Graceland 25th Anniversary reissue
drumminman
Posts: 3,396
This is one of my all time favorite albums. Just amazing musicians, collaborations, songwriting, total magic. The CD Ive listened to for awhile is the original that came out around 87-88, and it always sounded a little flat and dull on some songs. Hard to describe except to say the highs were a little rolled off, the mids slightly congested, transients not crisp and sparkling in places. Putting some volume on it helped the sound quality and imaging.
Ive looked for it on SACD and couldnt find anything, so I bought the version in the post title. I played the opening few minutes of The Boy In The Bubble on the older version. Then I loaded the 25th anniversary remaster into the player. At the first drum hits my ears perked up. Wasnt sure if it was my imagination, but the bass drum had more authority and better tone. As it continued the next thing I noticed is the remastered cd was louder, yet the dynamics were still there.
I adjusted the volume to get roughly the same level as the original version and continued to listen. All the tunes had greater clarity in the harmonies, the fretless bass of Bakithi Kumalo was a little easier to hear and perhaps dug a little deeper, percussion occupied a more distinct place in the soundstage. Ladysmith Black Mambazo harmonies were cleaner with slightly better timbre and a better realism. While their voices blended better it was also easier to pick out individuals.
The soundstage sounded bigger as well with better depth and width.
If anyone out there is wants to get a better sounding version of this album I highly recommend this one. Its not too expensive either, around $15.
Ive looked for it on SACD and couldnt find anything, so I bought the version in the post title. I played the opening few minutes of The Boy In The Bubble on the older version. Then I loaded the 25th anniversary remaster into the player. At the first drum hits my ears perked up. Wasnt sure if it was my imagination, but the bass drum had more authority and better tone. As it continued the next thing I noticed is the remastered cd was louder, yet the dynamics were still there.
I adjusted the volume to get roughly the same level as the original version and continued to listen. All the tunes had greater clarity in the harmonies, the fretless bass of Bakithi Kumalo was a little easier to hear and perhaps dug a little deeper, percussion occupied a more distinct place in the soundstage. Ladysmith Black Mambazo harmonies were cleaner with slightly better timbre and a better realism. While their voices blended better it was also easier to pick out individuals.
The soundstage sounded bigger as well with better depth and width.
If anyone out there is wants to get a better sounding version of this album I highly recommend this one. Its not too expensive either, around $15.
"Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
Post edited by drumminman on
Comments
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One of my favorites too. $10 on Amazon, I think i'll get one due to your fine review.
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There's also an HDtracks 96/24 version available of the remaster, but that seems to be slammed by reviewers online as being worse sounding than the remastered CD because of dynamic range compression. Anyone here own the Hdtracks version?
