Teasing the Korean Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Why does this album sound so much worse than Duke's other Columbia albums of the period, and why does the expanded CD sound worse than the LP? It is so tinny and shrill, and the bass all but disappears in many passages. I wonder if the original LP-length CD sounds better than this. I realize that this music was recorded unnervingly close to the film's premiere. Did that have something to do with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Still valuable music IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Still valuable music IMO. And? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I have no answer to your sound & timing of release questions. Sorry!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I have a Mobile Fidelity reissue and, while the music is of high quality, the sound, as I remember, has an echo-like quality. I've wondered about the reason for that myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John L Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I agree that the fidelity of this recording is not good. I have no idea why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I have a Mobile Fidelity reissue and, while the music is of high quality, the sound, as I remember, has an echo-like quality. I've wondered about the reason for that myself. The reverb is on both the mono and stereo versions of the LP. The reverb is not on the expanded CD, but it sounds shrill off balance anyway. Would love to know what happened with this album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted O'Reilly Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Is it possible that it's the same mix that was used for the actual theatre-mix soundtrack? I've often noticed that the sound for cinema is a bit 'tubby', and more reverberant, possibly to tune or compensate the sound for the large space of the theatre... It was all recorded on Hollywood sound stages, I believe. None of the music was ever recorded just for album use, that I'm aware of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Is it possible that it's the same mix that was used for the actual theatre-mix soundtrack? I've often noticed that the sound for cinema is a bit 'tubby', and more reverberant, possibly to tune or compensate the sound for the large space of the theatre... It was all recorded on Hollywood sound stages, I believe. None of the music was ever recorded just for album use, that I'm aware of. Good points. I will have to look into the recording details. I do know that there were in theory separate album and film sessions, but because of the late date, the label and studio agreed that everything was up for grabs. So the album may have had a mixture of film tracks and album tracks. However, wherever it was recorded, the reverb was added subsequently. It is not on the expanded CD, but the latter doesn't sound that good. It is harsh, shrill, and the balances are way off, at least on several of the selections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 The album sessions were done at Radio Recorders. I have not been able to find a location for the film sessions. But the film sessions comprised the bulk of the music heard in both the film and on the LP. So it may have been done on a soundstage with less than optimal recording quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtSalt Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 I've scoured the net for the film sessions, but can't find a location. The 1999 Columbia released CD does seem to have that glassy, clean and brittle recording "quality" that so seduced us all back in the 80s. Perhaps it was recorded on one of those first generation digital recorders? Only kidding. I would like to hear the music with the echo, just to experience the original release, but if it's anything like Miles' Lift to the Scaffold it will be much better without. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clunky Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Maybe it's my system but I played a bit of this last night. Although not a rich as other Columbias I didn't think it sounded bad at all. My DAC seems to make the best ( some how) of even the most troubled CDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtSalt Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 I have the same problem with my set-up with the Blue Note Rudy Van Gelder CD's: they sound great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 i have a white-label promo of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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