sandyk Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I just received the new "Norah Jones-The Fall" deluxe CD today. I am most disappointed, as those stupid record company executives have now decided that even Norah Jones deserves their heavy handed LOUDNESS treatment. Just out of curiosity, I did a quick transformation of the track "Back to Manhattan" using SeeDeClip Duo Pro, then normalised in Sound Forge 9 to a max. of -3dB , and it sounds quite promising. I will try the same with the rest of the tracks tomorrow, to see how they respond. SandyK How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file. PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020 Link to comment
souptin Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 I have this album too and I think it's great! It's a long way from being AC/DC but it's as if Norah's finally grown a pair, and they really suit her. (Apologies for the seriously disturbing mental image). On reading up a bit more it seems she's ditched her old band, and amongst the new collaborators are Tom Wait's guitarist and producer - so I figure the distorted sound is more because they like it that way than as a result of record company executive interference or the current fashion for heavily compressed mastering. In fact I'd say you should count yourself lucky they didn't get poor Norah to drink a couple of bottles of vodka, then have her jump around the studio half naked screaming her head off and hitting kitchen pots... ...Ummm where was I? *distracted* Oh yeah... On the other hand I can sympathise with your wish to take the edge off - I have some pet hates of my own. My heart and my head tell me I should listen to it the way it was 'meant to be', as far as is possible, but my ears don't always agree. Link to comment
sandyk Posted November 28, 2009 Author Share Posted November 28, 2009 souptin Out of curiosity, I converted all the tracks from this album using SeeDeClip Duo Pro at default settings, then normalised them again in SoundForge 9 to a maximum level of -1dB.(-3dB on the initial test track) Norah's voice then sounded much more like on her previous albums,and sweeter than before conversion.Instead of feeling a little pissed off about the album, my feet started tapping, and I had to listen to the whole album again.However, it may then be a little too relaxing for some ! SandyK P.S. I can upload both versions of track 9 if you are interested. Without the added Normalisation in SF9 the differences are more subtle. How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file. PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020 Link to comment
Audio_ELF Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 I think generally this album is a change if direction artistically, rather than the SQ being a result of the Loudness wars. I've heard a recent live performance and the overall sound was very similar to The Fall CD (at least as sold in UK). Looking at the waveform in Wave Editor and playing it with TT Dynamic Range meter shows no lack of dynamic range and no evidence of clipping. Eloise Eloise --- ...in my opinion / experience... While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing. And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism. keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out. Link to comment
ted_b Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 and am surprised to read that the waveform looks ok. I LOVE Norah, but this production, IMO, puts her in a category that is filled with Top 40 artists. I miss my soothing, eclectic, sometimes-sparsely-produced Norah. My $.02 "We're all bozos on this bus"....F.T. My JRIver tutorial videos Actual JRIver tutorial MP4 video links My eleven yr old SACD Ripping Guide for PS3 (needs updating but still works) US Technical Advisor, NativeDSD.com Link to comment
mikechai Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I just listened to this album once(on low-fi gear) and quite like it so far. A change in direction and I thought it's another great album. Link to comment
rom661 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I'm glad I read this. Norah is very popular among our audiophile customers but I find her kind of boring. The change in guitarist and producer could be interesting. She can certainly sing. Thanks for the info. Rick Audio Research DAC8, Mac mini w/8g ram, SSD, Amarra full version, Audio Research REF 5SE Preamp, Sutherland Phd, Ayre V-5, Vandersteen 5A\'s, Audioquest Wild and Redwood cabling, VPI Classic 3 w/Dynavector XX2MkII Link to comment
ajay556 Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I am very disappointed too. Seems like with every new album, she loses her pride of being a musician and conceding to making money. Music after life Link to comment
Audio_ELF Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 I think there are two separate issues here ... First off: has the audio been compressed to fit in with the modern "demand" for low dynamic range? This is a factual issue which has a definitive answer. Second: Norah has had a change of artistic direction for whatever reason. It's an individual's choice is they like this or not. This is subjective and has no right or wrong answer. Eloise Eloise --- ...in my opinion / experience... While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing. And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism. keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out. Link to comment
Kevin_O Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 From Allmusic.com Ryan Adams Composer Brad Bivens Engineer Ronette Bowie A&R Greg Calbi Mastering Sam Cohen Guitar (Electric) Autumn de Wilde Photography Macklam Feldman Management James Gadson Drums Jon Graboff Pedal Steel Frank Harkins Art Direction, Design Jesse Harris Composer Zach Hochkeppel Product Manager Gordon H. Jee Creative Director Norah Jones Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Piano, Tack Piano, Vocals Richard Julian Composer Jacquire King Engineer, Mixing, Producer Mandy Lyons Hair Stylist Mike Martin Composer Zac Rae Organ Tom Schick Engineer Gus Seyffert Bass Will Sheff Composer Nuria Sitja Make-Up Jon Stinson Mixing Assistant Morgan Stratton Assistant Engineer Brian Thorn Assistant Engineer Karla Welch Stylist Eli Wolf A&R Looks like another Greg Calbi crush!! Link to comment
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