Music: What 10 Albums would you like to see re-mastered?

[Elvis P]

What 10 Albums would you like to see re-mastered?

EDITED

What's Going On
Pet Sounds
Blue
Songs in the Key of Life
Abbey Road
.
Nevermind
Rumours
Purple Rain
Blood on the Tracks
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

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[kook10]

I was just listening to Nothing's Shocking and thinking it could really use a good remastering or even some remixing. It is a great album but the whole sound is kind of mid-range forward and not as big as it should be. I suspect though it may suffer from some fundamental issues in the original recordings since that hasn't already been done well.

While I imagine earlier recordings like Dylan and Elvis above may be limited by the quality of original recordings, you gotta think that there is some new technology or AI or something that could round out the bass and treble that weren't captured originally. That might cause big artistic concerns with the musician though. That said, you can't isolate and detangle instruments which have been combined or bounced down to single tracks or undo distortion on the masters.

 

[Eisen]

Honestly, I can't think of any. When I like an album, I just like it and don't need a remastering.

 

[Shareefruck]

Personally, on the heels of all those 50th Anniversary Beatles releases (btw, heads up to everyone interested, Let It Be is coming out October-- been crossing my fingers for Rubber Soul/Revolver next, which are in dire need of it), even when I like the original mixing and they're perfectly fine the way they are, I would love for virtually all of my favorite albums to get that sort of treatment. Whenever I read impressions, I always see a lot of purist takes and criticisms, but I never really understand or relate to it.

I feel the same way about that as I do classic films getting that Criterion restoration treatment. Can't get enough of that stuff.

I guess something being butchered by one is possible, but I can't think of any examples of that off the top of my head, personally.

Especially for albums from the mid-60s and earlier, I want full out new mixes, not just remasters. The original stereo versions of most of those are generally awful, IMO, and just making them sound crispier isn't nearly as nice as actually fixing the L/R panning issues that plague a ton of them.

 

[Skip Bayless]

Meh, re-mastering doesn't really achieve much of anything for me.

I'd like all of the Bee Gees and the Thriller album by MJ remixed though. Not as in re-imagined production, but making the mix sound modern.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Yeah 60s albums seem to be the main offenders when it comes to poor engineering due to it being the transition period between mono and stereo, and just doing a remaster isn't enough to fix these albums. These are some albums I'd like to see get new mixes though of course we don't know how feasible that is because the original multitrack recordings may no longer exist.

The Beatles - Revolver
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle

Those three albums that come to mind immediately as records that are both incredible and also in desperate need of a remix. The stereo mixes of all three albums are terrible. Odessey and Oracle needs it the most as with the Beatles records you can at least find the better mono versions online. I've never actually heard the mono version of Odessey and Oracle because it's impossible to find online and I haven't bothered to pick up a vinyl copy.

Some other choices:

The United States of America - The United States of America (Not as bad as the previous albums but some tracks still have panning issues)
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (A few key tracks have already been remixed (I Am The Walrus, Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane) but I'd like to see the rest done as well)
The Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions (The mono mix is fine but I'd like to hear a full stereo version. The stereo mixes of Heroes and Villains, Vega-Tables, and Wind Chimes are great)
The Velvet Underground - Live 1969 (Much better recordings of these performances have been released, would be nice to have this album re-released at higher quality as I prefer the concise tracklist over something like the Matrix Tapes)

 

[ItsFineImFine]

I have just one, Doppelganger by Curve from the early 90s. This is one of my top 20 albums but the sound quality is often described as tinny and it's shit. It sounds like it was recorded in 1982 rather than 1992. It's industrial shoegaze which makes it all the worse.

Garbage were putting out weaker albums but with good sound quality a few years later with a similar sound.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Metallica’s “And Justice For All” with actually audible Newsted basslines and better sounding drums plz.

 

[Shareefruck]

The Velvet Underground - Live 1969 (Much better recordings of these performances have been released, would be nice to have this album re-released at higher quality as I prefer the concise tracklist over something like the Matrix Tapes)

I wonder if you'd be able to track down which remastered tracks are the equivalent and manually create a playlist that accomplishes the same thing.

Actually, are there better recordings of the non-Matrix-Tapes End of Cole Ave. performances? I'd be very interested if there are.

These are some albums I'd like to see get new mixes though of course we don't know how feasible that is because the original multitrack recordings may no longer exist.

The Beatles - Revolver
The Beatles - Rubber Soul

They didn't seem to have trouble finding the original multitrack recordings of Sgt. Pepper, which was just a year or two later, so there's hope, at least.

I'm kind of annoyed by the order they're going in with the Beatles 50th Anniversary releases, as much as I love them. They're perfectly reconstructing every notable album EXCEPT the two that would benefit most from it.

 

[Elvis P]

Thanks for all your great posts. The more I think about it the first 5 albums listed in the OP are my top 5 albums ever including albums that have been remastered.