More enjoyment

Regarding the music of my youth. In the olden times, for me early 60's and up, most of my listening was through AM/mono radio. FM was not even a thing in my area. When I revisit some of that music on today's even modest equipment, it can be cringeworthy at times. One of the best examples is the Mama's and the Papa's (the bathtub record). It has zero stereo blending. Trying to listen on headphones is a real trip because you can have one channel playing in one ear and a total suck-out int the other. Rather disconcerting.

@gkelly @ozzy62  Agree that Back in Black is not bad (hard to believe there's never been a remaster of such an iconic album, at least not to my knowledge) but the remastered Highway to Hell is pretty dang good! 

I haven't heard any good VH recordings and in fact they have some of the absolute worst recordings I've ever heard which is a borderline crime, but I'll check out VHII and Women and Children First again, though I feel like I have listened to the latter fairly recently. Or tried to, anyway.

Also, Molly Hatchet holds a special place for me as the first real rock band I was ever into in junior high. I have found that "The Essential MH" is actually a pretty decent album, recording-wise. Those compilation albums are typically pretty thin sounding but that one was a welcome surprise. Not saying it's great, but it is definitely good enough to enjoy the music, if you like MH.

one of the best features of roon as a streaming platform/software is that after you play a piece of music you select, after that song ends, roon will select and play other music it believes is in the same genre and style that isn't in your library, for you to hear

this really adds to the musical enjoyment -- the software curates new music for you based on what you have played -- I have learned about and now enjoy so many new artists and albums that i would not have otherwise found as a result

this makes me listen to music more and my system less

@shooter41 

I have a German pressing (vinyl) of Van Halen II and it is pretty darn good. I have never heard any other version, except for the cassette I wore out in my Craig Road Rated under dash tape deck back in the day. 

But the VH debut album is pretty sad and Fair Warning might top the list (at least in the top five) of all terrible rock recordings.

As I've posted here before, a passage in the Herman Hesse book Steppenwolf summarizes my thoughts regarding music and the reproduction of pure music.

believe music is a gift that never ages, if we approach it in a thoughtful and relaxed manner, without the complications of how its delivered:

The Core Idea: Music in the Mind

Hesse argues that while the radio (the "machine") may distort the physical sound waves, the true spirit of the music remains untouched for those who know how to listen. The "goodness" of the music isn't in the speaker, but in the listener's ability to perceive the eternal harmony behind the static.

Here is the essence of that philosophy:

"Every popular song, every jazz tune, every radio broadcast, every bit of cheap music is a piece of the world, a piece of life, a piece of the spirit... even the most miserable radio, even the most wretched gramophone, is able to give us the spirit of music, provided we have the spirit in ourselves."

Key Themes in the Passage

• The Struggle with Modernity: Harry Haller hates how the radio "filters" the sublime music of masters like Bach or Mozart through a "mixture of rubber, glass, and metal."

• Mozart’s Lesson: Mozart (appearing as a figure in Harry's hallucinations/vision) mocks Harry’s snobbery. He explains that even if the radio makes the music sound like "stepping through mud," the divine structure of the composition is still there.

• The Listener's Responsibility: The passage suggests that if you have the "music in your soul," your mind can reconstruct the beauty, ignoring the "mechanical squeak" of the device.