Hmmm... I thought it was me when I noticed the same thing. I was just in London, trying to buy the LP at Virgin (its called something else now)... there wasn't a single copy in all of England. I think they had one in Dublin.
Sure it's not rare or hard to find, but I would imagine it would sound better. Judging by the compilation LPs (Funk) I bought, I think it was a major and the other a small label, the sound was excellent...
Damn, now you have me wanting to buy another copy.... at least the US copy was only $13. |
I have not heard the US domestic pressing, so I can not comment on it. (Although I too have read that it is pretty bad, and in fact that is why I sought out the EU pressing.) I did buy, and have listened to, the EU pressing. It is extremely quiet, and a decent pressing.
However, notice I said a decent "pressing". The recording itself is, IMHO, pretty bad, as it is so compressed, and lacking in dynamics, that it sounds like you're listening to the music over the radio on a boom box. Very disappointing that the instruments behind the vocals are so poorly recorded, because her vocals sound pretty good.
If you listen mostly to vinyl, (like I do), get the EU version, otherwise sticking with the CD is probably just as good.
My two cents worth. |
I have heard the CD and vinyl pressing (not sure which version) and both sound horrible. I heard them on 2 different systems so did not compare the vinyl to the CD. |
Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but quite a few months ago, I bought Back to Black on LP from Virgin Mega Store. The Quality was so awful that I returned the LP, saying it was defective. I just listen to some flac files I downloaded instead. |
Some new vinyl and reissues are incredibly ordinary.
However, most stink.
All of my new music purchases are digital as I'm weary of the substandard vinyl products sold at $30, $40, $50 and more.
YMMV but I doubt it. |
You know, I got a really odd vinyl purchase recently, Crowded Houses' new release "Time on Earth." LP #1 was ordinary, no better or worse than the cd sounds. Plus it has the dreaded snap, crackle, & pop background groove noise on side one. LP #2 on the other hand, sounds demonstrably better, more of the positive things one expects from good vinyl. Very strange. |
Recorded her live on Cable and transferred the songs to DVD and then to CD. Much better sound quality than the CD. |
Man I thought it was just the music was bad, I cant believe her album garnered all the attention and awards it recieved. I heard all the hype and like an idiot I ran put and bought..............I say GO, GO,...GO to music rehab. |
i do not know what you are talking about. i own the vinyl version on universal(pressed in the EU). it is you, the sound quality and music are fantastic! |
Koegz,
So, it seems that you and I have the same version of vinyl.
As I said, the pressing itself is fine. Nice and quiet, no problems there.
However, the dynamics are compressed (to a degree I honestly have rarely heard on vinyl in fact!)
You don't find that to be true?
(Listen again to the LP, only this time, tune out her voice, and just listen to the instruments, and then tell me that the cymbals sound, well, like cymbals. There is no decay to them at all, and they are severely compressed to the point that you can barely hear them. The bass is also compressed to the point of being barely there as well. Her voice comes through nicely though, as her voice is at neither of the frequency extremes. And, yes, she has an interesting voice that I like too.)
As I said, it is a good album, except for the recording quality. The songs are good, as is her voice. (And the pressing itself is excellent.)
IMHO, this is a perfect example of how to screw up a recording by compressing the heck out of it! |
I bought it from Elusive Disc and was so excited when it arrived. That excitement did not last. It sounded absolutely flat. The worst new album I've bought in the last year. |
You people just need to leave Amy alone. I mean like stop picking on Amy.
Regarding the sound quality -- the production is intended to be highly compressed. They were going for a classic Motown sound. Compare The Winehouse to Sharon Jones' "100 Days, 100 Nights", same production team and band, where they go for a more modern sound. The Winehouse album is purposely designed to sound really good on lo-fi playback. That may lessen the album's audiophile appeal, but it's still good music. |
The CD sounds fine. The LP sounds awful. And I love the music. It has nothing to do with AMy, Onhwy61. I just think people should save the $6 and go with the CD version on this one. |
What label is the Winehouse LP? It was recorded at Daptone studio in Brooklyn as a live, direct to analog tape recording and all Daptone vinyl releases are pure analog recordings. I'm only familiar with the CD release, which to my ears, sounds fine, not great, but fine for what it is. |
The US release is by Universal Republic. The UK release is by Island.
Mika |
universal island records ltd a universal music company to be exact. still say after several listens music and sound are excellent. |
This is a gritty cracked up dirty raunchy album and singer. The whole point is to take it back. Take 2 steps back from all of the progress and clarity in all audio aspects. Sit yourself in a dirty blues bar. Now listen to the album or cd. |
I too think it's nostalgic sounding. I had downloaded a 256 kbps copy from amazon. Which was bright and loud, a typical radio mix. I got the domestic vinyl version in a local store and to me it is much better sounding than the red book copy. Eric you are right, it gets better sounding after the first track. I wonder how much the sales go up with every story of misbehavior in the media. She just may be crazy like a Fox. Heck one of the last stories said she was making a new album. |
And ten years later...
Yes, I agree with the OP.
I have the US Universal Republic vinyl version and as soon as I dropped it on the plate something sounded off to me; it's as if it was mastered from an mp3 file.
I haven't compared it to the CD yet, but I looked the edition up suspecting that this was a repress issue and wondering if I should just stop purchasing records from the same company; the research led me to this thread.
It is not more clear to me now but I hope it will be more clear to you.
Regards,
Alf |
It's too bad. I was so excited to get her "Back to Black" album, my first vinyl purchase ever. I quickly learned that all recordings and pressings are not created equal. Terrible studio production. |
The only Amy lp I own is the 2015 re-issue/re-master of "Frank" on UMe/Island that I played recently. Yes, it is obviously a digital recording but umm, (frankly), I enjoyed it. Not perfect but I don't hate it. |
I am with @koegz on this one, sounds really good on my system the music/songs are great and as usual the album sounds better than the CD. With all that said I still like Frank better. |
I'm not an audiophile even though I spent money like one. Let's start with this. There are no pressing of Back to Black that sound awful. Some are better than others. No it's not "audiophile". It's not supposed to be. She was an incredibly gifted singer who happened to be a drug addict. She sang. It got recorded. "It is what it is." A lot of people have said this. I can generally live with this.
And the smartest thing a friend of mine said after that phase and it utterly calms me,"What isn't, it just isn't."
Say it with me. "It is what it is, and what it isn't, it just isn't." |
@rjamilla,
Welcome! You're making quite a few proclamations on various threads without giving us any of your background/system /components. Please become more forthcoming.
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@rjamilla, so glad for the clarity, now I can finally put it to rest. She was a drug addict? What. |
