# What great albums do you wish could be re-recorded due to bad production quality? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2002, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591 "2002-12-09T20:08:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/21 "2002-12-10T04:44:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jehovah68 \* > **…but insulting this giant of an artist by calling his work lame is not only ludicrous but also ignorant.** Easy there, sparky. The man was a musician, not the messiah. I happen to agree that the earlier stuff had a much more emotionally engaging rough sound compared to the more dolled up later stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/22 "2002-12-10T04:47:30Z")
THe **Robert Johnson** sessions. ---
**Author:** ![musicguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@musicguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/musicguy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/23 "2002-12-10T05:01:52Z")
Anything with Charlie Parker 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/24 "2002-12-10T05:27:53Z")
The Lazy Cowgirls Tapping The Source. This is one of the best LPs of ALL time, but the sound quality is worse than shit. The Dictators 70s albums have been remastered on CD and 180 gram vinyl. I don’t know about the CDs, But the vinyl sounds awesome. If those records have sounded that good when they came out, The Dictators would have had the success they deserved. Leave those Misfits albums alone though. Danzig already fucked them up enough by replacing guitar and bass on the original recordings. Jon ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/25 "2002-12-10T05:56:10Z")
**Inky-** , _Raw Power_ was re-released a few years ago remixed by Iggy himself, and it’s the heavy metal album to end all heavy metal albums. I agree with the **Robert Johnson** recordings - I wouldn’t want them to sound like modern blues, but I just wish they were totally clear (maybe something like the Johnny Cash American Recordings album). I wish all the **Velvet Underground** live recordings had been done on better equipment - they’re almost all good, but they need a lot of imagination to get the full effect. I’d love a well recorded version of _Sweet Sister Ray_. Remember, good bad production is way better than bad good production 😉 ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/26 "2002-12-10T08:50:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Semp \* > \*\*I can think of only two offhand (lemme skim my cd collection and I can probably come up with a bunch more, but…), _Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions_ by Killing Joke and _Streetcleaner_ by Godflesh. \*\* Goddamn, man! Those are two of my favorite bands, you certainly have good taste in music. 🙂 I totally agree about _EDVRE_, the production is so bad, it’s nearly unlistenable. As for Godflesh, I gotta side with the ranting Hendrix fan. It’s the bad production that MAKES it such a classic!! ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/27 "2002-12-10T13:35:21Z")
I’ll go along with a couple-three of the above, and take a sidetrip: Billy Joel’s debut (solo) album **Cold Spring Harbor** It’s not a particularly _stunning_ album, but I’d like to hear the songs at the proper speed. Seems the master was recorded just a touch slow (making the album play a bit fast), and it sounds like he’s lightly hitting on helium throughout the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/28 "2002-12-10T13:54:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyomara \* > \*\*Easy there, sparky. The man was a musician, not the messiah. \*\* Thanks chief. I now see the error of my ways - can I help you teach the misguided fools that used to graffito “Clapton is God”? ---
**Author:** ![Dreaming\_of\_Maria\_Callas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@Dreaming\_of\_Maria\_Callas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dreaming_of_Maria_Callas)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/29 "2002-12-10T19:17:19Z")
Pale Saints The Comforts of Madness the songwriting and performance on this album are amazing (just listen to Chris Cooper’s drumming), but it was mixed horribly and “muddy” is the best word for it. UnuMondo ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/30 "2002-12-10T20:28:29Z")
The Byrds’ \* Doctor Byrds and Mister Hyde. \* There’s some great, I even dare say classic, rock music on this album, but whoever did the mixing must have been tone deaf. Sounds muddy no matter how good your sound system is. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/31 "2002-12-10T20:39:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Exapno Mapcase \* > \*\* > And it would be so nice to hear early 60s albums in true stereo rather than the reprocessed mono that put the voices in one speaker and the instruments in the other. \*\* Actually, this “reprocessing” method consisted of turning down the treble on the left channel and turning down the bass on the right channel. You could occasionally get a passably good \* faux \* stereo sound with this method, but most of the time it just sounded lousy. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/32 "2002-12-10T21:00:52Z")
Bill Evans _Sunday at the Village Vanguard_ and _Waltz for Debby_ (also a live album recorded at the V.V. the same weekend) - These two contain some of the most groundbreaking music I’ve ever heard. History is being made in this tiny, smoky club, and thankfully someone was there to record it. Through it all you can hear the club patrons clinking their forks, laughing at small talk, etc. Oblivious. Unbelievable. On second thought, perhaps I wouldn’t have that cleaned up. It’s instructive that people often aren’t aware of the exact moment history is being made, and the gravity thereof. This is life. I would, however, like to see several of the crappy studio pianos used by Bill Evans chopped up for firewood. Sometimes they are horrifically out of tune - even on some of the most classic early Evans albums, before he got - um - indiscriminate with his recordings. I can’t think why he put up with a studio piano being out of tune, ever. ---
**Author:** ![marinwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@marinwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marinwood)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/33 "2002-12-10T21:52:08Z")
Not an album, but a single: I wish “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys was recorded in true stereo. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/34 "2002-12-10T22:10:31Z")
David Gilmour’s self-titled first solo album. Its a great album, but the mix levels are so low that one can barely hear anything without cranking it up. They’ve done some correcting of this on the CD, but it still doesn’t have the clarity or volume it deserves. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/35 "2002-12-10T22:12:21Z")
My copy of Disraeli Gears sounded horrid. Talk about a shame. ---
**Author:** ![typhoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@typhoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typhoon)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/36 "2002-12-10T23:08:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\*THe **Robert Johnson** sessions. \*\* Good call. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/37 "2002-12-11T00:26:30Z")
**Peng!** by Stereolab. Some of their best songs are on that album, but they are really poorly mixed and the sound is just too “thin”, the overdubs are particularly bad because they were a much smaller band at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/38 "2002-12-11T00:34:12Z")
Billy Joel’s _Glass Houses_. Excellent Joel effort, but he spits all his “s” (how would you write the plural of “s”?). This album is genrally overlooked despite having numerous hits: “You May Be Right” “It’s Still Rock & Roll To Me” “Don’t Ask Me Why” ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/39 "2002-12-11T00:40:51Z")
Most everything that has been recorded in the last couple of years…ever since it became trendy to compress the life of all recording in the mastering stage to try and make them sound “loud”. They wonder why sales are dropping. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591/40 "2002-12-11T02:26:31Z")
“Spine of God” by Monster Magnet. All their later albums sucked, but SoG was great, except for the production value - when I played it for my old drummer, he asked ‘Is this a demo tape?’ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-great-albums-do-you-wish-could-be-re-recorded-due-to-bad-production-quality/141591.md?page=3)