So, what have you been listening to lately?

[Dave W]

I didn’t know that, the first Earthwoods were so appalling in action? I only played one once in a music store - great acoustic signal -, but that was new and had a fine set-up. Of course you can’t have an acoustic bass guitar’s action real low if you want to dig in, but his action seems extreme. I hate fret buzz anywhere on a bass so my preferred action is higher than what most people tend to have. Fret buzz even bothers me when I only feel, not hear it, because the amped signal overpowers everything. That Billy Sheehan-type constant fret buzz in the way his basses are set up would drive me mad. Let's not even talk of JAE.

None of the Earthwoods were known for low action, but the early ones had bracing design problems that caused top problems that made getting decent action harder. Also, the bridges on the early ones had a tendency to come off (no bridge pins). Sterling Ball has talked about this in the past on the MM forums.

[Dave W]

The Frogman is 87 today. Saw a video of him at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz Festival, he was in a wheelchair but still in excellent voice. He must be one of the last living of the old N.O. guys, if not the last.

[Alanko]

My guitarist buddy was having a clear out of his CDs, looking to remove duplicate copies of albums. I've ended up with a 1995 issue of Who's Next. I'm guessing other copies I've owned or borrowed have been remasters, as this is quite a warm, soft-sounding version of the album. I quite like it, as it beds the slightly turgid Lifehouse songs in the middle into the overall soundscape of the album. On remastered versions, Baba O'Riley and Won't get Fooled surge out the speakers, while tracks like Going Mobile seemed a bit toothless. The obvious difference with this older edition of the album is that the drums seem to become a bit of an anonymous blur and clatter in the mix.

[uwe]

A good remaster or even better stereo remix can make a world of a difference, just compare these two here, same source material:

25th Anniv. SOTW Remaster (1997):



50th SOTW Dweezil Zappa Remix & Remaster (2024):



Opinions on what you prefer may differ, but an aural difference is definitely there - on any equipment. The 1997 version is crisp as hell - in line with prevailing remastering tastes at the time. The 2024 one OTOH goes for organic warmth (and a more prominent Ric sound in all its glory, Roger must have bribed Dweezil!).

[Alanko]

The 1997 version sounds like they chucked compression and smiley-face EQs on everything. The Dweezil version sounds more honest, somehow.

It reminds me of the handful of prog albums (mostly Gentle Giant) I own that Steve Wilson remixed and remastered. They are the old albums, but on a good day! Still plenty of dynamics and headroom, but instrument separation is better and the overall balance of the instruments is better.

The worst remix/remastering I've heard is the version of Obscured by Clouds slung into the Pink Floyd 'Early Years' box set. I like the original album as it is a bit of grace under pressure; recorded quickly as a soundtrack to a weird art house movie. It is somewhere between archaic space rock Floyd and a tough first draft of Dark Side. For the remix, David Gilmour added way to much of that slushy, modulated and compressed latter-day Floyd sound. Too glossy, too warm and bloated in the mids. They also did something ugly to the soundtrack to Live at Pompeii in the same box set. It is like they discovered Spatial Audio plugins like Izotope and set them all to 100%, matched with a brittle EQ that causes ear fatigue. All to try and 'rectify' something recorded on a mobile recording setup in 1971 using grimy European electricity, spliced cables, ground hums and crackles.

[wellREDman]

Melody Cristea from Liliac getting to play with some of her heroes

[Dave W]

[uwe]

Dweezil explaining it all.

[uwe]

Nick Lowe is always a joy to watch and that guitarist in the middle ist nicht von schlechten Eltern either.

[uwe]

Melody Cristea from Liliac getting to play with some of her heroes

Except that she is a little tall  , she has all his (sometimes frankly hilarious) mannerisms down pat.

[uwe]

The Prince of Darkness joins the war on drugs.

[Alanko]

Melody Cristea from Liliac getting to play with some of her heroes

Everywhere they tour, sales of men's shaggy black wigs goes up 300%. Some dodgy barnets in that band!

[Basvarken]

Melody Cristea from Liliac getting to play with some of her heroes

OMG that is so ugly on so many levels.
Horrible.

[uwe]

I was never the greatest Dio fan on Earth (save for the Elf stuff which I really liked), but I think she does a fine job. It's the mirror view of Dio attempting to sing like Carly Simon - I don't think he would have succeeded, he couldn't even do a proper hard rock falsetto à la Lou Gramm or Graham Bonnet which cost him the job with Rainbow because Ritchie wanted just that.

Dio was a great singer on his own turf, but extremely limited outside of that.

[Basvarken]

No, they sound (and look) like a parody.
And she takes the least attractive aspects of RJD an then exaggerates them terribly.
Really doesn’t do him justice.
The old men with their dyed black hair (or wigs) and terrible wardrobe don’t sound very inspired. Batio’s guitar solo is hilariously lacking any pointe or tastefulness.
Really downright horrible.