Best version of Floodland on CD
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SoundsLikeHeaven
- Road Kill
- Posts: 6
- Joined: 27 Feb 2016, 13:55
I'm sorry if I'm making a duplicate thread but I couldn't find any discussions about this.. So basically, I am trying to find the best version of Floodland to buy. The ideal situation would be if there is a CD, not remastered and without bonus tracks but as far as I could find, there isn't one? If I have to buy a CD with bonus tracks, which one out of those multiple releases and box sets, is the best to choose?
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robertzombie
- Overbomber
- Posts: 4382
- Joined: 05 Sep 2005, 12:49
- Location: London
All the Floodland CDs have bonus tracks of some sort. The original pressings came with Torch and Colours as bonuses.
Here's what you need to know:
Original EU/USA/JPN CDs all identical masterings. The CD sounds good, mastered by Zal Schreiber at Atlantic Studios. Not the last word in fidelity and a little 'crisp' on top, especially on all that rubbish digital reverb, but it's certainly the most authentic way to hear Floodland digitally IMO.
2006 Rhino remaster: Good sound on the whole, especially if you like smiley-faced EQ, but one major failing is that Rhino simply used the same old Sony digital master tape rather than going back to the analogue masters and making a fresh A-to-D transfer. Emma, one of the bonus tracks, suffers from over-compression.
2011 JPN SHM-CD: Rubbish.
2015 Rhino remaster high-resolution: Excellent. If you're set up for lossless downloads this is the one to get. Fresh transfers so the issues with old A-to-D conversion is gone, dynamics are preserved and the sound is a tad smoother than previous attempts which helps with the ageing production. Short of Mobile Fidelity releasing a digital version of their incredible vinyl remaster, the 2015 Rhino is the winner for sonics.
If I were you, I'd pick up an original 1987 CD for authenticity, and supplement that with the new high-resolution remaster
Here's what you need to know:
Original EU/USA/JPN CDs all identical masterings. The CD sounds good, mastered by Zal Schreiber at Atlantic Studios. Not the last word in fidelity and a little 'crisp' on top, especially on all that rubbish digital reverb, but it's certainly the most authentic way to hear Floodland digitally IMO.
2006 Rhino remaster: Good sound on the whole, especially if you like smiley-faced EQ, but one major failing is that Rhino simply used the same old Sony digital master tape rather than going back to the analogue masters and making a fresh A-to-D transfer. Emma, one of the bonus tracks, suffers from over-compression.
2011 JPN SHM-CD: Rubbish.
2015 Rhino remaster high-resolution: Excellent. If you're set up for lossless downloads this is the one to get. Fresh transfers so the issues with old A-to-D conversion is gone, dynamics are preserved and the sound is a tad smoother than previous attempts which helps with the ageing production. Short of Mobile Fidelity releasing a digital version of their incredible vinyl remaster, the 2015 Rhino is the winner for sonics.
If I were you, I'd pick up an original 1987 CD for authenticity, and supplement that with the new high-resolution remaster