"Station to Station" German RCA

[Jeff]

I initially thought these were glitches when I ripped the Sire disc to iTunes, but they're here on the RT disc as well. So could it be possible that the source for both discs is the same, but just a shittier job was done with the Sire version?

It's probably more likely that those are just on the original masters. I can't imagine that the Sire disc could have been made from the same tapes as the RT.

David, the top-end "swishiness" that Craig is talking about is hard to describe, but it's definitely there. I've noticed it for 20 years and it's always made me crazy. It almost sounds similar to a Dolby B-encoded cassette being played back without the Dolby circuitry engaged.

[Xenu]

What is this "swishiness" you describe?

The high end on the Sire disc has a weird sound to it, almost as if the tape heads were out of alignment when they played it back.

"Stop Me...," "I Won't Share You," and "Paint a Vulgar Picture" are good examples. Compare those tracks on the Sire to the RT and you'll hear the difference. Though I don't have it anymore, I think they were even worse on the vinyl.

As for the speed, nothing seems to stand out.

Given as I don't have the Sire disc lying around, can you do a rip of a particularly egregious track? Or are the problems also on The Singles and other discs?

I find it intriguing that the differences on this album--which, conceptually, comes far later in the digital era and could conceivably have been more easily distributed digitally--seem that much more pronounced than, say, the variations on "Queen."

[Beatlesfan03]

I think "Singles" only has "Girlfriend In A Coma" and "Last Night I Dreamt..." from Strangeways. They have it, but it isn't as pronounced as some of the other tracks I listed.

As I said a few posts above, I seem to recall "Singles" sounding the same but just with a little more volume. The tracks on "The Very Best of The Smiths" are clean just like the RT disc. As for the other 10,326 Smiths compilations that may contain these songs, I am afraid I can't help you there.

I can't put anything up until the weekend, however, I've got the said tracks (except "Stop Me") ripped from my Sire CD in iTunes. However, they are at 128kpbs.

[J_Partyka]

Given as I don't have the Sire disc lying around, can you do a rip of a particularly egregious track?

Check yer PMs ...

[Xenu]

Thanks, Jeff. I think I hear what you've been referring to. Pity I can't find those original clips where there was a distinct speed difference.

I'm still puzzled as to how this ("this" being such a distinct difference between the sound re. countries of origin) could have occurred with a new album so comparatively late in the game.

Has anybody ever figured out, BTW, what exactly the lineage of the WB discs is?

[Beatlesfan03]

I'd also be curious if the UK WEA discs that can be found rather easily here (and usually at cut out prices) are clones of the Sire discs or a completely different mastering.

I had a couple of those limited edition 10 inch vinyls for the first album and "Rank" and neither were really anything to write home about. Nice conversation piece though.