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CD Pressings. Are they now Universal?

Just went out and purchased a CD copy of The Who "By Numbers" on MCA . When I originally purhased the LP in the mid 70s, a choice was available to buy the American MCA domestic copy, or to opt for the superior British Polydor copy as a special order import. The difference in sound was not as drastic as say Cat Stevens "Tea for the Tillerman" on A&M vs British Island, but still the home country of the recording usually won by a considerable margin.
The question is then, Since we are now in a Digital world,does this mean that the British CD of "By Numbers" will be indistinguishable to the US copy? Are the days of Great EMI to awful American Angel copies over??
frap
2 responses Add your response
awdeeofyle
95 posts
 
Very interesting question Frap... I too wonder about this. I have purchased a few Japanese import CD's and believe that I have heard superior sound from them.

The reason for my purchasing the Imports was that they contained bonus tracks that are not included on the North American releases. ...But after hearing the sound I wonder if there isn't another reason to buy import CD's.

Mike
mgottlieb
334 posts
 
I don't think it is a CD processing issue so much as a mastering issue. Up to about 1995 each EMI company, for example, just slapped on to CD the master tape they had used for LP production, so American Angel CDs were just as bad as their LPs had been, European EMI CDs were still much better, and you never knew what you were going to get from Japan, just as you never did on LP. Now, with everyone remastering everything to improve the sound--or seem to--the real key is, probably, what are they remastering? This suggests that new material should be okay, but I'd still have reservations, for example, about reissues.
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