Results 1 to 20 of 20
  1. #1
    Suspended Smokey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Ozarks
    Posts
    3,959

    Worst sounding album in your collection

    Worst soundng not in term of music, but rather how it sound and was recorded.

    I would have to say worst sounding album in my collection (although like the album) is Big Generator by Yes. First I had it on LP and it sounded so brittle, cold and metalic. And sound was lacking warmth and dynamics.

    Couple of years later I bought the CD version, and sound quality was the same if not worst. I don't know if record engineer wanted the album to sound like that or not, but my audio system did not like it.

    Last edited by Smokey; 01-15-2011 at 07:54 PM.

  2. #2
    Rocket Surgeon Swish's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Pennsylvania
    Posts
    3,918
    Raw Power, bar none. Still love it, but the sound is atrocious.
    I call my bathroom Jim instead of John so I can tell people that I go to the Jim first thing every morning.

    If you say the word 'gullible' very slowly it sounds just like oranges.

  3. #3
    Musicaholic Forums Moderator ForeverAutumn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    9,769
    Blue Rodeo, Five Days in July. It makes me grit my teeth everytime I try to listen. It's a shame too, because it's quite a good album musically.

  4. #4
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    4,380
    Triumph - Stages

    Like FA said, great music, horrid recording.

  5. #5
    Rae
    Rae is offline
    a golden ball of light Rae's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    894
    Quote Originally Posted by Swish
    Raw Power, bar none. Still love it, but the sound is atrocious.
    I clicked on this thread with the intention of posting the same thing, but you beat me to it!

    ~Rae

  6. #6
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    27
    had raw power on CD and loved it.....when played on my Monsoon system and ripping through the 6-speed trans in my 2000 Trans Am! Bought the vinyl re-issue. Terrible.

    Metallica, Ride the lightning, sounds terrible on vinyl.

    Rage Against the Machine too was a dissapointment on vinyl.

  7. #7
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Posts
    1,158
    ENCORE -- Argent (Live in Concert).
    Recording, production, mastering, instrumentation, musicians............total trash.
    Even some of the writing sucks.
    old Denon
    older Bose
    new Velodyne sub
    new Sony 1080 LCD & BluRay
    Big, clean sound @ 800 watts

  8. #8
    42 Regular
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    West of the fields, long gone
    Posts
    1,338
    Live albums prolly shouldn't count. Also, Raw Power is supposed to sound like trash, I think.

    I nominate Springsteen's Nebraska album, which lived in Bruce's coat pocket (without a case) as a rough 4-track demo cassette for months before it was mastered as the "final mix". Technically awful, but it somehow still sounds like it's supposed to.
    Mr. MidFi
    Master of the Obvious

  9. #9
    Stone Stone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    1,587
    You mean one where they actually tried to produce it? Yeah, Raw Power sucks, even the remastered-by-Iggy version. But there are myriad hardcore punk albums that are horrible sounding, but many of them just didn't care.
    And the world will turn to flowing pink vapor stew.

  10. #10
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Department of Heuristics and Research on Material Applications
    Posts
    9,025
    Hard to top ...And Justice For All .

  11. #11
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    4,380
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr MidFi
    Live albums prolly shouldn't count.
    I have several live albums that sound.....LIVE in the room. But, whatever How about Marvin Gaye Best Of.?

  12. #12
    Suspended Smokey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Ozarks
    Posts
    3,959

    Thanks everybody

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr MidFi
    I nominate Springsteen's Nebraska album, which lived in Bruce's coat pocket (without a case) as a rough 4-track demo cassette for months before it was mastered as the "final mix". Technically awful, but it somehow still sounds like it's supposed to.
    Coming off heel of The River album. this album must've been most participated and yet the most disappointed album. And sound quality probably was the main reason.

    Quote Originally Posted by Hyfi
    I have several live albums that sound.....LIVE in the room.
    I always think of live albums as something of an afterthought. I mean would you buy live album if studio version did not sound good (except may be Peter Framptons).

  13. #13
    Rae
    Rae is offline
    a golden ball of light Rae's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    894
    You guys are absolutely crazy WRT Nebraska. Probably one of the most successful examples of an intentional aesthetic ever.

    ~Rae

  14. #14
    3LB
    3LB is offline
    cunning linguist 3LB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    hiding out in treetops, shouting out rude names
    Posts
    1,737
    Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
    Hard to top ...And Justice For All .
    +1 / Given how great this album is, its a crime. All Metallica albums suck though. They were mastered for guys who drive around in Monte Carlos and Regals with 6x9 triaxials sitting boxless on the rear deck lid. I don't even know why Metallica even employs a bass player. The one album that ever sounded decent, the Black album, is scorned by Hetfield who vows never to make one that sounds that way again. I really hope someone gets their hands on the master tapes for AJFA and remixes that thing one day. I had two 10" subs in an Escort GT with plenty o'power and when I played AJFA they barely moved.

    Quote Originally Posted by smokes
    I would have to say worst sounding album in my collection (although like the album) is Big Generator by Yes. First I had it on LP and it sounded so brittle, cold and metalic. And sound was lacking warmth and dynamics
    .
    somewhat agree with the Yes: Big Generator choice, though if I were picking a Yes album that sounded like crap, it'd be Relayer, which I half-jokingly refer to as Relayered. But BG is a letdown given that 90125 and Drama sounded great. Brittle is a good description. Seems Rabin was successful in chasing away Trevor Horn during the recording process and Rabin was given the wheel.

    My own pick would be Thin Lizzy Jailbreak. It sounds like it was recorded in a broom closet. Not that any Thin Lizzy album sounded all that great, but the albums that preceded and followed Jailbreak sound way better. I've owned it on tape, LP and CD and its the same.

    I would also like to add just about any ELP album. They're nuts if they thought they didn't need a bass player. Finger nails on a chalkboard. On my top-10 all-time most overrated bands list for sure. At least The Doors made decent sounding albums, even if they are on the same list.

    The second Asia album (Alpha) was not only not that great of an album, it was the worst mixing job ever. At least the Big Generator album was brittle. This album (on tape the first time) required me to boost both ends of the spectrum and it still sounded like I was listening on a 30yr old philco radio (I had a Nakamichi TD500 and Boston Acoustic mids and tweets). It was by far the crappiest tape of a new band I had. When I managed to here it on CD years later, I was floored at how it still sounded like an 8-track.

    and then there's the early Iron Maiden albums... I'm sensing a theme here. Lots of hard rock and heavy metal albums that sound like the lead guitarist and/or keyboardists had way too much influence on the mixing.

    I guess ELP and Asia no longer count for me as I believe I no longer own any of their stuff.
    Repost this on your wall if you love Jesus.

  15. #15
    42 Regular
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    West of the fields, long gone
    Posts
    1,338
    Quote Originally Posted by Rae
    You guys are absolutely crazy WRT Nebraska. Probably one of the most successful examples of an intentional aesthetic ever.

    ~Rae
    Not sure if you're including me in the "you guys". For the record, what I said was this: "Technically awful, but it somehow still sounds like it's supposed to."
    Mr. MidFi
    Master of the Obvious

  16. #16
    Suspended Smokey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Ozarks
    Posts
    3,959
    Quote Originally Posted by 3LB
    And then there's the early Iron Maiden albums... I'm sensing a theme here. Lots of hard rock and heavy metal albums that sound like the lead guitarist and/or keyboardists had way too much influence on the mixing.
    Of all the albums I've bought over years, generally I find the album have better content and sound if album was produced by an outsider rather than the band itself.

  17. #17
    Scum Low Life (O0o*o0O)'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    High! In Mile High
    Posts
    60
    Quote Originally Posted by BIGPERM
    had raw power on CD and loved it.....when played on my Monsoon system and ripping through the 6-speed trans in my 2000 Trans Am! Bought the vinyl re-issue. Terrible.

    Metallica, Ride the lightning, sounds terrible on vinyl.

    Rage Against the Machine too was a dissapointment on vinyl.
    What up BIGPERM!?
    First on my mind was the first Rage album. It sounded like they were going with a glass up against a door sound recording. Maybe a couple of Crass albums, GG Allin, and Crash Worship. I jam them anyway.

  18. #18
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    down there
    Posts
    6,852
    Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
    Hard to top ...And Justice For All .
    Damn.

    Not having been around in a hot minute I thought I could insite some chaos by listing this atrocity but ya done beat me to it Kex...horrible, horrible...drums that sound like tupperware...if I wanted that I'd listen to Vapor Trails...
    So, I broke into the palace
    With a sponge and a rusty spanner
    She said : "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
    I said : "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

  19. #19
    Dubgazer -Jar-'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Posts
    942
    I don't own it anymore but one of the worst sounding records I used to have was the Fall's DRAGNET. Man, painful. Sounded like it was recorded on one of those library cassette recorders. Not in a warm, comfortable low-fi way like Sebadoh or whatnot, just, painful.
    If being afraid is a crime we'll hang side-by-side,
    at the swingin' party down the line..


    The Replacements

  20. #20
    Dubgazer -Jar-'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Posts
    942
    Quote Originally Posted by 3LB
    +and then there's the early Iron Maiden albums... I'm sensing a theme here. Lots of hard rock and heavy metal albums that sound like the lead guitarist and/or keyboardists had way too much influence on the mixing.
    How early? I still think PIECE OF MIND and POWERSLAVE are two of the greatest metal recordings of all time, both in terms of performance and engineering. I'll take Martin Birch any day of the week over Mutt Lang and his 1000 foot-wide snare drum and chorused vocals.. (though he fit perfectly with Def Leppard's style)
    If being afraid is a crime we'll hang side-by-side,
    at the swingin' party down the line..


    The Replacements

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •