Definitive Audiophile pressings

Mather said:
These are my thoughts with Radiohead. Like if you were to wipe my brain and then ask me what band would care the most about their releases and the sound quality represented on them, I would pick Radiohead top three every time. For them to care so little about the quality of the music being sold to the public just blows my mind. I just don't get it. It seems to completely go against who they are as artists.
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Radiohead having so many shitty pressings boggles my mind too. But maybe @Joe Mac is right.

But it’s also another issue in that most bands, if they want, can do pressings themselves. Why only take a small licensing fee if you can take a much bigger cut doing it yourself? Radiohead can sell $150 pressings like hot cakes and don’t even need to bother doing a one step or anything. They press it at a shitty plant, have QC issues, gaslight their customers and keep all the money…
 
MikeH said:
I also wonder what’s the benefit of doing a one step for something recorded digitally? I get maybe pressing it on a quieter formula but doesn’t it kinda defeat the purpose of a one step if you’re just pressing it from a bunch of 1s and 0s?
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I think this conversation started with another jazz one step but it’s evolved beyond that into a bitch about audiophile curation in general. I do, however, utterly reject this premise. We all have digitally recorded records that sound fantastic. The devil is in the mastering. It may not be possible to make it sound as organic as a classic era AAA but I think it’s utterly wrong to say there couldn’t be a significant improvement using the audiophile techniques and personnel.

Also you’d be surprised just how much 90s stuff was actually recorded on tape. Even stuff that was later brickwalled to fuck in the mix. Before the late 90s digital recording gear was not cheap and was only in the most expensive cutting edge studios. That’s often not where the most interesting music is made.
 
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MikeH said:
Radiohead having so many shitty pressings boggles my mind too. But maybe @Joe Mac is right.

But it’s also another issue in that most bands, if they want, can do pressings themselves. Why only take a small licensing fee if you can take a much bigger cut doing it yourself? Radiohead can sell $150 pressings like hot cakes and don’t even need to bother doing a one step or anything. They press it at a shitty plant, have QC issues, gaslight their customers and keep all the money…
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I think it’s particularly the case with represses or rereleases. As artists they don’t strike me as the type of people that are all that interested in looking backwards or engaging in nostalgia. Some artists, most often the best artists, are much more interested in creating and the creative process than a release or a product and that live would be far more interesting to them in terms of people hearing their art.
 
Mather said:
I agree but I don't get it. The second part of the equation is the people hearing all your hard work.
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Also Radiohead needs to press a bazillion and a half copies of their records due to demand, so they probably just find one plant in the EU who can manage the quantity and one in the US so they don't have to import. Then we're left with fairly good pressings in Europe because of Optimal and absolute dogshit in the US because of Rainbo (R.I.P.) and United.
 
For some audiophile wish lists of later stuff that hasn't been mentioned.

I want a decent copy of Tori Amos's first couple, cause every one I try sounds like crap.
Blues Traveler's Four (hell I'd take any copy at this point)
Rusted Root's first couple.
David Gray's White Ladder
DMB Before These Crowded Streets

Pipedreams:
I'd take the entire KBCO Studio C recordings.
Zwan
The Lillywhite Sessions
 
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Hemotep said:
For some audiophile wish lists of later stuff that hasn't been mentioned.

I want a decent copy of Tori Amos's first couple, cause every one I try sounds like crap.
Blues Traveler's Four (hell I'd take any copy at this point)
Rusted Root's first couple.
David Grey's White Ladder
DMB Before These Crowded Streets

Pipedreams:
I'd take the entire KBCO Studio C recordings.
Zwan
The Lillywhite Sessions
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+1 on BTCS

Have you heard the VMP version of White Ladder? Cut at 45rpm, I think it sounds fantastic.
 
tvham said:
+1 on BTCS

Have you heard the VMP version of White Ladder? Cut at 45rpm, I think it sounds fantastic.
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I have not! I actually forgot that they had done one. I ordered the anniversary edition and my copy sounded terrible so I returned it, replacement was the same, so I didn't keep it. I'll have to look for a copy of the VMP one. I saw him on the tour before White Ladder came out and it was a transcendent show. One of my top five.

Edit: oof, vmp edition is only up for over $200 on discogs. So I'll renew my desire for it to get a merely $100 audiophile press, lol.
 
Joe Mac said:
I think this conversation started with another jazz one step but it’s evolved beyond that into a general bitch about audiophile curation in general. I do, however, utterly reject this premise. We all have digitally recorded records that sound fantastic. The devil is in the mastering. It may not be possible to make it sound as organic as a classic era AAA but I think it’s utterly wrong to say there couldn’t be a significant improvement using the audiophile techniques and personnel.

Also you’d be surprised just how much 90s stuff was actually recorded on tape. Even stuff that was later brickwalled to fuck in the mix. Before the late 90s digital recording gear was not cheap and was only in the most expensive cutting edge studios. That’s often not where the most interesting music is made.
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Oh yea I agree. I was wondering specifically with one steps. A digitally recorded album seems a little pointless to do as a one step. We are in total agreement on needing more varied audiophile releases. That’s why I like intervention—they are least are trying to aim for that era of albums that are neglected a bit. But they are just a small one man operation and I hope someone else takes it on. There’s gold in them hills
 
MikeH said:
Oh yea I agree. I was wondering specifically with one steps. A digitally recorded album seems a little pointless to do as a one step. We are in total agreement on needing more varied audiophile releases. That’s why I like intervention—they are least are trying to aim for that era of albums that are neglected a bit. But they are just a small one man operation and I hope someone else takes it on. There’s gold in them hills
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I think with one steps it’s that law of diminishing returns in general but I don’t agree because once you have the master right the difference between pressing techniques is about getting an ever better version of that metalwork onto wax. The same jump should be there.
 
Could the choice of artist have to do with royalty payments?

Like maybe modern/current/still living artists have more complicated contracts, more hands in the pie, and so on?
 
Joe Mac said:
Also, just as an aside, when you see that the Eagles have had an entire suite of one step reissues and no audiophile label has even so much as looked at even Blue out of Joni Mitchell’s catalogue. The mind boggles.
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It’s just a rights thing though it seems. Has Warner/Rhino entered the super high end audiophile market? They are another case of why license it to MoFi when they can press it themselves. The BoomBoom cut of Blue sounds awesome to me and I’d much rather have that for $20 than drop $125 on it. Same with the Van Morrison boom booms.
 
It goes without saying that Craft and other audiophile series are selecting records that they just know will sell incredibly well.

Jazz is interesting because it had a revival and now has an expanded market as a result. In the late 80's and 90's jazz was on its last legs in terms of popularity but in recent years a wave of new jazz musicians has begun to bridge the gap into more popular music (The Comet Is Coming, Makaya McCraven, Steam Down, Kokoroko, etc). As a result, the younger generation is looking into the music that these people were influenced by and the most obvious step into it is by searching for the big hitters, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Ornette Coleman, etc.

Hell, I'm still in my 20's and if I was to ask my teenage self what jazz is I wouldn't know where to start. I wasn't even born when Miles Davis passed away in 1991 but now I'm talking to people that saw him perform live and remember the day when he released some of his iconic albums. Craft are well aware of this situation and is going to cash in on it.

For what it's worth, even as a big jazz fan I'm wishing for different genres too. I would love some really decent one-step type treatments of more modern releases, Elliot Smith would be great. @Joe Mac's idea of Massive Attack would be amazing. Mogwai's stuff seems to be ok but a really great pressing could sound mind blowing.
 
MikeH said:
It’s just a rights thing though it seems. Has Warner/Rhino entered the super high end audiophile market? They are another case of why license it to MoFi when they can press it themselves. The BoomBoom cut of Blue sounds awesome to me and I’d much rather have that for $20 than drop $125 on it. Same with the Van Morrison boom booms.
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Well they’re pressing CSN and JT Greatest Hits to name but two from WB. A nice audiophile is not completion for a Rhino either. It’s the standard release alongside the special treatment for the big fans. The point is also utter narcissistic turd music v the true original genius of the era. How so much of her catalogue is out of print and not deemed worthy of even consideration for reissue by rhino never mind audiophile. They should be the Crown Jewels for MoFi or AP, up there with the Dylan’s.
 
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