Transformer transformed

quote:

For those who listen to Transformer more out of respect and appreciation than musical enjoyment

Huh?

No that's not quite right is it? More appreciation of sound quality, which, with the best will in the world my bog standard copy dishes up in a rather brittle fashion. But this does take the edge off enjoying the music. Well, it does for me.

Cheers

Mmmmm I know what you mean. I'm all for remastering - some early CD versions of seminal albums are just god awful.

Mastering (and re-mastering) is an oft overlooked art which can make a huge difference to the experience of an album. With older recordings there is a fine line to be walked between smoothing out all the edginess in a recording and not enough attention in this area.

Anything mastered by Doug Sax or Bob Ludwig is usually something special - although they can be accused of sweetening things a little.

Doug

Maybe I will stick with my old vinyl copy then.

Matt

Transformer is not Lou Reed at his best IMHO - Berlin is more to my liking, as is White Light, White Heat - though Lou tends to be one of those artists I used to like a lot.

quote:

Originally posted by Dougunn:


Mastering (and re-mastering) is an oft overlooked art which can make a huge difference to the experience of an album. With older recordings there is a fine line to be walked between smoothing out all the edginess in a recording and not enough attention in this area.

Indeed I was just listening to Rory Gallagher's Against the Grain, the Castle cd version from around 1991. The Gallagher remaster series ( to my ears) goes totally overboard with the bass on this album, it's as if the bass is turned up to 15! So although the remaster has brought a lot of separation and clarity to the party the bass is like the unwanted drunk in the corner ruining it for everyone.


I must listen to Transformer again, my memory of the RCA early masters is that they were quite good. I'd rate their Bowie masters as far superior to the EMI Abbey Road remasters which seem to have been a remaster for the sake of it.



SJB

quote:

Originally posted by ROTF:
Transformer is not Lou Reed at his best IMHO - Berlin is more to my liking, as is White Light, White Heat - though Lou tends to be one of those artists I used to like a lot.

New York remains a personal favorite of mine.

Matt

quote:

Originally posted by ROTF:
Transformer is not Lou Reed at his best IMHO - Berlin is more to my liking, as is White Light, White Heat - though Lou tends to be one of those artists I used to like a lot.

I'll be after Berlin next. For me it's a pivotal album but that's probably just as much to do with my personal circumstances when I first heard it. I don’t know if this is some sort of middle aged itch but over the past couple of years I’ve rediscovered some gems which were lurking on my shelves for years. Mind you, there’s plenty of other stuff which is now not to my liking at all. Going through a sequence of significant upgrades over the last three years has catalysed it, but there’s more to it. I’m a sucker for remasters – although they are not a sure fire improvement. I’ve tried to adopt a procedure of listening to the original (if I haven’t had it spinning for some time), checking if I still like the musical content enough to buy it all over again, then trying, as objectively as possible to decide if, in my opinion, the album sounds like it would potentially benefit from being remastered. Then there’s the small chore of trying to ascertain if the remaster is any good before I buy it – helped in no small way by the contributions in here. Transformer was a blind no brainer as it gets spun regularly. I don’t think it’s been an unqualified success, but having been laid down a long time ago I guess I can’t expect miracles.

Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by ROTF:
Transformer is not Lou Reed at his best IMHO - Berlin is more to my liking, as is White Light, White Heat - though Lou tends to be one of those artists I used to like a lot.

Lou was one of my heroes once, which means I haven't always been too objective.

I'm older now and my musical tastes have widened, but I still appreciate most of what he has done.

Stuff of his that I still like -apart from what he did with the Velvets because that is just magical- are his first solo album ('Lou Reed'), 'Transformer', 'Berlin', 'Street Hassle' and 'New York'

I have an original 1972 USA-pressing of Transformer that I guard over with my life. No CD will ever be good enough.

Rock n Roll Animal was a great album to zombie out to...

Berlin turned up today. I will report.

Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by Sloop John B:
I was just listening to Rory Gallagher's Against the Grain, the Castle cd version from around 1991. The Gallagher remaster series ( to my ears) goes totally overboard with the bass on this album, it's as if the bass is turned up to 15! So although the remaster has brought a lot of separation and clarity to the party the bass is like the unwanted drunk in the corner ruining it for everyone.

SJB -
I think I have to agree with you. The Rory CDs I find myself listening to are an earlish-double set of Tattoo and Blueprint. They are a bit restrained in areas in comparison with those remastered cds, but for all the detail those later ones can be a bit 'in yer face'. And as for the 'Big Guns' set - sadly, I find it almost unbearable.

James

PS You don't happen to know of any blues gigs in Dublin 23-27 October?

Berlin has, I think, come out very well. There are no extras on this one. It sounds well balanced and voiced, more vibrant, livelier and “real” than the non mastered original. I can hear the difference.. I’d recommend this one on sound quality ahead of Transformer. Not every one’s cuppa and not one that’ll be spinning every week on my system for sure. It just has an endearing quality – albeit a bleak one that hasn’t dated for me and I’m happy in the knowledge that it’s there on the shelf, ready for the occasional outing. Sometimes I just need to hear this album – don’t really know why. Maybe it’s because I’ve never 100% figured it out.

My Lou restock stops here.

Cheers

Berlin is a great album - The Kids is a very moving song. Glad you like the remaster.

Yes it is. And I do

Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by JWM:
PS You don't happen to know of any blues gigs in Dublin 23-27 October?

The last blues gig I was at was probably Rory so I'm not the best to ask.

I'll have a look around and see if I can come up with some suggestions. I think it may be dangerously close to the Cork Jazz Festival so gigs in Dublin may be thin on the ground.


SJB

When you're in Dublin;

these ar you best bets

J.J. Smyth's (http://www.jjsmyths.com/)
12 Aungier Street, Dublin
Jazz & Blues every night of the week except Wednesdays; Irish Blues Club on Tuesdays, Pendulum Jazz club on Sundays
€7/€8 for admission


The Boom Boom Room (http://www.theboomboomroom.tv)
Patrick Conway's Pub
70 Parnell Street, Dublin
Thursday night jazz, also Friday, Saturday & Sunday - check website for gigs
Generally around €8 admission


and check out the ticket before you come for anything interesting that may be on.



and enjoy Dublin!



SJB

Thanks, that's great!
James

Just read the Steroephil rview of Cone Island Baby re-issue. Apparently Lou was living with a drag queen in the 70's and many of the songs of this period were about 'Rachel".

Strange this, because in the Blue Mask, there is a song about his being an average guy. I guess with rock performers they always go with the current style. If it's riske' 70's or conformist 80's.

Sam

Transformer Transformed Here
for a bargain £4.99 delivered.