Like others no doubt, I often like a band just because of their popular tracks, which inevitably end up on ‘best of’ releases. Thing is, reading forum comments,I observe that engineers alter tracks when making compilations for release (e.g. raising treble).
Presuming it’s the same record company and engineers, are best of compilations therefore lower quality than originals??
Posted on: 06 September 2018 by Richard Dane
Sometimes. And sometimes, not...
As an example of "sometimes, not", Steely Dan's Greatest Hits packages are often very good, and in some cases sound quality even improves on the original albums. The Bob Ludwig Masterdisk mastered Greatest Hits double LP set (ABC AK-1107/2) sounds fabulous, so long as you get a reasonably quiet and well centred example (tougher than you'd think). Bob Ludwig again put together the definitive digital collection (along with Roger Nichols) with A Decade of Steely Dan on CD.
Posted on: 06 September 2018 by Innocent Bystander
Vinyl albums where they try to squeeze maximum tracks on do inevitably suffer - my memory is that usually the bass is missing, and sometimes there was breakthrough from asjacent grooves. I learnt not to buy them. Otherwise there is no reason why they should differ in sound quality - but that doesn’t mean they don’t.
