Distortion on Johnny Cash American 4

Same here (although I've met strong reject, when I posted this, a year or so, ago)

It's in the recording - not your system / ears

But.... Isn't this a great CD ?

cheers
Stefan

It certainly is.

That's why I am even more disappointed.

At the same time I not the guy for rejecting good music because of bad sonic perfomance.

I guess Rick Rubin felt that it was a great take and opted for musical greatness instead of sonic perfection.

Welcome back, Thorsten. Whatever you do: try to stay out of the hi-fi room (lest it all ends in tears again)!

Inspired by your "welcome back" message, I looked into some of Thorsten's contributions - especially in the music room, and I must say: I wish there were more Thorstens, here... A pity that I joined this brotherhood, 2 years later.

Peace
Stefan

hi thomas,

i had hoped noone would take note of it.

thanks for the welcome.

it's just that i did not know any better place to ask than this one.

besides, vuk was right. once infected there's no cure. you can only fight off the symptoms.

loads of work help.

:-)
thorsten

today i'm gonna buy american 3 on vinyl.

what's more important:

i've got tickets for rhcp and joe jackson.

slowly i am getting back to real life.

Some - I - say that often apt 'distortion' can enhance emotional impact of audio-replay. For me, it sure does on this great great great track. I have quite a few songs which are audio-wise squeaky-clean but emotional dross.

One tisk of spending a lot on e.g. Naim boxes/using them is that you can lose music soul and end up listening to 'recording' foibles - just IMO of course.

Musical disappointment of the year 2005!

Johnny's version of 'Hurt' was one of the most moving songs I'd heard when it was first released and I eagerly anticipated the collection it was released on. The distortion that kicks in in the intense passages sadly renders it almost unlistenable to me. maybe its in the original recording/mastering. however I have wondered inf its to do with the copy protection on the recording. 'Ring of Fire:The Legend of JC' is one of the most copy protected discs I've got. Could this be the cause?

Jonathan

I'll check the vinyl to see if it suffers from the same problem. I expect it will for one of two reasons, either the distortion happened while tracking the vocal and Rick Rubin thought "fuck it, that's the perfect take" and felt that the distortion wasn't a big deal, or the problem is a mastering error (and it's quite possible that the vinyl is mastered form the CD. It's happening more and more, sadly).

Wow, it's even worse than I remember it! The vinyl is just as distorted as the CD. It sounds like the limiter across the mix is clipping (heavily). It gets far worse as the left hand as piano joins in for the last repeat of the chorus section. So bad in fact that it's heard to see how it slipped through the net.

As I said: Distortion is audible on vinyl as well.

Still great music.

Sorry Thorsten,

I should read more carefully!

It is indeed still great music. The Antony And The Johnsons album sounds beautiful in all areas, as does Patrick Wolf's Wind In The Wires. He's one to watch. A new album is due this summer.

Best wishes,

Mickey

quote:

The distortion that kicks in in the intense passages sadly renders it almost unlistenable to me.

Prompted by this thread, I have dug out my copy. The distortion is far less intrusive than I reacall it being before I improved my CD player. The quiet voice part is recorded so high that it seems that the recording just couldn't cope with the louder parts. $ was always the part of the set that I listened to least - I prefer 3 - so thanks to all for getting me to play this again. I particularly like 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'; a lovely version.

Don't you think that JC looks like the detestable Jonathan King on the front cover?

Nigel

michael,

sorry for being so snappy. i did not mean to be offensive at all.

nigel,

"the first time..." is - after a couple of times - for me one of the best of the album. but i recognized its beauty only after a while.

I can hear what you mean but, played from CD through Quad ESL57s, the effect is hardly disturbing, let alone "almost unlistenable" (as Shayman found). Perhaps some loudspeakers magnify such things?

Graham

I just bought this yesterday, and agree that the distortion is pretty obvious. However (reference to the thread on poor recordings) it somehow does not really detract. I almost feel that it adds to the atmosphere of one man, a log cabin, a shitty microphone and a lot of passion.

Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by Shayman:
Musical disappointment of the year 2005!

Johnny's version of 'Hurt' was one of the most moving songs I'd heard

Jonathan

The video for Hurt is almost heartbreaking and builds to such a crescendo........ and June died shortly after. It is my favourite video and is cut so wonderfully telling a story of his life........ I bubble everytime. Their relationship endured so much. He adored her and died of a broken heart shortly after. I'm filling up again. I'm very lucky I have my own June Carter Cash

Can I transfer this to another thread?

Diccus