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Townson has a right to release Spatacus how he chooses but I'll pass. I'm not paying all that money for features I have no interest in.
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Posted: |
Jun 13, 2014 - 3:57 AM
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By: |
pp312
(Member)
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Price has come down about $20 but whether it's shifting many more units is doubtful. I'd suggest the price will have to drop to about $50.
Frankly, I'm not sure what caused Varese to think they could sell 5000 units of a set with the complete score in mono coupled with numerous extras no one ever asked for. Most people wouldn't be interested in much more than Disc 1--all surviving stereo tracks. True enthusiasts would of course play the complete mono score, but with the thought in the back of their minds perhaps that it was no substitute for the glorious stereo sound heard in the cinema. Personally I was prepared to give the mono tracks a fair go, but I found them variable at best, reflecting the different sources they were derived from. And let's face it, once you've heard the strands of this sometimes dense, complex music properly delineated in stereo, can you ever really be satisfied with mono?
The stereo tracks are ear rasping brittle. Vinyl may be the best medium for this recording.
Really? I didn't find them so. Certainly they're 60's stereo, not 2014 stereo, but 'ear rasping brittle'? That was more how I'd decribe some of the mono tracks.
And please don't mention vinyl. Just when I thought that nightmare was over back-to-the-future people keep trying to breathe new life into the corpse.
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The Cleopatra CD is still being advertised as out of stock. What's that all about?
Probably pending a new duplication, as it still listed as available at the German counterpart Colosseum.
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Posted: |
Jun 13, 2014 - 7:25 AM
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By: |
Ag^Janus
(Member)
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Price has come down about $20 but whether it's shifting many more units is doubtful. I'd suggest the price will have to drop to about $50.
Frankly, I'm not sure what caused Varese to think they could sell 5000 units of a set with the complete score in mono coupled with numerous extras no one ever asked for. Most people wouldn't be interested in much more than Disc 1--all surviving stereo tracks. True enthusiasts would of course play the complete mono score, but with the thought in the back of their minds perhaps that it was no substitute for the glorious stereo sound heard in the cinema. Personally I was prepared to give the mono tracks a fair go, but I found them variable at best, reflecting the different sources they were derived from. And let's face it, once you've heard the strands of this sometimes dense, complex music properly delineated in stereo, can you ever really be satisfied with mono?
The stereo tracks are ear rasping brittle. Vinyl may be the best medium for this recording.
Really? I didn't find them so. Certainly they're 60's stereo, not 2014 stereo, but 'ear rasping brittle'? That was more how I'd decribe some of the mono tracks.
And please don't mention vinyl. Just when I thought that nightmare was over back-to-the-future people keep trying to breathe new life into the corpse.
Sorry pp the vinyl nightmare goes on.  It can provide a more musical experience that digital has much more difficulty obtaining. Not fidelity mind you. I do find the Spartacus recordings (Varesé) harsh to the ear. It is the recording. Many 60's even 50's recordings are far more easy on the ear. Cleopatra does not suffer nearly as much as Spartacus in this regard. Nevertheless I enjoy North enough to listen to anything no matter the agony.
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Posted: |
Jun 14, 2014 - 3:28 AM
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By: |
pp312
(Member)
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Sorry pp the vinyl nightmare goes on. It can provide a more musical experience that digital has much more difficulty obtaining. Not fidelity mind you. I do find the Spartacus recordings (Varesé) harsh to the ear. It is the recording. Many 60's even 50's recordings are far more easy on the ear. Cleopatra does not suffer nearly as much as Spartacus in this regard. Nevertheless I enjoy North enough to listen to anything no matter the agony.
There is a contingent on this board that believes a CD by default is always better than vinyl. They apparently do not think or care about such factors as tape deterioration or crappy mastering. Sure, vinyl has its drawbacks, but so do CDs. My Cleopatra LP sounds way better than the 2-CD set.
Hang on, that's not the same recording, is it? Isn't the LP a re-recording? In any case you can't make those sorts of comparisons even if it were originally the same recording. There's no way of knowing the separate history of the master tapes, nor what kind of mastering has been performed.
The fact is, and this can be proved by measurement, given equal competence in the mastering process CD is always going to be more accurate to the original recording than vinyl. That's not to say you shouldn't prefer the vinyl, simply that it will always be less accurate due to its inherent distortions (and they are legion). To be honest, I'm constantly astonished at the number of people who wish to preserve a medium so rife with mechanical limitations. I can still hardly believe it lasted so long, and now it comes wafting back like the ghost of Christmas Past, to the sound of hosannas sung by people who, dare I say it, may need to upgrade their equipment if they seriously believe vinyl is superior.
Sorry if I've offended any vinyl enthusiasts, but I really wasn't kidding when I used the word 'nightmare' before.
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