A question I wanted to ask in the 90s - CDs that didn't sound all that good

lapua65

One very boring drive in the 90s I bought 2 CDs at a motorway service centre one was Out of the Cradle and the other was Manic Street Preachers Everything must go. I was driving a Clarion Demo car that had a rather tasty stereo system in, I played the Manic Street Preachers and despite it being quite a lively play list, it actually sounded dull and flat. I did all the jiggery pokery the 90s system had but even with my favourite setting (all the jiggery pokery off) it just sounded boring. So as I got further south I put the Lindsey Buckingham CD in and blimey it was incredible. It just sounded brilliant. Soundstage, instrument separation and vocals that sounded like they were smack bang in the middle of the Magic Tree air freshener. 
I tried these CDs on various systems I had access to and the same result; the Manics sounded shit. 

The question is...Why did the Manics allow the CD to be produced when it sounded so bloody awful. Admittedly I still think that that particular Lindsey Buckingham CD was really well engineered but the Manics sounded like it was recorded in some ones kitchen. Did they do this on purpose? Low Fi sort of thing.

Danny1969

Personally I love the sound of Everything must go. It's got a live sound to it, a lot of room on the drums and isn't layered to death. It's the sound of a band playing rather than the sound of a carefully layered production. There is more detail in there if you look for it but it sounds like a band ...  there's an edge to it although I have no idea if it was recorded as a band it's got that sound. 

Stuckfast

I'm not sure it's a fair comparison really!

First of all the Lindsey Buckingham album was released in 1992 whereas the Manics was 1996. A lot happened in that time. Out Of The Cradle is really the last knockings of ’80s style album production: big reverbs, big hair, everything very layered and crafted. It's not trying to sound like a band playing in a room and it doesn't.

By the time Everything Must Go was recorded Nirvana had come and gone, Britpop was everywhere and that whole ’80s sound was hugely unfashionable. There was a huge swing back towards trying to make records that sounded live and fresh and real.

I think you could argue that Everything Must Go was possibly a bit too ambitious for its own good, production-wise... they wanted to combine a full-on rock band with lavish strings and orchestration and there are moments where they just ran out of road. But it's effective at conveying what they wanted it to convey.

rze99

I recall There were some cheap and nasty CD pressings from substandard copies of albums back then especially back catalogue where no remastering was done. 

Stuckfast

Yes there have been some shockingly bad CD reissues of albums originally released on vinyl. There have also been some shockingly bad CD remasters of classic albums that were heavily compressed to compete loudness-wise with new releases in the late 90s / early 00s.

axisus

I heard that the Manics had a sign in the studio with the album name on it, and someone took the mixing desk.

chotu495

I love the Manics, but yeah, production can be a bit....iffy.

Still forgive them, and JDB is the reason there is a Les Paul in my house 

skitzigol

I believe that the Manics we’re aiming for that live open and airy Phil Spector sound where there’s lots going on, but it sounds so very simple. Get the album played on some big floor-speakers and it sounds great!