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Reviews Written By: A2HGU7YP17XUOK

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	The Move - Message From the Country
	"Best Sounding CD Version..."	2007-05-27
I bought the EMI remaster of this album the day it came out. The only thing it did was upset me. The remaster is drowning in digital tape hiss removal (not to mention heavy handed digital EQ). This noise reduction (NR) caused the sound to gurgle and chirp in much the same way as low bit rate MP3s. It also makes the softer moments become very muffled sounding and the whole album sounds sterile, as if the atmosphere has been removed. I went back and listened to this CD release and found it to be quite an accurate representation of my UK vinyl. The tonality is nice and open (with respect to the original mixes anyway) and it didn't suffer from the heavy handed Abbey Road mastering process. Unless you have a Harry T. Moss mastered UK vinyl pressing this CD on One Way Records is the only way to hear this brilliant album.
	Rabbitt - Croak & a Grunt In The Night
	"Great album..."	2006-09-23
This CD was mastered from a vinyl transfer. I understand the master tapes could have been lost somewhere along the line. It's a nice sounding needle drop, if a bit thin with a surprisingly bright top end, but most of the residual vinyl sound has been cleaned away leaving an adequate sounding CD. Maybe someday the tapes will resurface but until then this CD is pleasant enough.
	Klaatu - 3:47 EST [Remaster]
	"Amazing Album! Incompetent remastering. Dynamically crushed. California Jam is MONO!"	2004-12-20
Alright, this is an amazing album. Brilliant in fact. Some of the most creative recordings ever done... BUT... in order to hear this music at its best (and it deserves recognition as an audiophile recording) you shouldn't subject yourself to this recent Bullseye CD. I don't care if the band was involved with the remastering process. They got it wrong... very incredibly wrong. The actual mixes are big, dynamic, open and full of warmth and life. This remaster has horribly compromised dynamics and heavy handed EQ work that ruins the sonic spectrum. The emotionally climactic crescendos of Little Neutrino have been crushed by a compressor and ruined. It no longer has any dynamic power. The crescendos are supposed to be louder but on the remaster they're reduced in volume to the point of a non-event. Neutrino is supposed to range from a whisper to a roar but on the remaster the whole song screams at you. The drama and excitement are gone. It's not involving anymore. It's called dynamics and was the way it was originally performed and recorded. The band understood this concept in 1976. I guess they need another lesson. The band should listen to the original vinyl to hear how good the mixes were before they mutilated them in mastering. This remaster, besides being highly compressed and harsh, has a narrowed soundstage. All the signs of poor remastering are conveniently contained on this one CD. California Jam has been narrowed all the way to MONO(!). I'd suggest you find an Attic or Justin CD to hear how phenomenal this album can sound. My point is, there are several other CD versions out there that sound really nice, you know, the way the band intended it to sound before the CD Loudness Wars took over good judgement. A lot of these positive reviews are highly misleading. I'm guessing they were written by people employed by the record label. This is their way to combat the negative response the remasters have gotten from the fans. I wish the band and Bullseye understood the damage they did to this beautiful album. The fans who know better want a properly mastered CD.
	Henry Mancini, Monica Mancini - Ultimate Mancini [SACD/Bonus Tracks]
	"Not the original recordings but still an excellent disc."	2004-09-02
(skip to paragraph three to skip incomprehensible ramblings) I bought this disc on line not knowing they were re-recorded versions. Re-records thrill me about as much as reading Andrew McCarthy's autobiography. I'm not blaming any one person for creating Andrew's star stature as we're all responsible. If we didn't lay down our money at the box office we are at least guilty of standing by doing nothing while he was showered with wealth and adoration simply for standing in front of a camera and mouthing the words of other truly underwhelming scripts like Weekend at Bernie's and it's unfortunate sequel, the ingeniously title Weekend at Bernie's 2. Sorry, but if I don't finish my thoughts my I tend to ramble on about random yet meaningless dribble. Anyway, I listened to the Mancini disc (skipping the tracks sung by the well meaning but somewhat under pitched daughter bringing back memories of Natalie Cole's nasal renderings of once great songs) and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The recording is top notch as are the performances. Al Schmitt did the recordings. He's still one of the best, IMHO. Track one (Pink Panther Theme) is so big sounding. I haven't heard the 5.1 mixes (also done by Schmitt) as my surround speakers are pulling duty at the studio. This disc sounds wonderful on any system I play it on, my car, the studio, at home, in the bathroom intercom, etc... Highly suggested SACD. (Sorry for the ramblings. I'm trying to fight off my insomnia with some nice sleep deprivation. Starve a cold:
	Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson [Bonus Tracks]
	"Finally, a definitive version!"	2004-09-01
This beautiful album has not recieved the love and affection it deserves throughout the years. There have been numerous CD releases and all (except for the $30 Mobile Fidelity gold CD) have woefully inadequate fidelity due to incompetent mastering jobs and/or poor source material. The Camden import CD series were taken from cassette quality tape dubs and mastered for that "You aren't there" sound. The recent Japan remasters sound fine but have that very annoying digital hiss removal which destroyed the transients and made things sound like MP3's. Grrrrr! This CD version was mastered from the original tapes by Vic Anesini. Vic's name is usually the mark of quality. You can buy with confindence when you see his name. He's made this album sound right... finally. It's not as top ended as the MFSL gold CD but that disc was sourced from Richard Perry's personal tapes and not the original masters. Vic has made some wise EQ choices and things sound smooth, natural and pleasing. The bonus tracks are nice although all have been released before on various discs. Again, buy with confidence. This is a wonderful album needing a place in everyone's music library.
	Marty Stuart - The Pilgrim
	"Brilliant!!!"	2004-07-23
I'm a little biased when it comes to this album having spent six months of my life with Marty and his band recording and mixing it back in 1998 (when I was a scared 26 year old kid). This is simply a brilliant album and it will be a highlight of my career. Marty spent several years creating the story and writing the music for the Pilgrim unlike most country records that are factory safe and produced by teams of executives that are as far removed from their audience as a Three Stooges short is from Schindler's List. In a world where Keanu Reeves is rewarded for his ability to say the word "whoa" I guess there's just no room on country radio for things other than fluff written by work-a-day songwriters churning out two or three songs a day while their fresh out of college publishers schedule their writing appointments all in an attempt to meet song quotas and make music that anyone under the age of four months could enjoy. Sounds like a perfect way to make art. HA! Sorry about that. I feel better now. Marty played all his famous guitars (the acoustic guitar was owned by Hank Williams, Sr. and Johnny Cash and is worth well over a million dollars). Such amazing tones and guitar playing are all over this CD. It's the kind of thing you can listen to under headphones and really dig into to uncover guitar parts. There was a line of Marty's celebrity friends wanting to be a part of this album such as Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, George Jones, Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs, Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty's band) and Pam Tillis to name just a few. Tracks of interest include Reasons, Hobo's Prayer, The Pilgrim (Act III), Crow and Harlan County. On a small technical note, Harlan County and Intermission were recorded live through a single microphone (a Telefunken U-47 through a Neve 1073 mic pre) and were nominated for several Grammy awards. This is simply a brilliant album and everyone involved with its creation is proud to have been there. Buy this now before it goes out of print, never to be released again.
	Ritchie Valens - Ritchie Valens - Greatest Hits
	"Amazing Sounding CD!!"	2003-06-25
This is THE set to buy if you want Ritchie Valens. The disc was mastered directly from the original master tapes and the sound of the disc is the sound of the tapes. No compression, no crappy noise reduction, no inflated EQ. It certainly has the breath of life and is one of the most impressive sounding Valens collections ever. It was do with the help of Ritchie's original producer. The word 'Definitive' should be used in describing this set.
	Harry Nilsson - Son of Schmilsson
	"Great Record- Nasty Sound"	2003-01-18
This brilliant album has not recieved the love it deserves (that goes for Harry's entire catalog). These Camden remasters sound like they were sourced from 27th generation tapes. Go for the newly remastered Japanese releases. They sound great!
	Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson
	"Start your Nilsson journey here."	2002-12-15
As a recent discoverer of Harry Nilsson I am hurridly finding and buying every CD I see. I wish I could buy this album again and experience it for the first time once more. From the opening piano of 'Gotta Get Up' to the beautiful last chords of 'I'll Never Leave You' there isn't much not to like about this classic record. I'm proud to introduce this album on anyone who will listen. It's a definate must have for a true music lover's CD collection. By the way, the Camden import sounds awful. It says it's remastered. If that's true the mastering engineer must have, for medical purposes I'm sure, downed a gallon of whiskey before he started. Notice his name isn't included in the liner notes. Hmmm! The bonus tracks sound good but the bulk of the album was sourced from bad, high generation tapes. I have a copy of the Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs CD and it's wonderful.