly the vinyl is way better.
if you can, compare momship to the 80's diament mastering like i did.try this: turn up a diament cut til plant is pretty loud. all will be well, i promise. now - swap it for mommaship and turn up that same song til plant is as loud as you just heard him on your 80's cd. i promise that your ears will hurt from the loudness/piercing quality of one instrument or another.
at low/careful volume the mom reveals a lot of detail and appears to have great soundstage. this can be seductive. but there is an artificiality to some of the tonal shadings and the imaging if you compare to the vinyl or the diament. it can sound really SUPER, but thats just what it is - there's a bit of super natural vs natural sonics being played out.
i love that (if it's not too loud) on an Air cd, or on a bjork cd etc etc etc. digitally recorded music can have some effects/results that sound amazing on good gear. but here we are talking about an analog recordings, and unless you are simply enamored with that digital thang, i think you will find that the diament mastering/transfer represent what is actually there a lot more closely than the 90's remasters or the mommaboat stuff.
this from a guy who was wowed by the mom stuff until he 1) listened to the classic vinyl again and 2) did the a/b thing with the diament.
ok. now i am done eating my hat. yuck...
still though, if you have zip to compare/relate it to, mothership could rock your boat. i still enjoy it, but not as much as the diament cds.