Todays recordings are "a Xerox of a Polaroid of a photograph of a painting..."

[sleepysurf]

Todays recordings are "a Xerox of a Polaroid of a photograph of a painting..."

T Bone Burnett, Grammy-winning producer of Robert Plant and Allison Krauss' Raising Sand CD, and the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack, has lots to say about the declining quality of recorded music. I love his analogy that recordings are now "stepped down from tape to digital to compressed digital, so people are now listening to a Xerox of a Polaroid of a photograph of a painting..." You can listen to the whole interview here...
<A href="http://mediasearch.wnyc.org/m/20123690/t_bone_burnett_soundcheck_monday_09_june_2008.htm?q=t+bone+burnett" target=_blank>http://mediasearch.wnyc.org/m/20123690/t_bone_burnett_soundcheck_monday_09_june_2008.htm?q=t+bone+burnett

 

[tonepub]

Except that's not true for all recordings....

There are still plenty of people very concerned about the quality and with all the recording engineers I've been talking to lately, I think quality is making a big comeback.

And if that's not enough, there are a ton of remasters from Mofi, Classic, Speakers corner and others.

 

[JonFo]

I do appreciate producers and record labels that pre-compress the album for use on portable devices. Ripping and compressing is a hit or miss affair.

One reason to stay away from 'shared' mp3's is the fact that the majority just suck WRT sound quality.

Even purchased compressed music seems lower in fidelity than a good EAC rip of the same track from a CD.

So having the producer go from high-rez masters straight to a VBR MP3 is huge benefit.

So the multi-format DVD they mention in the interview is a cool thing. Not that I see the mass market following, but maybe for bands and labels that care...

As for the general state of quality, it does seem like there is a bit of attention to this. But it is so hit or miss, it's maddening.

If only more bands and producers were like Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree, those of us with high-capability systems would be very, very happy.

 

[sleepysurf]

Sorry, I should clarify... that comment was just excerpted from his entire interview. He's actually on a crusade to convince record companies and recording engineers to eliminate the compression/loudness wars, and let the music be heard as intended. I believe he said his own latest album includes DVD-A, Redbook CD, and MP3 formats, on a single hybrid disc.

 

[amey01]

Todays recordings? What makes them so special to warrant that statement?

All recordings are like that - always have been, and I hope they're not for much longer!