[atlantaprog] Re: another aspect

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Veronica Hughes" <upkat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>


> What about the recording quality of commercial radio music as compared to
> that of the 70s?  While the variety of 70s FM radio was "a damn sight
> better" than today, you've got to admit that a huge amount of it had
> passages or sections that were unclear at best or barely audible at worst.
> Some of the greatest and most influential recordings of that era were
> incredibly shitty in quality, like Cream's Disraeli Gears, the Beatles
> White album, almost all of Jimi Hendrix, almost all of Bob Dylan, etc.
> Granted, these are 60s albums, but the that was the majority of early 70s
> radio that I remember.  Even Kiss's recordings really sucked by today's
> standards, they sound to me like demos.  The worst drums I have ever heard
> were in Jimi Hendrix and Cream recordings.  Ever listen to those through
> headphones and then compare it to something more modern? The difference is
> absolutely huge.  You can even hear this on rock radio when they play old
> and new songs back to back. Not everything in the 80s was vastly improved
> either, but it did get a lot clearer.

It's amazing how much sonic improvement occurred just between 65 and 70-- 
compare "Are You Experienced?" to "Electric Ladyland"-- huge difference.
But I sometimes prefer the old sound, even with its faults.  The lo-fi sound
forces me to listen to the song as a whole rather than picking apart the
individual parts so much.  Albums like Stevie Wonder's "Talking Book" and
Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?" and all the Steely Dan records have a
pleasant holistic warmth to them that seemed to go out the window in the
80's.  It would be interesting if we could hear "Sgt. Pepper's LHCB" or
"Close To The Edge" magically re-recorded today (it'd probably sound a lot
like "Keys To Ascension").  The sound would be vastly improved but I wonder
if the intangible appeal would be the same.  I know I can enjoy almost any
60's Motown product but modern R&B is just about unlistenable for me-- too
sterile.

Brian King

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