TJB vinyl vs. CD

[manifan]

It seems to be generally agreed upon that the TJB recordings have not been transferred well to CD. But of the ones released on CD, are there any that are considered to sound better than the rest? Opinions please.

Elena

 

[daveK]

I think the CD's of the first two albums (Bull, Vol. 2) are the best sounding. They seem to have more "depth" to them, and more definition to the bass and treble. "Border" sounds okay too but not as bright as the first two. After that, I think they all sound a little murky.

 

[Rudy]

I haven't been able to tell which generation of master tapes was used to make the CDs. Having said that, I've compared some of these albums. South Of The Border sounds cleaner on CD than it does on vinyl, and I have an LP from one of the original pressing runs. The first two albums weren't recorded as well, and picking between LP or CD is a wash, IMHO. As for the remaining CDs, they sound about as good as the vinyl, if a little tired. Worst one IMHO is S.R.O., as it sounds weak and unfocused. Whipped Cream had a lot of track bouncing during its production, so the noise level is higher. Brass Are Comin' sounds very good, compares favorably to the vinyl. Beat Of The Brass has some ugly dropouts on "Monday Monday", which match the LP version. Greatest Hits on CD and on the "Audiophile" vinyl (SPJ-4245) sound almost identical...the LP wins for me since it is a little smoother and more analog sounding. I have no idea how the standard-issue Hits sounds on vinyl. I also don't have a Foursider to compare, but if it's anything like the Mendes/Brasil '66 Foursider, it may sound horrid. (The Mendes version is a couple generations away from the album masters...you can hear loads of tape hiss and a rolled-off high- and low-end on the CD. It's so bad I can't even listen to it.)

The sound is close enough that you're not really gaining much going with the CDs. Of all the albums, I've heard Larry Levine's favorite is South Of The Border. It is the only one IMHO that really brings out the sound of the Gol Star recording studio, especially their famed echo chamber (which was the highlight of Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound production style). I still prefer the vinyl over some of these CDs.

Yes, I'd love to have these remastered, but properly. Thing is, the best versions they could get would be to recreate the stereo mixes from the existing three-track masters. Historically, I'd heard Herb mixed the stereo versions, where Larry Levine did the mono. [/b]

 

[alpertfan]

"Tijuana Taxi" on the CD version of GREATEST HITS has a major "drop-out" in the marimba solo. It sounds buried.