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Hi Peter,

 

"...Yes - The Yes Album

 

Still a little gem..."

 

Is that the CD?

It was one of the early ones I did while at Atlantic. (Wish the tape we had was a bit better though; it was recorded so hot, I had to drop the level by 7 dB just to avoid clipping the VU meters - and by then, the top end had long gone bye-bye).

 

Me? AudGuy's post made me get Mark Knopfler's "Shangri-La" off the shelf.

I always enjoy Mark's work. Better sounding than most typical pop too (albeit a bit tightly compressed).

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

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Hi Peter,

 

Interesting you mention the old Led Zeppelin CDs. I did all the originals (except for the fourth album, aka "Zoso" - with "Stairway To Heaven", which was done at the Warner division in Los Angeles, before Atlantic in NY made me the CD mastering "department".) It is gratifying to see that they are still sought out today, even though those have been remastered a few times since.

 

A big frustration in those days was the insistence of management on my using "EQ'd limited" copies created during vinyl mastering. The thought this would make the CD sound more like the LP. In terms of compressed dynamics and bandlimiting, they were correct.

 

Needless to say, it often took more work on my part to try and "undo" some of the damage that resulted from the processes used by some vinyl cutters and from the fact that the source I was given to work with was also a generation away from the original.

 

With many of the bands from the UK (including Yes and Led Zeppelin), the situation was a bit different. Instead of "EQ'd limited" copies, most of the time what I was given was (to the best of my knowledge) a flat transfer of the originals, which were kept in their native land. The downside here, aside from the generation loss, was poorly set up analog machines for running the copies, combined with silly loud recording levels. When the signal wasn't clipping, there was the self erasure of the top end that resulted from the too hot levels. This accounts for your description of the cymbal on the Yes CD.

 

Regarding the "potential" you hear, I believe this is due to the fact that I don't use dynamic compression. Limited dynamics are in my view, one of the weakest links in most recordings, particularly pop and rock. I have always left original dynamics intact.

 

Of course, there were some occasions when I found the original masters for certain albums in the tape library and I used those to create the CD masters. Some examples are the first Crosby, Stills and Nash album, a few of the AC/DC albums (For Those About To Rock comes to mind), the first Bad Company album, Pete Townshend's "Scoop", Warren Zevon's "A Quiet Normal Life" and I'm sure there were some others but some of the memory cells have retired since those days long ago.

 

What a relief it was, when I went independent and formed BDA, to work only with original masters. I remember when I remastered the entire Bob Marley catalog for Island (the second of three times the catalog has been released on CD), Island sent me a box of digital copies. I called them and suggested that the CD was what folks would be listening to for years to come and I asked what they were saving the originals for. The next day, Federal Express delivered several cartons of the original masters - the mixes created in Jamaica.

 

Of course, converters in those days were not what we have today. And editing was performed using Sony's DAE1100, a "spaceship console" looking hardware device that controlled a pair of video machines. The masters were created on 3/4" video tape, "U-matic" cartridges.

 

Having edited analog tape with a razor blade for many years, that Sony editor made me say "I can get in and out in the width of that razor blade." Of course, today, I have several editing/mastering applications on my laptop that run rings around that old Sony.

 

I'm sure I could do any of those old albums again today and it would sound much better. In fact, with the speed of technological progress, I could keep mastering the same album over and over again and it would continue to get better... but I'd never get to make any new records and that is what enjoy the most.

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

 

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A regular in the CD player and now, on the server:

Jason Vitelli's "No Photographs".

 

Literate rock. (!)

 

Jason is a NY based singer/songwriter with a great voice and a gift for beautiful melodies in addition to wonderful arranging skills.

 

He recorded this himself and played almost all of the instruments.

He hired me to master this (no compression by the way) and as soon as I heard his music, I was hooked. Don't know how many times I've heard this album now but his talent still blows me away with every listen.

 

I'm amazed he hasn't been picked up by a major label yet but then again, I did say his music is literate. I asked him about doing a Soundkeeper project. He said yes.

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

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Jazz Composer's Orchestra

playing Carla Bley and Paul Haine's

"Escalator Over The Hill"

 

A jazz opera? They call it a "chronotransduction".

 

Vocal performances from Jack Bruce, Linda Ronstadt, Viva (if you are old enough).

John McLaughlin on electric guitar.

A host of jazz all-stars.

 

The heat of summer always makes me listen to this one.

I've loved it since '71. (Don't even know if it can still be found. I had it on vinyl and found the CD set years ago at Tower - remember Tower?).

 

"It's again".

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

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Charles Mingus' music never fails to entrance me.

Jazz magic!

 

Once again, shuffle mode reminds me of a musical treasure that I need to listen to all the way through.

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I sometimes start the evening with the server in shuffle mode. On occasion, it plays a track and I take it out of shuffle to hear the whole album. This evening:

 

Emmylou Harris

"Wrecking Ball"

 

Something addictive about this album.

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Ever mis-hear a lyric in a song? Yesterday, I did -- even though I know the correct lyric. What I "heard" made me smile.

 

After getting the new album ("Born To Sing: No Plan B"), I've been jumping around through the Van Morrison catalog. I had a hankering to hear "I Forgot That Love Existed" from his "Poetic Champions Compose" album.

 

Van Morrison - Poetic Champions Compose.jpg

 

When Van sings "Socrates and Plato, they praised it to the skies", for whatever reason, I (not really heard but) thought of "Socrates and Play-Doh".

 

Socrates and Play-Doh.jpg

 

Best regards,

Barry

Soundkeeper Recordings

The Soundkeeper | Audio, Music, Recording, Playback

Barry Diament Audio

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  • 8 months later...

On Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago, I was listening to The Moonshine Show on my favorite radio station, WKCR in New York.

The guest, Vincent Cross, was new to me but his music took hold immediately.

Great melodies, instantly memorable songs.

 

I now have two of his albums, both in heavy rotation at home, in the car and when I'm walking, on my phone.

The albums are "Home Away From Home" and "A Town Called Normal".

 

51Z1VZ3jUiL._SY300_.jpg

 

5161K5T3bPL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

 

For those who like acoustic music and great songs, very highly recommended.

 

I like his music so much, I contacted him and proposed doing a Soundkeeper project together.

Time will tell. Meanwhile, enjoy these musical gems.

 

Best regards,

Barry

Soundkeeper Recordings

The Soundkeeper | Audio, Music, Recording, Playback

Barry Diament Audio

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This is my favorite thread on CA. Musicophile if your scotch recommendations are as good as your music recommendations I am sure it is excellent. While not a scotch drinker I will get a bottle for my Montana home!

 

And Barry please release some music, it has been too long.

 

Hi Howie,

 

Thank you for that. Much appreciated.

In fact, I'm recording next week and hope that will become the next release.

The feel at the rehearsals has been great.

I'm very excited to be working on this project and will be using some new ancillary gear to record it.

 

And if all goes well, the artist I mentioned a few posts ago will be the release after that.

 

If I'm lucky, some items to come will have folks posting about them in this thread.

 

Best regards,

Barry

Soundkeeper Recordings

The Soundkeeper | Audio, Music, Recording, Playback

Barry Diament Audio

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  • 1 month later...
  • 9 months later...
Riley Lee, Shakuhachi Sleep Music, HDtracks.com DL 44.1/24, AIFF. I never attained any proficiency playing the Shakuhachi, but I can and do appreciate those masters who have: Riley Lee is the recipient of two venerated lineages of traditional shakuhachi, traceable back to the Zen komusô, or “priests of nothingness.” He is the first non-Japanese to attain the rank of dai shihan (Grand Master). Highly recommended as his other recordings are.

 

Enjoy the music,

Richard

 

Hi Richard,

 

I'm reminded of an old favorite I haven't heard in years.

I used to have an album by Watazumido Shuso called "The Mysterious Sounds of the Japanese Bamboo Flute" on the Everest label.

 

Have to look for that one again.

 

Best regards,

Barry

Soundkeeper Recordings

http://www.soundkeeperrecordings.wordpress.com

Barry Diament Audio

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