A discussion of CD remastering...

That I posted on the Organissimo board in response to continual bitching by some folks about comparative sound quality of Rudy Van Gelder's Blue Note jazz remasters compared to the earlier CD version...the post I was replying to was complaining that Rudy's remasterings sound nothing like the original LP's....my beef is - so what?

"Yes - the RVG's sound nothing like the original LP's. I doubt he even tried to use any LP's as a reference.

There's nothing wrong with a preference for the original LP's and no one could argue with that.

What your very valid comments bring up in my mind are two questions:

First - should we adhere to the original vinyl as some arbitrary reference, or should we try, as apparently RVG has, to simply get the most out of the tape? It seems to me that RVG has in some ways exceeded the limitations of the vinyl - and although I love the tonality and presentation of his remasters, I would have to agree that it is not the tonality originally conceived.

On sheer musical terms, the RVG's work big time for me, and that view seems to have some currency as the RVG's are a big success worldwide. But as a historical artifact, they are not accurate - if the position is that the ultimate arbiter of historical accuracy is the vinyl.

I would say that the only true original was what happened live in the studio on that date - but since RVG was the only one there still involved today for the most part, and his recollection is personal and not verifiable, it will remain a matter of opinion.

Second - even if we agree there is some reference standard, should we not try to improve or (more controversially for sure) reinterpret from that standard? The medium is the message as Marshall McLuhan said, and vinyl had it's own unique message and so does CD. I think it's a mistake to try to turn CD into vinyl, it seems to me to be a route to misery (as I see on that ...board...all the time - people expending a lot of negative energy and, as Nessa says, horseshit on trying to turn CD into something it's not, instead of encountering it on it's own terms) - instead of enjoying it for what it is, and the unique things it brings to the table, all too often the music- and the wonderful opportunities to re-examine and re-encounter the music anew are being lost in a pointless quibble about historical accuracy (as if that ever existed - artists in the vinyl era were just as frustrated with how vinyl distorted their intentions as they are with CD today) - and audiophile-obsessive concerns.

My take on this - the CD medium has given new life to massive amounts of music that we would never have had come to our attention again in the vinyl era. In certain genres, it has virtually rescued from oblivion - the massive resuccitation of the classical genre in the 80's with the rush to re-record for CD, and the massive amounts of previously unrecorded music that came with it - the massive reissue campaigns that have brought obscure and previously buried work to light and allowed a re-examination of many artists, both pivotal and peripheral - the indie movement that brought power to the garage bands again - and so on.

Simple fact is, so many people of an older generation who can't stop living in the past pine after that vinyl era and it's particular sonic palette as if it were some type of golden age - when the real evidence before us is that the golden age is RIGHT NOW - today - here and now - where we have vastly more music available, from a much more diverse artistic base, more accessible, and in general, sounding better than ever before. Not even at the absolute peak of the vinyl age was there anywhere near the amount of music available in any genre as there is today. Not even close. People tend to forget - for two decades now we have been bringing back stuff that went into the remainder bin in the early 70's and had been consigned to oblivion. And there are many, many artists for whom CD has revived a for all intents dead career.

Personally, I have too much fun enjoying it all to worry about the things that Hans and some others worry about, and would rather spend my time digging the music than bitching about whether I can hear any no-noise or not.

My two cents on a Sunday morning."