TSRTS - LZ  It could have been a landmark album. With all that money how could they produce such a piece of trash?

KR

Tony

These spring immediately to mind:

"The Velvet Underground And Nico"

"Blue Afternoon" and "Lorca" Tim Buckley

"Underwater Moonlight" The Soft Boys (there's no bottom end!)

I'm sure there are more though.

Chris

I doubt Felli could be replaced, he's a one off. Should be able to pickup a few good players with the 40m he'd fetch.

Albums that should have been better recorded. Probably all of Todd Rundgrens output from the seventies. High quality albums, superb song writing, Very low fidelity.

A wizard a true star and Something/Anything definitely deserved a lot better.

Felli  Is just not for Christmas at least I hope so!

Celebration Day CDs could have been better recorded  although according to eweom Jimmy Page is already remastering  the whole set,the DVDs are not quite as bad!

All goods calls so far!

Todd's "Just One Victory" should be regarded as a rock classic, IMO. SQ is awful, even for the time - apparently he just recorded and recorded over the same sections of tape. Just goes to show what happens if you leave a boy genuis alone with ALL the toys.

One of my favourite tracks on Pretzel Logic is "Night By Night", but it just sounds so muddled, particularly the horn section. Same with Court & Spark - brilliant songs and performances, muddy sound. Thanks for the tips, ewemon

If only Rudy van Gelder had engineered everything......................

I Lo-Fi on that one is part of what gives it its style (maybe).

Highly variable in my experience. The early CD masters had some really harsh digital clipping. The later version I have now is OK, but not great.

Agreed. I find certain irony in that he continues to be highly regarded as an engineer/producer. Just couldn't get his own stuff to sound great. Having said that the sparser sound of HOMH works better to my ears. But the songs aren't as interesting. Throwaways, in some cases.

Neil Young - Decade. Not that it has anything special on it, just that it is a very piss poor recording both on vinyl and CD.

Tim

This album that arrived on my mat yesterday...

A recording of Fotheringay performing live at Grugahalle, Essen, Germany, on 23 October 1970.

Mastered by Jerry Donahue and featuring sleeve notes by Sandy Denny biographer, Philip Ward, Essen 1970 - recorded semi-professionally by the festival host - is an intriguing insight into another side of this short-lived but much admired band.

Grugahalle - now i know where the Grand Canyon is  

Debs

Chris

Are you sure TVUAN would be a better album if it were "better recorded"? I don't think it would be - in fact it would lose much of its greatness. It is what it is - an arty avant-garde garage album.

Husker du , candy Apple grey,, sadly this sounds like it was recorded in an empty baked bean tin  with all the treble nobbs turned to 11.

In the slightly over optomistic chance that mr Mould is reading this  please remaster this as it is a great record.

TWP

""The Velvet Underground And Nico"

"Blue Afternoon" and "Lorca" Tim Buckley

"Underwater Moonlight" The Soft Boys (there's no bottom end!)"

Chris - agree with above comment about VU - but actually the sound of that one isn't bad compared to White Light/White Heat!

Underwater Moonlight - well-known that Robyn wasn't happy with the bass sound but ironically Can of Bees on its original vinyl - a Porky Prime Cut - has almost too much bass. The 21st anniversary remaster makes a good stab at restoring the bass on UM.

My nomination would be the new Donald Fagen and almost anything recorded by an indie folk band in the last 10 years.

Perhaps there should also be a thread for 'albums that you didn't know were so well-recorded' - I say that having heard the new HDCD-remastered version of the Beach Boys' Smiley Smile, and 'Wild Honey' and 'Darlin' singles from the 2CD box. Amazing!

Forever Changes- Love

Not sure if it has been redone, but the version I have doesn't sound great

The Forever Changes Concert [CD+DVD, Live, Special Edition] sounds & looks good to me.

The CD of the original recording sounds very thin and has not aged well to my ears.

The last touring band with Arthur, for this & subsequent concerts were better musicians than the original band imho. Buy with confidence.

Denis

thanks for the recommendation, will be sure to check it out

+1 Sunken Condos - muddy and confused. Currently listening to Hank Mobley's 1958 recording Peckin' Time on ripped CD - good album, fantastic recording

Dave

I like the scuzzy sound of "WLWH" to me it suits the music, but I've always thought the "VUWN" deserved a better deal sound wise even though it's a "garage classic".

Yes you're right the 21st anniversary "UM" is an improvement, pity Robyn and the boys couldn't afford more time in the studio, such a great album. Must dig out the vinyl "CoB'S" I'll be annoyed if mine isn't a Porky Prime Cut! They were the days!

What about "Safe As Milk" that surely deserved better.

My nomination for CD that you didn't know was so well recorded is "Wicked Grin" John Hammond Jnr, someone should sit Bruce Springsteen down and make him listen to it.

Chris

The CD sounds really fine on my set-up?  G

Deeply unpopular with most GH fans, but I love it. Just wish it would be remastered. Come on, Olivia, please !!!

Yep. I agree. It is what it is.

Agreed "VUWN" is what it is and hugely enjoyable/influential,  for me it's the inclusion of Nico and softer songs like "Sunday Morning" etc that beg for greater fidelity.  Whereas "WLWH"  is perfect as it is, and all the better for the Lo Fi sound, I love the distortion , in the early 1970's I had a cassette of it in the car (Ford Anglia) "Sister Ray" on 11, added distortion from the cassette player amp heaven!

Chris

The whole premise of this threat is a bit muddled. Are we actually talking about the quality of the actual original recording or the quality of subsequent reissues on whatever format? I have original vinyl copies of Pretzel Logic, Court & Spark and Forever Changes and these are of excellent SQ suggesting there is no problem with the "original recording". All CDs I have where I have the original vinyl sound poor in comparison. That's the nature of the beast and also down to the quality of the remaster.

There are original recordings that I wish had been better and some may surprise; CS&N 1st LP, Deja Vu and Stephen Stills 1st are not good recordings. Also Santana Abraxas could be better. Great music, all favourites, but I wish they had been better produced. I agree with those above that VUWN is also poorly recorded but I think this was intentional. In fact I think some distortion was actually added to effect the feel of the music. 

When it comes to 'live' concert recordings there will always be issues with SQ because of the environment and other factors not encountered in the studio. Some are really good and some are poor. 

ATB

Steve

'Celebration Day' shamefully poor sadly. G