Pink Floyd: The Wall

hmm  - i have two masters as I enjoy them both and they each bring something different to the party

My favourite is the  UK 1992/1994 Guthrie/Sax "remaster" -  although not far behind is  the 2011 James Guthrie "remaster" which is clearer and you can hear more into the mix - really enjoying mic techniques and guitar playing style - as well more clearly hearing the school kids in the playground shouting "Russell!!!"  and the expletive uttered whilst being caned is a lot clearer    However for me the nod goes to the  92/94 Guthrie/Sax remaster just sounds more organic.. and the "D'ya wanna take a baaaath?" seems to however sound more three dimensional as if really coming from outside the room on the older  Guthrie/Sax remaster.

Simon

Thanks Simon - wondered if it would be a tricky choice! OK, I'll see what I can find on a well know auction site. I'm assuming the 1992/1994 master is the 'fat box' version and the 2011 issue is identified by being the card gatefold sleeve with Gerald Scarfe's hand drawn text in red?

Copied from my response in 2009. I've not read anything to disagree with it since.

"The MFSL is the best cd of The Wall. It was rather special, being overseen at the mastering stage by Roger Waters. The sealed long box version remains the most I've ever paid for an album......and I don't even have a cd player!"

Yetizone posted:

... and the 2011 issue is identified by being the card gatefold sleeve with Gerald Scarfe's hand drawn text in red?

Correct

Thanks both.... COUNT.D, I think I'll pass on that version having just looked at their cost on ebay. I'll try one of the standard issue remasters as outlined by Simon and wait for a HD FLAC/DSD download to become available. 

A landmark album and as such plethoic opinions on the best CD version are spread over multiple fora to no agreement. Of the two CD versions I own, I prefer the 1997 Columbia remaster over the 2011 - for what that's worth. In general, I find PF's circa 1992 CD remasters best to my ears and I was not a fan of the 2011 redo's. You get better packaging (fat boy jewel cases) on the earlier CDs as well .

Several times I've had the 1992 CD of The Wall in hand at a record shop and then stop and ask myself "why?".  Do I really want to critically listen to another version or would I rather simply sit back, relax, and enjoy what I've got. Bottom line being that PF's albums were so well recorded, engineered, and mastered to begin with there's probably not a bum steer in the catalog.

On a side note, depending on how your CD was damaged, it's possible to have surface scratches polished out. Gamer's shops often offer this service. I once had one successfully refurbished for a nominal fee of $3.

Hi Joerand. Yes, I agree re The Wall. Only bettered IMHO by Wish You Were Here, for its moving sentiment as well as astonishing music.

OK, I’ll aim for the older version with the fat box case, either the Columbia 1997 (prob hard to find in the UK) or more likely the 1992/94 Guthrie Sax version as recommended by Simon.

Yes, I’m well aware of the re-polishing technique which I’ve used several times, implemented at home with an orbital Dual Action polishing machine and car polishing pads / polish (as a student I used to do this as a part time job) which works very well indeed and has revived many a scratched 2nd hand CD to as new condition. The disc in question is simply beyond repair.

Yetizone posted:

Thanks both.... COUNT.D, I think I'll pass on that version having just looked at their cost on ebay. I'll try one of the standard issue remasters as outlined by Simon and wait for a HD FLAC/DSD download to become available. 

I have no idea why I opened mine. I bought it sealed a long time ago and should have left it that way. I took it to a dealer all those years ago and listened on their Naim cd player. It literally blew everyone away there. I still remember the sound now. Huge, open bass. Ahh bliss.

Cool - interesting observations as to how good those MFSL recordings are. I've never bought one personally, but I do have a Bruce Springsteen remastered gold colour CD of Born To Run from the 1990's (can't remember the label / details, plus disc now in the loft) supposedly based on master tapes. It sounds darned good. 

I was quite surprised at the prices being asked for those Pink Floyd long box MFSL CD's you mentioned - a significant investment that I think I would rather put towards something like a Naim Powerline / Tellurium Ultra Blue Mains chord where all my music would gain the benefit as opposed to just one recording. 

I can only imagine how much a mint and unopened version would go for!

I bought it in 2001 and cost me over $200. I remember it arriving, immediately opening it and just looking at it, with no cd player. I've never bought a cd since either.

Yes, putting money into the system is a better idea.

I have the 'Fatboy' Black Harvest West German pressing CDP 7 46037 2 James Guthrie Engineered.

Sounds very nice.

G

No HD 96/24 version in the pipeline. Saw the Immersion didn't include this, are WYWH and TDSOTM available as HiRes 24bit versions outside of Immersion box sets.

I had double CD version from 1980s, the fat dual case version as a kid, loved it but will seek these better versions as mentioned.

Can you buy just the Blu Ray disc on its own to rip the 96/24 files from?