Has anyone else gotten their copy yet? If so, does theirs "drop out" in the left channel during the last two tracks? (All the volume goes over to the right side of the mix on my copy for tracks 8 and 9.) I don't know if the album is worth the bother of sending back, though....
Very interesting. But I wonder how you can "remaster" something that was digital in the first place??
If this was indeed a digital recording in 1980 or prior, then it was 16- or even 12-bit. Bumping it up to 24/96kz and then squeezing back down to vinyl would do nothing substantial to improve the sound. Properly remastering a 16-bit recording for CD >may< reveal some detail missing in the past.
But more to your point, I think- remastering is more than just converting an analog tape to digital. Even a track that was tracked and mixed digitally, will still be further mastered with the other songs/cues in an album.
Has anyone else gotten their copy yet? If so, does theirs "drop out" in the left channel during the last two tracks? (All the volume goes over to the right side of the mix on my copy for tracks 8 and 9.) I don't know if the album is worth the bother of sending back, though....
Anyone?
My copy should arrive tomorrow, so I'll let you know.
Side B overall sounds a bit worse than side A, IMO. I only listened once through in the car, but to me it sounded kind of "crunchy," and in the droid dialogue segments, one of the droids (one of the channels?) was almost inaudible.
I'm p. much getting all I want out of it, and I don't anticipate Amazon will be as kind in repressing errors as our favorite labels would, but let the board know if you hear anything about replacement discs.
Yeah, I just gave it a spin and it's a fun, super kitschy Christmas album (probably tolerable only to hardcore Star Wars and Christmas fans, with some exceptions*), but the last two tracks are definitely weighted toward the right channel. It's most noticeable on track 8. It's a slight disappointment but I don't think I'll send it back. I will, however, write Amazon about it so they're aware of the issue.
Thanks, Josh (and everybody). Glad to know I'm not imagining it, or losing my hearing in my left ear.... but disappointed that Amazon couldn't get the pressing right. Oh well. In the grand scheme of things, I guess it's not that important.
Anyway, Happy Holidays to you all and your families....
Well, I gave it a listen, and the mastering is a little strange. Drop outs here, low voices here. The stereophonics really seem to suffer with this. The winner is still the one that looks like a bootleg. For whatever reason, it has the best sound quality over the Rhino and now the Amazon. I'm happy to own the Amazon as a cute collectible, but I will still use the weird cover one as my go-to listen.
I heard the drop out too -- so much for the clarity of a "digital recording". Overall I'd say the sound is worse than the Rhino CD.
For the record, this seems to be a French limited edition that's exclusive to Amazon, not a CD Amazon pressed themselves (guess it's just an "exclusive" in that they're the only ones selling it here). At least Universal France is credited on the back cover. Either way I sent it back and will hunt for that weird 1995 release instead!
Again, wanted to thank you guys for introducing me to the 1994 Polygram CD. I nabbed a copy this week -- it is EASILY, unquestionably the best CD available of this album. In fact it sounds like it stems from a pure, digital element. There's no "surface noise" and hiss as there is on the Rhino and Universal France/Amazon Limited CDs...which both sound like they came from LPs or some secondary source.
The Polygram album has stunning clarity in comparison with the other releases. The art direction might be terrible but it's undoubtedly the CD to have. Merry Christmas to all
Timely bump, Andy, as I'm spinning Amazon exclusive CD again right now (I've come to love it, sonic warts and all) inspired by the fact that I just ordered tickets for the family to see the new movie. So jazzed by all the relentless, inescapable Star Wars marketing hype, especially the toy commercials which make me feel like a little kid again.
Again, wanted to thank you guys for introducing me to the 1994 Polygram CD. I nabbed a copy this week -- it is EASILY, unquestionably the best CD available of this album. In fact it sounds like it stems from a pure, digital element. There's no "surface noise" and hiss as there is on the Rhino and Universal France/Amazon Limited CDs...which both sound like they came from LPs or some secondary source.
The Polygram album has stunning clarity in comparison with the other releases. The art direction might be terrible but it's undoubtedly the CD to have. Merry Christmas to all
You're welcome! It's so strange the way it's packaged, but it is so crystal clear.
You're welcome! It's so strange the way it's packaged, but it is so crystal clear.
I wonder if it's because the 1994 CD was released by Polygram themselves and they had the original master right at their disposal (they did not want to pay the licensing fee to Lucasfilm for the Star Wars characters/artwork though, which is why the artwork is bland and nondescript)
The 1996 Rhino CD, however, was licensed through Lucasfilm -- they must have gotten the rights after a certain amount of time I assume -- and perhaps in that shift, the original master was misplaced/lost or Lucasfilm just didn't care about what source they used. Notice the copyright assignment switched from Polygram to Lucasfilm themselves upon the release of that CD.
Either way, they certainly didn't use the source for the 1994 CD, which is the only release that sounds like a digital recording.
