Elvis 2nd to None

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 6:04 pm

Picked this up today -- after a brief sampling, I really like it. No heavy dynamic squishing and a nice, natural sound.

Of interest: David Bendeth is not on this project at all. Remixes were done by Ray Bardani and mastering by Vic Anesini.

Also of interest: BMG seemed to have a tough time making this. The first copy I got had a pressing flaw, and lots of people over on SH.tv were having problems (leading many to conclude it was copy-protected, which it isn't).

More later, including a head-to-head with 24K Hits.

Ryan

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 7:31 pm

Compared "Little Sister" on this and 24K Hits (which is easy, 'cause it's track 16 on both). I actually like the new disc better. The Hoffman is very good, and a bit more warm and gooshy, but the clarity, especially the vocal, on 2nd to None bests the DCC. No contest. A layer of muck has been stripped away. I guess that's the benefit of a remix. (Though I didn't detect any serious differences in the mix -- they replicated it very meticulously.)

The new disc is a bit louder than the DCC. I looked at track one on the PC, since I wanted to see if it was in fact copy-protected, and it's squished very little if at all, as I suspected. Joe Bob says check it out.

Ryan

mikenycLI · Postby **mikenycLI** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:27 am

There are a few different store versions available, with different "bonus tracks".

Target has one of the versions.

If anyone has the details, PLEASE share !

thomh · Postby **thomh** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 4:46 am

Rspaight wrote:Compared "Little Sister" on this and 24K Hits (which is easy, 'cause it's track 16 on both). I actually like the new disc better. The Hoffman is very good, and a bit more warm and gooshy, but the clarity, especially the vocal, on 2nd to None bests the DCC. No contest. A layer of muck has been stripped away. I guess that's the benefit of a remix. (Though I didn't detect any serious differences in the mix -- they replicated it very meticulously.)

The new disc is a bit louder than the DCC. I looked at track one on the PC, since I wanted to see if it was in fact copy-protected, and it's squished very little if at all, as I suspected. Joe Bob says check it out.

Ryan

Over on the SH forum, Bob Lovely had nothing but bad things to say about the 60s and 70s remixes stating that they were overly compressed and limited and was not true to the originals.

Since Little Sister is on both 24k Hits and this new release could you, when you have time, load this track on to your PC and post come comparison graphs?

I personally think that this CD rocks! The new 70s mixes are very good.
The "sound" of the recording studio is evident on every track and that shows you are pretty damn close to the source.

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 8:26 am

I did that comparison last night after reading Bob's post, and will post the graphs here when I'm back home tonight. But in short, the BMG is louder than the DCC but with no significant (IMHO) difference in dynamics. Perhaps a few of the more extreme peaks are compressed, but the two waveforms look quite similar apart from volume. The DCC just has a lot more headroom.

Ryan

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 8:28 am

mikenycLI wrote:There are a few different store versions available, with different "bonus tracks".

Target has one of the versions.

If anyone has the details, PLEASE share !

Best Buy has:

"Too Much Monkey Business" (Alternate)
"That's All Right" (Live 1970)

Target has:

"Viva Las Vegas" (Alternate)
"Bridge Over Troubled Water) (Alternate)

That's all I know...

Ryan

mikenycLI · Postby **mikenycLI** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 8:40 am

Thanks, Ryan !

thomh · Postby **thomh** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 8:41 am

Rspaight wrote:I did that comparison last night after reading Bob's post, and will post the graphs here when I'm back home tonight. But in short, the BMG is louder than the DCC but with no significant (IMHO) difference in dynamics. Perhaps a few of the more extreme peaks are compressed, but the two waveforms look quite similar apart from volume. The DCC just has a lot more headroom.

Ryan

Thanks Ryan.

So if you could adjust for volume and overlap the two graphs they would be similar?

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 8:51 am

I think so -- I'm not enough of a whiz with WAV files to know for sure, but from what I'm seeing, yeah, they shouldn't be wildly different.

The BMG isn't a big solid block o' green, I can tell you that much...

Ryan

thomh · Postby **thomh** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 10:57 am

Rspaight wrote:I think so -- I'm not enough of a whiz with WAV files to know for sure, but from what I'm seeing, yeah, they shouldn't be wildly different.

The BMG isn't a big solid block o' green, I can tell you that much...

Ryan

Thanks again Ryan. BTW, I read your comments to Bob on the SH forum and I agree with you regarding the clarity of the Elvis' voice compared to the DCC. Subtle as they are, I also prefer the extra detail on the instruments this new relase gives me. For example, scan forward 45 seconds into Little Sister and crank up the volume. Compare the snap of the snare and try to listen to the space around it. Try it using headphones as well. I find it easier to listen into the music on the BMG.

As I said in the previous post, there is just more of the studio on these tracks than I have ever heard before. And that is why I love it. It's like standing standing behind the curtain instead of in front of it.

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 4:10 pm

OK, here ya go. This is the first minute of "Little Sister."

The DCC:

The BMG:

Ryan

Postby **lukpac** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 4:33 pm

JUST LOOK AT THAT EAR BLEEDING COMPRESSION!!!

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 5:06 pm

Yeah, I know. Did you read Bob's post?

The Stereo tracks are different mixes than the vintage mixes we are familiar with, the tracks are compressed and limited [a number obscenely so], the dynamics have been killed, the original ‘murk and goosh’ - summarily DX’ed! ‘Mess of Blues’, I Feel So Good’ and ‘Little Sister’ has been rendered as horribly compressed and sounding like wonderful original Stereo tapes that have been then over-processed and maximized. The life is gone! The sound stage is a ‘wall’. The worst mastering vulgarities on the Stereo tracks were committed on these (3) tracks.

I think I'm going to give up on my brief return to SH.tv. In my two days of posting:

- I was rewarded for pointing out the fact that the Elvis disc is *not* copy-protected by being blitzed with a dozen articles about copy-protection, as if I were an idiot or something.

- I supplied some facts about the upcoming Elton John SACD, which ignited a format war.

- The same old Astley interview in which he extols the virtues of CEDAR surfaced yet again, which set off another round of Astley-bashing. Astley bashing isn't a bad thing per se, but original Astley-bashing is better.

Humph.

Ryan

Postby **lukpac** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 5:20 pm

Yes. Mr. Hunte forwarded it on...

thomh · Postby **thomh** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 5:45 pm

Thanks for graphs Ryan.

I started another thread over on that other forum called "Elvis 2nd To None Is Just That!" where I quickly summed up my impressions. That thread was, of course, completely hijacked by good ol' Bob. And I must admit when I read his prose I wondered if we had listened to same CD.
But he is there to defend His Master's work so in that sense he is doing an excellent job.