Sorry but Motown sounds better on a car radio

Posted by: jcs_smith on 01 July 2008

I picked up a pile of old Motown singles in a charity shop the other day. It’s great to be able to play them on my system and from a collection point of view I’m very happy, but the sound is very disappointing. I know that they always said that they mixed with high treble and low bass so that they could be heard more easily on a car radio but I was surprised to find how light and unbalanced they sound on a Naim system. I think this is the first time ever I’ve wanted to have tone controls. The later versions on compilation albums must have been remixed because they sound much better

Posted on: 02 July 2008 by abbydog

Try the the Complete Motown Singles boxed sets, now up to Vol 9, if you like this music. The quality of recordings varies a great deal, but the best are great and the worst, well AM radio I guess...

Posted on: 02 July 2008 by manicatel

Seems like there is a parallel with a lot of us here saying how much of todays pop is mixed for the MP3 generation/sounds horrible & compressed, etc.
Purposely mixing tracks to sound good on crappy speakers/headphones & car radios (& not caring about how it sounds on quality hifi) is nothing new!
Did domestic high quality hifi exist back in the Motown era? Reel-to-Reel tape players I guess but how about high end amps/speakers?
Matt.

Posted on: 02 July 2008 by Jet Johnson

....I remember buying quite a few Motown Chartbusters albums on vinyl ...they contained so many tracks the sound was always muddy and compressed

....The music however was another thing entirely ...one timeless classic after another ..and I still play them now...

.Surely some music is so good that it transcends the medium it's pressed on?.

Posted on: 02 July 2008 by ewemon

Tamla Motown singles were deliberately mixed to sound better on the radio that is why they have they sound so bad. They were boosted in the treble dept.

I still have all my first pressing Motown singles from the '60's and they still sound rubbish.

Posted on: 03 July 2008 by Jet Johnson

quote:
Originally posted by munch:
quote:
Originally posted by Jet Johnson:
....I remember buying quite a few Motown Chartbusters albums on vinyl ...they contained so many tracks the sound was always muddy and compressed

....The music however was another thing entirely ...one timeless classic after another ..and I still play them now...

.Surely some music is so good that it transcends the medium it's pressed on?.
Sorry Jet,
I have had and have a few of the chart buster albums, until they got to number 5&6 on vinyl they were all top heavy with thin top end.
I cant play them in the car

...Basically I thought I was agreeing with you munch marra! ....the sound of the Motown vinyl IS v poor .....but there are times when you are not having a "serious" listening session that a bop around the living room to some classic tamla is just what the doctor ordered!

Posted on: 04 July 2008 by JohanR

quote:
Purposely mixing tracks to sound good on crappy speakers/headphones & car radios (& not caring about how it sounds on quality hifi) is nothing new!

Yes, Motown did just that. Founder and Boss Berry Gordy is said to have listened to every track on a cheap transistor radio before "signing off". Strangely enough, they used "real" HiFi speakers in the control room, AR 3's.

quote:

Did domestic high quality hifi exist back in the Motown era? Reel-to-Reel tape players I guess but how about high end amps/speakers?
Matt

It certainly did. AR mentioned above, JBL, Marantz, MacIntosh, Quad etc, etc.

JohanR

Posted on: 04 July 2008 by Nigel Cavendish

Here's an idea - listen to the music not the sound.

Posted on: 04 July 2008 by Noye's Fludde

quote:

Here's an idea - listen to the music not the sound.

Excellent idea.

I've had good luck with the Motown Anthologies, most of them issued in the 70's and 80's on Lp, in fairly good sonics. My own system has been modified over time to get better results from Stax /Volt, Atlantic and Motown soul from the 60's and 70's. I now consider this the cream of popular music from the last century. I mean, ..Joni Mitchell should just forget it...

Noyes

Posted on: 05 July 2008 by worm

quote:
I mean, ..Joni Mitchell should just forget it...

Noyes

A singer songwriter who has consistently innovated and been at the top of her game for over 30 years.

I can enjoy Motown (especially the highly recommended 'complete' series) - but seriously, spot the difference(s)....

Cheers

worm

Posted on: 05 July 2008 by Noye's Fludde

quote:
Originally posted by worm:
A singer songwriter who has consistently innovated and been at the top of her game for over 30 years.

A singer songwriter who's last good album (in my opinion)came out 35 years ago. I used to like "Blue" but last time I put it on I just fell asleep. Maybe I'll get out my copy of "For the Roses". There are some great lines in that one...

Noyes

Posted on: 08 July 2008 by Mr Underhill

I've found this problem with a fair few pop favorites from the 60's, such as The Hollies. Bought a double CD of their greatest hits - and now listen to it in the car, where it sounds OK.

Is this just a matter of how the music has been produced for the CD?

The Beatles recent Love album sounds great, as do the original albums on my turntable.

Unfortunately I destroyed my parents original Hollies albums on my Musical Fidelity plastic record lathe as a teenager! So I cannot do an A/B comparison.

M