I’m a Talking Heads fan. Saw them live a couple of times. Once early career and once late on. Have the majority of their albums.
The film remains fascinating but the album, for me, is a pale record of the event itself. I can’t imagine getting excited about it. It is and always has been… okay . I think it’s fair to say about half the songs are classics and, if we’re being objective, half are not. Most people on here, and a fair few Heads fans, couldn’t name them, may well skip them on the album and likely don’t remember them at all. Only 1 song on the whole album is more than the sum of its studio parts - Burning Down The House here is definitive - but the rest? It’s a live album. It’s okay but that’s all it is.
Obviously means a lot and produces a reaction from the OP but, again if we’re being honest, a Naim/Rega system will always make it sound slightly more exciting than it was given the emphasis on rhythm etc.
Second observation. Anyone making decisions on whether a system is engaging needs a lot longer than a visit to a dealer. Dedicated listening rooms are often, to be frank, quite poor and you need to hear some stuff at length. Luxman looks I can do without. The sound though is often lovely and very engaging. Doubt you’d ever get that in a shop with an only okay live album.
Pink Floyd Wish you are here was among my favourite album 30 years ago. Today I find it boring. My system is today so much better, in a complete another level.
Can’t listen to the Doors neither , anymore.
Surely FR, you are not bored to death, as clearly you can still write
However I agree that after a while albums can fail to excite. That is the great thing about a music library. You can leave music in the library for long periods and then rediscover and hopefully be excited all over again.
I’ve always thought that the familiarity with certain albums is one of the things which drives those who upgrade “because they can” rather than because there’s something they’re unhappy with. It is lovely to have a new perspective on familiar music but I’ve never been convinced you need upgrades or a different system to do that.
Ha Ha the good old poteen! It’s a long time since I have sampled this delightful tipple!. My mates and I had easy enough access to it and it did vary a fair bit depending on source. On one occasion a friend acquired a bottle and as we were going out he left it on his bed. Well on his return he discovered that the bottle had basically ‘exploded’ on his bed! Just as well we were going out and that It didn’t explode after consumption!
By the way I’m a bit of a Talking Heads fan and have several presses and copies of Stop Making Sense.
When the latest remastered version of this recording was released, John Darko spent some time looking at the various versions available.
And the remastered version was not the best, and I had to investigate further. And I did and he was right.
Of the vinyl pressing, my 1999 UK EMI Millennium Vinyl Collection pressing was better than the new one (the European pressing, which was superior to the US pressed one).
Of the digital version, the rip from the Blu-ray was much better than the remastered files. The original CD release was almost better than the remaster. But better than the ‘Special New Edition’ CD release.
The issue is that the original CD and LP is not the full concert. The ‘Special Edition’ tried to cram the full concert onto a single CD, but it had to be compressed. The ‘Restoration’ release is the full concert over 2 LPs, but the subsequent post-processing takes the edge and excitement off of it.
Very interesting review, thank you for sharing. So some of my disappointment was from the re-release…I’m sure. It honestly didn’t sound like the same record. I hadn’t realized this had been fully reengineered.
Yes reading the review - it wasn’t re- engineered / recorded or even remixed - it appears to have been remastered - which is about setting a feel or overall balance for a specific mix master. The mix master is usually associated with a specific recording, and modifying that is often associated with making a new creative production.
Further from the description the remastering looks like it has been aligned to contemporary fashion for mastering of much commercial rock and pop music.
I am often wary of remastering - and definitely wary of remixing which is rarer - as the sound and balance will almost certainly be different (and with re mixing the creative composition will be different as effectively the relationship between the recorded stems / tracks is being adjusted ) - yes sometimes only subtly - but different - and if you are familiar with a particular recording and production it can be off putting.
. I think it’s fair to say about half the songs are classics and, if we’re being objective, half are not. Most people on here, and a fair few Heads fans, couldn’t name them, may well skip them on the album and likely don’t remember them at all. Only 1 song on the whole album is more than the sum of its studio parts - Burning Down The House here is definitive - but the rest? It’s a live album. It’s okay but that’s all it is.
.
. Discovering new albums that excite me allow me to stay alive. It’s my dopamine.
