I wonder if anyone else has had the same experience?
Last night I revisited the heady days of my youth (the 80's). For me this was a decade of music through poor quality tapes and 'tinny' transistors. Much of the music I enjoyed then, I still like to listen to and with any number of compilation albums available, I can get hold of most of it reasonably easily.
Anyway, here's the thing.
Listening to it through a decent sounding system is a real dissapointment! It shows up a lot of what I enjoyed to be very lacking. That's not because my musical tastes have changed as I'll still enjoy a bit of Depeche Mode for example. Just that I suppose as I can get better sound from my current system, I think I expect more detail and depth to the music. Maybe I should just get it all on MP3 and I'll enjoy it for it's imperfection.
Am I alone in this?
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 Thats quite surprising actually Patrick, though I suppose it can depend on whether the music has been remastered or not. However, where I can see how music from the 60's would benefit from remastering it does surprise me that music from the 80's seems to sound lacking: I would have thought it'd stand up quite well, if sounding a little electronica-passe :0).
What have you been listening to specifically? I find stuff like Joy Division and the Police to sound excellent. Having said that my police album is SACD, but still I'm surprised with your results.
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Well Brucie
I've already mentioned Depeche Mode, Grace Jones and other little bits and pieces. It's not that it's bad in the first instance. The thing is it sounds better raw and that's the way I remember it.
With an improved cleaner sound even though my system is firmly in the budget side of hi-fi, I expect more. It is hard to define what that more is. What I'm getting is a clearer rendition of music that's now exposed for how basic or simple it was I suppose.
As regards 60's recordings, I bought a Jimmi Hendrix compilation on CD and it sounds pretty awful.
So I suppose the issue for me isn't about re-mastered copies of recordings, but being able to hear it more clearly. I suppose some people are never pleased!
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A Jimi Hendrix CD will never sound THAT good as he's massively overated! : P
Try a remastered Doors CD if you want to hear the benefits of a good remastering.
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 Hendrix overated? Controversial!
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Judging by Brucie's illustration:
He 'Duff' protest too much!
Or he's spent the afternoon in Mo's Tavern.
Whichever way it does sound pretty rank, as for the Doors, what are their remastered gems?
Not in SACD, I don't have 5.1!
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 Hmm, I have to stick my oar in here!
Firstly - "Jimi Hendrix overrated?" that's an oxymoron!
However this isn't the forum to debate that point ;o)
Re: Patrick's disappointment - I've been listening to rock/pop and many other musical forms for 35 years, and most of that time I've had good or great systems to listen to it on.
I've also heard it on, ahem, "budget" systems and tinny transistor radios!
I'm wondering just where your disappointment lies Patrick, are you saying that the quality of recoding is a problem?
If so I find it quite baffling as, though reproduction in the mainstream has certainly become better, recording quality - high-fidelity - if you like, has not changed significantly since the 70's as by that time 20-20,000hz (The bandwidth of the human ear) was being recorded.
Just what is “Lacking?”
My suspicion is that you are missing the very things that you mention – were you so used to the tinny sounds and the hissy cassette tapes, that hearing the same songs reproduced well simply does not match your memory?
(Please check Paul Simon’s “Kodachome,” for full audible explanation :o) )
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Haha, Mo's was pretty good thanks.
I'm not TRYING to be contriversial, Hendrix does have some excellent songs, namely All along the watchtower, voodoo child, castle made of sand, purple haze and fire. But he is overated because the mythology has become greater than the man.
As for the Doors just get a greatest hits. That'll include: Break on through, people are strange, Riders on the storm, hello I love you, light my fire...just to name a few. Buy it, love it.
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Addressing lightning slim first,
I think he's probably hit the nail on the head. The improvement in reproduction has led to the music being better exposed for what it is. I probably preferred it flawed. As my e-mail read, no pleasing some people.
Hendrix overrated? I'll concede he probably has reached the iconic status that people will say they like his music without even knowing it. Still, it remains a bit special to my ears.
I bet Riders on the Storm is a good track to hear again (amongst others), I may well get myself one.
Thanks.
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Brucie, how could you leave out "The Wasp" and "LA Woman" from the Doors triumphs?
Re Jimi, I think it's impossible for someone who wasn't around at the time, to look back and really aprreciate what a huge stride Jimi took with only 3 albums released in his 4 year commercial career - at the time, Clapton, Townsend et al, were left utterly stunned at what that man could do with an electric guitar, and I don't mean the setting fire to it ;o)
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Yeah riders on the storm sounds amazing. Lighting both those tracks are superb, natch, I only popped a couple down off the top of my head.
I'm not trying to say Hendrix wasn't brilliant but more that he is over rated. Be honest do you actually enjoy more than about 8 of his songs?
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I still have in my possession an original vinyl pressing of Led Zeppelins ZOSO (the 4th) album. I traded someone in school a double sampler album for it (the fool!) Well, I've always treated my vinyl with great care, but the previous owner was not so careful and one of the tracks - "The Battle of Evermore" had a jump about 30 seconds from the end.
Once I owned good recording gear, it was always my habit to record an album on first play, and thereafter use the tape to listen to it.
Many years later, along came the CD version of the track and it just didn't sound right!
Why not? The jump didn't happen!
After not too many years, I was able to put this behind me and continue to enjoy life for what it had to offer....
:o)
Mike
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Let's think about this...
You say 8 songs - 8 songs that "survive" from three albums, from 35 years ago?
This is overrated? :o)
I actually enjoy a lot more than 8 but that's by the by :o)
And it's not just his songs that are the measure - he had an enormous affect on music that is still echoing down the decades.
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Love to listen to Hendrix on vinyl, something about the crackles and pops that just adds to it. Really want to hear Todd Rundgren on A wizard A True Star (I think) describing p's popping and other bits of recording niceties. Ah, those were the days.
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No, that's from "Something/Anything."
"And this is the sound you get when the tape machine gains control and mangles your tape!..."
Mike
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 I have to wade in here, Hendrix was good, Clapton was good, Keith Richards was good, Stevie Ray Vaughan was pretty good, but I have to hold that at the time I don't think any of them held a candle to Robbie Robertson as a guitarist. There is lots of evidence to support this, firstly Clapton admitted that he disbanded Cream when he realised they could never sound as good as the Band. Secondly give "All along the watchtower" a spin on CD or vinyl of "Before the Flood/Dylan and the Band". There are lots of technically good axe mechanics out there, Prince, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani to name a few, but the difficulty is finding one that can feel his way through a piece of music and know when to play rhythm and when to play lead, Robbie knew when to play guitar and when to let the others play their bits.
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I agree that Robbie Robertson is good, but I think that arguing "Who's best" between Hendrix, Vai, Clapton - not to mention Townshend, Beck (Jeff), McLaughlin, Di Meola, DeLucia et al, is rather superfluous.
Most of these names play their own styles of music and can possibly lay claim to being “best” in their own fields.
If one was to set particular hoops for a guitarist to jump through some would be better at playing some things than others. When I want to show off my own guitar playing skills I play Steve Hackett’s “Ace of wands.” It usually does the trick ;o) But much as I like african styles I can't get my fingers around them that well.
I think there could be arguments that some guitarists compose, others “only” play.
But does any of that really matter?
They are all there for us to enjoy their music! :o)
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