It's a great time to be into cd's because so many people have sold theirs, the prices have gone way down. Even 2-disc special editions I've seen go for a couple dollars. Most people got rid of their cd's the same way they got rid of their records years ago and may just end up wanting those cd's back someday. I know I'm keeping mine, not making the same mistake twice.
they both have their strengths and weaknesses. Easier for CDs to sound acceptable, but easy for vinyl to not sound good- that said when vinyl IS good, it's better than CD..I think Vinyl has a "feel" to the music, almost like hearing a recording vs hearing a tube amp if you're into guitar. It sounds "deeper"
"Box sets are a pain" LOL that's the fun of enjoying a box when you want to listen to it, taking out the box, opening it, take in the artwork, open the book and the discs and playing each, and enjoying the format and layout. It's more fun than you might think, unless you have ADD and have no ability to concentrate.
What an interesting video! I think I'm about the same age as you, and perhaps that's why I embrace both CDs and Vinyl records. I think you're totally right that condensing the entire creative output of an artist into a tiny package with a little booklet led to the downfall of CDs. As a teenager I would sit listening to a record and I would pour over the sleeve art and whatever additional paperwork they included with the album. It's akin to the concept of compressing all of your nutritional needs into a tablet you take twice a day.
that's not so much the problem - a digital master is way more accurate than most tape masters, so capturing the nuances from a digital master is a lot more likely to happen on vinyl than it is with capturing the nuances of a tape master on vinyl (due to vinyl's signal dropoff and limited dynamic range on the inner bands). Case in point: my copy of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. by Incubus sounds as great, if not as accurate, as the digital master on TIDAL because the digital master, by its very nature, captures as much of the sound as it can with its intensely high sampling rate. We're not working with the 16/24 recorders of Tusk and The Nightfly anymore - by the recording of S.C.I.E.N.C.E, they were using 24/48 and (in higher-end studios) 48/96 recorders. A tape master just sounds better because of analog distortion - it sounds warmer, more saturated. There is a desire to recording on tape. But then again, a great digital master in the '90s that hasn't been ruined by Rick Rubin's army of mastering producers sounds as great as an analog master from the '70s. The problem is that vinyl requires a specific kind of sequencing - louder tracks at the beginning, quieter or more suite-like tracks at the end of the side, plus sides should be limited to 22 minutes max lest we run into inner-groove distortion, quality loss, and bleedthrough. You listen to your copy of A Wizard, a True Star and A/B that with the CD master - the CD master is much, much better than the vinyl. The vinyl begins to sound terrible starting at the coda on "Zen Archer" on side one, for example. And it's such a low-volume vinyl record too - you have to crank up the speakers just to get "International Feel" to have punch, which means that you hear the distortion really loud and clear on "When the Shit Hits the Fan (Sunset Boulevard)." Just because Todd Rundgren could do it doesn't mean he should've, to very loosely paraphrase the famous mathematician and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm. Most modern vinyl tries to slam on a bunch of 20+ minute sides with no regards for loud-to-quiet song sequencing - or they try to make an entire record that would better be two-disc onto one disc. Tragic Kingdom and Mr. Bungle would be better if they were three or four-sided albums since those songs are full of intense dynamics that would get ruined from groove squashing and inner-groove distortion. But I have modern vinyl pressings sourced from digital masters and they sound great. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sounds great, Portishead's self-titled sounds absolutely incredible (and that's largely digital except for the recording of the re-recorded samples), S.C.I.E.N.C.E. sounds great, Rated R sounds great, Parklife sounds great - and why? Because they don't try to SLAM every song into 25-minute sides, which means that with shorter side lengths, they can eschew loud-to-quiet dynamics (which works in regards to Rated R since it has no real quiet side closers due to the inclusion of "Ode to Clarissa"), they can add in hidden tracks (like "Segue 1," the turntablism track that closes out S.C.I.E.N.C.E) without having to spill over into Rundgren-sized sides from his Utopia days, and they act as good breaks between each chunk of song. Digital masters don't have anything to do with the effectiveness of the album. If that were the case, we wouldn't have people praising copies (including first-presses and MFSL limited runs) of The Nightfly (first entirely-digital album) and Tusk for being so crisp and clean.
"I wanna do the ritual" There, you said it. Reason number one I like my vinyl. It's a ritual. You listen to an album, you get the big cover and there's this ritual, you have to clean the vinyl etc. CD's are really practical for bonus tracks and box sets, but then I don't buy them now so often since I subscribed to Spotify, which is quite convenient for that kinf of things. Take the Dylan Bootleg Series, would I really want to listen to what would be a double album exclusively dedicated to "Like a Rolling Stone" ? Heck, no. But it's nice to hear all the different versions. Each format has it's pros and cons, but let's face it : the album format was born or at least was developed in the rock era for vinyl and it stays for it. 45 minutes, not too long, not too short. And vinyl are just the perfect media for it
The thing that makes cd better than vinyl for me is storage. Theyre smaller so i can have more in my room(i have roommates). Theyre alot less stressful than vinyl. Usually dont have to worry about stuff getting warped or scratched if you store them properly yoh can jam cds in a bin til its completely full and you probabaly wont fuck the cds up. If a jewel case is cracked you can just go buy some blank ones and replace the cracked parts. If something happens to a sleeve of a record well you might have to just buy a whole new record if you want the artwork and everything.
I'm an exception here: I much prefer CDs to vinyl. The records would collect these snaps and pops even though I cleaned them. It drove me crazy. People talk about the warmth of vinyl, but it's temporary. The snaps and pops are going to ruin that warmth.
One of my favouritie tracks on a favourite album had this annoying click on it. I found myself waiting for that click/pop every time I played it. A happy day the day I replaced that album on CD, which sounds great.
I thought maybe you were going to mention gimmicks that can’t be replicated, like “Fingertips” from the They Might Be Giants Apollo 18 album. A “song” that is really 21 snippets of music that would pop up randomly for a silly burst if the disc was played on shuffle. Or the unlisted hidden track that you had to rewind from track one to hear.
I remember weird things like having a Korn album that started off with twelve 6 second blank tracks and then the first actual music track began on number 13 and then continued on in the normal fashion. I remember being really pissed thinking that I got a faulty disk and then laughing at the joke they played on us when I got to number 13.
Nice Video. The number one thing I don't miss about cds is the ridiculous high prices we were gouged for all those years which are now priced more reasonably probably due to downloading, streaming and the resurgence of vinyl. Still buy cds as well as vinyl.
Just started collecting vinyl 3 years ago after amassing a collection of around 3000 CDs. Now I'm up to 500 records and counting. Very addictive, but extremely fun and satisfying, hobby. Music - the universal language. Great video!
"It was the hardest bands that had the cutest things."... Hahahaha, so true. I love how Hardchore Punk bands always seem to have pretty pink alternate pressings.
CD's are the best thing ever and I think its great having a whole artists backcatalogue in a single box that be easily stored in a small space. CD mastering quality is down to the poor work of mastering engineers and not the actual format. As for cracked CD cases… they are very cheap and easy to replace.
Love the enthusiasm , i am into both but recently took my vinyl from the attic and bought a turntable , so videos like this worth their weight in gold.
I put all my CDs into a wallet, converted them to MP3 and discarded the cases. Vinyl on the other hand it's all about the experience of taking the record out, putting it on and looking at the artwork. Vinyl brings back a deeper connection to the music and the music artist. No matter how much a techie might tell me how superior digital is to Vinyl, music is all about the experience. Infact a well mastered record sounds better to my ears and the music just comes alive more. Glad Vinyl has made a comeback, even if it can be on the pricey side sometimes.
The heyday of cool elaborate CD box sets was fun. Extra rare tracks, wild designs. I got addicted to them for awhile. Fun to collect and great music they do don’t get on vinyl. Nice overview.
A big thing I prefer about some CDs is not just “bonus” tracks but FULL versions of long songs and completeness - for instance, John Coltrane/Archie Shepp live album New Thing at Newport: the vinyl original only includes one song (12 mins) from Coltrane and 4 from Shepp, but the CD complete issue has 2 full long Coltranes (the other one is 15 mins) and 6 Shepp pieces. That music is essential. Imagine knowing Coltrane performed almost 30 minutes and you only get to hear 12 of them. Another example is Jimmy Smith’s Root Down. I first heard it on CD and wanted the vinyl but noticed the THREE stand out songs (including “Root Down”) are abridged to nearly half their actual length for the vinyl. As much as I want the vinyl, the CD sounds good enough that I don’t want to compromise the full performances. Not to mention you get another take of Root Down as a bonus track. To me the content is just as important as the sound quality, and in cases like this the CD/digital is good enough to justify. In general the limited space of vinyl makes live issues difficult and too abridged for me.
john coltrane on cd ,never saw it ,maybe in Europe jazz music stores don´t sell cds but when working as a dj i found in a litle town or vilage , a lot of cds in a drawer for one to use and there it was one of the last miles davis album on cd but only saw that one time
CDs were best for listening to in the car. I was always a sucker for bonus tracks too. My first copy of Synchronicity was on CD, so when I finally listened to it on LP, I was like, What happened to Murder By Numbers? I now own multiple copies on LP, just for the variance in cover artwork.
A couple items: (1) Something too rarely done with CDs: adding bonus audiophile disks. I mainly just saw this with some Porcupine Tree / Steven Wilson issues. (2) I always find it virtually impossible to keep a vinyl album from developing small scratches, warping, etc., no matter how carefully I store and play them. I guess also (3) just as there's nothing to stop engineers from doing a poor transfer to digital job, there's nothing to stop other shenanigans, like vinyl records that are just transfers from ugly-sounding highly-compressed digital albums.
I have been collecting vinyl since 1954 and the one thing I positively hate is re-mastering. I'm used to the song from when it came out and to hear it with some "engineer's" idea of what it should sound like is unacceptable to me. I did try a DSD remaster of an early Stones album which was made using the original tape and it sounds exactly like those albums, so I bought all of them. they came from Argentina but they were SO worth it. CD's? at least I can listen to them in the car lol.
I had a friend whose family owned 2 radio stations back in the 70s and he would always get us free tickets and back stage passes. Got to meet many bands and after about the fifth outing I asked if I could bring record albums to have the bands sign. He said you can bring the albums but they may or may not sign. I was lucky enough to have quite a few signed. This was way before meet and greets jacked up the prices. It was a different world then.
Oh people have done the records in a tin, Public image had thier album in a vinyl sized tin. And drum and bass lable metal heads did a compilation in a tin !
Great video! Lol at the Nine Inch Nails CD. The vinyl version comes with a 7 inch in a similar little packet. I’ve also never seen that Jar Of Flies CD, that’s super cool!
Hey Robert, this video only just popped up. I agree with a lot of what you said. The CD format has its place. I went through a stage where I bought a lot of CD's, some of which I already had on vinyl, but I kept the LP anyway. The boxed CD sets started to come into their own, particularly those that had complete recordings or a historical overview. I have the LP and also the CD version of that Stones Singles box, but my CD version is the later 3 CD 'fatpack'. I also have the LP sized Stax/Volt Singles boxed set with large booklet. Some of the 'album collection bundle' boxes have been done with love and care while others with a slap dash minimalist attitude (looking at you Warner/Rhino) particularly where one label will give you a lovingly created gatefold replica with all the album artwork, while another gives you single sleeves without even polybag inners for the discs. Worse when they stupidly put the CD openings slots INSIDE the gatefold when they provide one. 🙄 CD's are convenient. I recall taking the inserts only of a couple of LP's for an artist to sign which he happily did. No way would I take the record itself to a gig. Anyway take care. Cheers mate 👍
I agree with all. There's also the early CDs that came from the best source, Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell for instance, you had to turn them all the way up cause the sound quality and loudness was so bad. Twisted Sisters Stay Hungry was very poor when first released on CD. Great video brother.
fun fact - I also have two other coffin DVD box sets - The Pete Walker UK Collection and the Blind Dead Collection. I've seen some others too. David Lynch does the same one track deal with various blu-rays but to me its not as bad with movies
There are some Japanese box sets like that Deep Purple set that are considered 'high end'. The whole artist catalog is include in one box with individual sleeves. James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock, Ronnie Milsap, and the Isley Bros have all these are they are valued by collectors. I don't get the whole 'vinyl resurgence' as the better format was answered decades ago. UA-cam and social media drove the vinyl resurgence as old time collectors showed their wares. I'd rather have a crack on a jewel case over a 25% defect rate which includes non-fill, skips, scratches, off-center spindle holes, heat warps, chips, ect. Half the people buying records don't even open them and many don't have a player.
Ha, for the longest time you could buy 5 packs of CD cases in stores for like a dollar. Just the cases. Always handy for swapping out the paper from the cracked case to a brand new one.
I just got into records. I went to the rock and roll hall of fame and got some records including one of my favorites, The Wall by Pink Floyd. I also have bands like Nirvana, The Doors, Steely Dan, Cat Stevens, and more. And of course Zeppelin and the Beatles. I do listen to CDs, but the novelty feel of records makes me like them more. (Love your Stone Temple Pilots poster!)
Those 2001 Judas Priest cd reissues with bonus tracks, WERE issued on vinyl in the UK in 2011. Sin After Sin through Painkiller. British Steel was a picture disc, and still had the bonus tracks
Just bought King Crimson "THRAK" on vinyl. '90's album just released for the first time on vinyl a few months ago. Original album is on sides 1-3. Bonus tracks on side 4. Bonus tracks on vinyl. This is actually a bit of a trend, '90's albums originally released only on CD/cassette now getting vinyl releases with bonus tracks. The world is turning upside down. And "Lovesexy" is also only one track on download.
The truth was probably that the record industry wanted to kill the vinyl record. at that time, they made more money on a CD than on a vinyl record. then Sony and Philips had probably invested a lot of money. and sony probably remembers their failures with DAT and Beta Video
There was a thing with CD's where tracks would be omitted, in order to fit an entire album onto one (then) 74 minute disc. A kind of anti-bonus track situation. * The Jam compilation _Snap!_ had 29 tracks, whereas its CD counterpart _Compact Snap!_ had only 21. * _All The Best_ by Paul McCartney lost 3 of its 20 tracks, including the great song _Maybe I'm Amazed._ * In 1990 there was a UK pop compilation called _The Hit Pack,_ where the CD had 21 tracks as opposed to 24 on LP or cassette.
When Prince's "1999" was originally released on cd, they left off "Automatic"! A song was also left off of The Cure's "Kiss Me Kiss Me" cd when it was first released.
Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar and NIN - Downward Spiral have a ton of blank tracks that go on and on and then a hidden track at the end. Korn has one that is track 100.
@@eightcoins4401 yes, the "regular edition has tracks 98 and 99 as hidden, in the first editions (the one shown in the video) the 2 songs (physical & Suck) came in the small 8cm CD. Tool Undertow has the last song (Disgustipated) as track 69.
I've always found it interesting how some things on vinyl records that couldn't be done with CDs, or cassettes for that matter, especially The Beatles - A Day In The Life locked groove on Sgt Pepper, and Monty Python's Matching Tie And Handkerchief, which was an LP with three sides. :D
I would also mention Wow by Mobey Grape - where the last track on side 1 has a warning to change to change the speed to 78rpm and ends in a locked groove, You had to pick upo the stylus and replace to play track 5. Funny thing is, this warning was retained for the cd. Also, what about etched sides on albums? I have many on vinyl yet only two on cd.
I used to have a tin. Adam Ant single Room, at the Top came out in a silver one. The last point about small box sets I never really thought about. Great point.
I collect both CDs and vinyl. I agree the loudness wars and over compressed CDs suck. Also enhanced CDs never seemed to work well. And the bonus tracks are another selling point for CDs. I'd rather just have the original album on LP, and bonus on the CDs.
"the loudness wars and over compressed CDs suck" yes, that is right. and because of that cd's have a bad reputation sadly, although well mastered cd's can sound fantastic.
@@lucalone adele's CD was heavily criticized for its sound but the attitude was that people were pleased with that quality because they bought hundreds of thousands of copies of that disc
One thing I love about CDs, hidden tracks, on the Oasis album Heathen Chemistry there is a 30 minute gap between the final track and the bonus track, you can't do that one vinyl.
CD sound has surpassed vinyl sound unlike the early days when they sounded like you were sitting inside a bucket and got hollow sound. Vinyl now seems like they have no quality control and it is hit and miss.
there were always cds that were good sounding from the get going, allthough some are incredible bad i think the problems is in the detail ,like vibrations from guitar strings are recognized as noise and erased by the digital convertion ,rock albums were the less good sounding on cd
not even today ,it´s better but then it was also ok just not comparable for the fact that digital it as always limitations in frequency´s and in analog it´s all spectrum of frequencies available for the most demanding music ,no matter the type of sound , i always give the example of dream syndicate live at the rajii´s ,it was the best live rock qalbum i ever listened ,even better than some studio albums but it says in the back "directelly recorded into DAT" but a few years after i bought the record there was the cd with two more songs i liked from this band ,i also bought it but the sound wasn´t close to the record it was bad this guitars wise wich sound perfect on the vinil version wich is recorded from a digital source, so the problem here are cd limitations not even a discussion of wich is best ,but being both cd and record recorded and at the time i was using a turntable from 1976 and a cd player from 87 both were good from the pioneer catalog 11 years appart ,but just a old turntable with original cartridge and stylus ,i might add that today i compared it with a pro-ject that cost around 5.000€ and it sounds much better at all levels, this measured
Speaking of target cds. Turns out the original Japanese cd of Speaking In Tongues by Talking Heads is the only way to get the LP mix. Every cd of it that came out after that is the cassette version with the longer tracks. And then, on top of that. Turns out the UK 12" of Burning Down The House has the cassette only versions of the 2 extra songs that got the longer mix. The only single track cd i know of is the original cd version of Party Time For Assholes by The Vindictives. Which included 3 extra songs. Which 2 was the Sex Pistols 5" they did. And then there is that black NIN cd that once you take it out of the player, it is white. Guess the heat changes whatever the top coating is. Would be neat to see in a see through cd player. Wonder if it changes like when a bad needle burns out a styrene record. Oh, I hear Jar Of Flies is getting pressed with flies in the vinyl. Hopefully, where the label goes and not in the grooves so it goes thumpity thump thump.
I love vinyl, yesterday my 18 year old daughter helped me dig out my collection from the cellar and shelve them in alphabetical order. I’m so disappointed in my poor taste in music as a teenager. One Van Morrison LP and two Pink Floyd, I’ve got four Cars Candy-O, damn.
I like the early WG Target CDs for stuff that was contemporary to that time, but more from a collectibility standpoint. Most of that stuff has been digitally remastered to sound much better in later years, and often the original LP sounds the best anyway. The ones for early digital recordings tend to be my go-to for those recordings, Like A Virgin is a good example - you need the target CD to really hear that album
For box sets, I have a system for easier access which is to remove the CDs and put them in blank CD cases and label the spine and they are place into the CD collection. All the boxes are put in a separate shelve in the vinyl - CD room. As for autographs I have a number of CD booklets I do have a number of them signed by the artist. After a show some artist especially lesser known independent artist will do a meet and greet with fans where they are selling merchandise you can buy their album(s) CDs and get the autograph. Just do not expect that to happen after a Stones show ha ha.
With your thing about the bonus tracks, I actually recently bought an LP (the first glass beach album by glass beach band) that has a bonus track not on the cd or the cassette!!
I get you on the point made on DEEP PURPLE box. (Lowest common denominator in packaging.) But if I didn’t already own most of those individually, I would be so on that mini box!
I’ve started buying some cds and I have some questions for you guys. Is there is certain type of cd that has better quality? I’ve heard that cds made in the 80s are better because they were pressed from the original vinyl, is that true?
CDs have been declining in popularity for a long time but I wouldn't say that vinyl is back as king of the physical formats. Even though they're only a fraction of what they used to be in terms of sales, I would say CDs are still more popular than vinyl.
Revenue for vinyl surpassed CD in the US in the first half of 2020: edition.cnn.com/2020/09/13/tech/vinyl-records-cd-sales-riaa/index.html#:~:text=Vinyl%20records%20accounted%20for%20%24232.1,Recording%20Industry%20Association%20of%20America.
@@UtubemopI'm sure some of them would like to kill off cd's. People are wiser to these things though than 30 years ago and the supposed death of vinyl. They could tell us about the superiority of vinyl but people have probably made up there own minds.
Awesome video, i do collect cds, and over years got to the point of buying only digipak, because jewel cases break too often, I do like the originals collections with all the sleeves.
also they have the odd shaped metal CD singles from bands like Dissection and Hypocrisy, in various weird shapes where there was a disclaimer saying it might not play in your player
I remember buying box sets loved the bonus tracks but doubt you will see them again they are not on spotify recreating the original covers for these cd packages is a waste cardboard sleeves and those jewel cases ready to be thrown out or recycled been a while since I bought a cd very happy with my hefty vinyl library very selective with what I buy next Great video
One thing about those tins I've had issue with is the foam stuff sticks to CD when it degrades. But I still prefer CD the only thing which I miss from vinyl is artwork.
Another cool thing with CDs is bonus DVD/BluRay. "Making-of" documentaries, concerts, interviews, videos. But yeah, LPs have their own special appeal. Long time CD collector, recently gotten back into vinyl. I still do both.
Now I really need to see a video on cds with bonus tracks you can't get on vinyl!!! I know there are cd singles that cost more now than the original cd albums that can only be down to the bonus tracks you cannot get anywhere else.
I miss the album side. I used to put on 5-6 Beatles albums on my parents old automatic turn table and enjoy. CDs became too long, and lots of late 80s and 90s bands that could have had great/perfect 45 minute albums ended up making good/average 60 minute plus ones.
And don't forget unique CD packagings like Tool's "Lateralus", and "10.000 Days" with the 3D glasses that didn't comes on the Vinyl. Or Dimmu Borgir's "In Sorte Diaboli" Limited Deluxe Edition that comes with a small mirror to read the downsided and backwards lyrics and to see hidden artwork. And don't forget the CD/DVD/Blu-ray Special Editions like the ones Porcupine Tree released, and the Digibook CD editions from many new artists.
Back in the '80s there were a few records that had computer programs on them that you would record to cassette and if you had the right computer (usually a Commodore) you could load up and run the programs.
There was a news story that was going around about one that was recently re-discovered. I don't remember who the band was. I think it was Christian Rock.
1:49 Public Image Ltd released a 1979 album that on initial pressings consisted of three 45rpm 12" discs set inside a metal canister that resembled a film container and named it Metal Box, what else. The regular version of the album? Named it Second Edition...
Prince’s Batman has a black round tin, cases are easy to replace compared to scratched vinyl, the volume wars were annoying and I’ll miss the bonus tracks.
I'm from london and i bought some dire straits cds first press that came out in 1983 from a charity shop, in excellent condition, i went to see on discogs they go for between 50 to 200 dollars
One reason why I would get a CD over and LP is that sometimes the albums run time could never fit on a LP without the LP becoming ridiculously expensive to produce, Enter the Phil Zone for Example.
cds were perfect when they simply came in jewel boxeconvenient easy and space saving storage. but the best storage option,the jewel box, had to be played with and "improved". cd jewel cases fit nicely on bookshelves. i use standard pressboard bookshelves and can actually fit 2 rows per shelf by fitting a cardboard divider between the 2 rows. over 100 cds on 1 shelf. but then these odd size storage options. oversized cardboard boxes, metal cans, and odd shaped containers that were impossible to simply store horizontally on bookshelves. you had to separate the cds from these oddball storage containers if you wanted your preferred way of storage to continue using the space saving bookcase method. store the cds using the bookshelf method but having to find a place to store all the books and containers for these collections. this started in the late 80s and early 90s,a few years after the arrival of the cd. didnt make any sense then or now. they dropped the cd longbox early on for space saving but continued on with these ridiculous over sized monstrosities. and i'm not even going to go into the ridiculous small cheap cardboard lp in miniature storage methods. the cd jewel box was the first and the best storage method. if its not broken why try to fix it?
I gotta make a correction about what you said regarding Loudness Wars. It wasn’t the mid 90’s, but much later on that that became prevalent in CD’s (2008 with Metallica’s “Death Magnetic” to be precise). CD’s in the 90’s sounded fantastic for the most part. It was only when they reissued certain titles decades later that loudness became an issue. A perfect example of this is Nirvana’s “Nevermind”. Listen to an original “Nevermind” CD from 1991 compared to the various deluxe/anniversary reissues 20 years later and one can easily hear how much better Kurt and company sounded in ‘91.
It started around '96-'97 with Aerosmith and Metallica releases (I think it was Re Load), it just became worse and worse and by the time "Death Magnetic" was released, it had hit a level of distortion that even average consumers were complaining. I have found the older albums remastered around '93-'95 sound the best.
@@RobertFithen I've heard Oasis being credited as one of the first bands to put out overcompressed albums, in their case What's The Story Morning Glory, from 1995. Metallica's Load and Reload are certainly louder than their previous efforts, but still nowhere near being brickwalled - their waveforms clip quite often, but it's still firmly a wave instead of a brick. RHCP's Califonication from 1999 was criticized for its overly loud and squashed production right when it came out.
Yeah... And idk about you guys but I feel much happier when I put on some music and think "hey, that sounds nice, turn it up!!" Instead of thinking: "ouch my ears!!! can you please bring down the volume?" But oh well, that was all the bigshot mastering engineers so I guess their thoughts were smarter than my thoughts.
I find myself ripping some CD's I already own (as opposed to ones I borrow) onto my laptop and eventually onto my phone, instead of actually loading them up on the tray to play. Then I play from my phone onto my big stereo via bluetooth. I'm just getting too old for the physical media ritual nostalgia b.s. Ain't nobody got time fo'dat! - Red
I've been doing that with movies. Rather than take 6 steps to the shelf, taking the dvd out the case, loading, waiting for menus, warnings, etc..... I just clicked a remote twice and streamed the movies.
They Might Be Giants: Apollo 18 included along with the rest of a normal album a series of 21 mini songs as individual tracks on the CD i always assumed were meant to be played interspersed on shuffle.....) the first X-Files CD also had a particularly hidden track only accessable by rewinding from the beginning of the first track, best song on the album really.....!!) also, some Playstation 1 games and other CD-ROMs could also be played as normal audio CDs in a regular CD player, that was neat.....) still, not quite as cool as locked grooves and parallel grooves I'd say.....)
i liked what you said about reducing it to nothing...i have a few cds, some given as presents and others just not available on vinyl yet, but i don't consider any of them part of my record collection....
Well, you actually CAN translate enhanced CD to vinyl... sort of. Polish band Papa Dance has on their debut vinyl album A COMPUTER GAME: you supposed to copy it from the vinyl to compact casette and then run it on Commodore 64 :)
There are bands who never printed vinyl during the CD age, badlands - voodoo highway, most of Ivy's music is cd only, Danzig's - how the gods kill cd single came with a vhs of the uncensored video in a cool box.
8:47 The Bronzing was dew to a Reaction from the Ink used to Print the First batch of CD's, It also attacked the Disc making It Unplayable. This was Quickly sorted out. Funny enough The First ever Commercially released CD was "Arrival - ABBA" and again Pressed In Germany. I have that one and the Billy Joel one too, people tell Me they are worth a lot of Money. I have loads of those Metal Tin ones too. Never put those Enhanced Video CD's In Your computer, They will give It a Virus, or If Your still on a Older system, they will completely crash It. 12:30 I worked as a DJ In a club, and I started to get these 3" singles from Japan coming through. The Club didn't even have a CD player for at least a Year. Before I could even play them, Then the first players didn't have that Dink In the tray. So I had to put them In a Adapter, but they kept falling out. By the time the players came with the Dink, 3" singles were a thing of the Past. I still have them all. I have CD's that play In a CD player and a Vinyl Record Player. I would get up to 40 CD's a day Including Box sets mostly singles and all promo's as well featuring tracks that have never up to now been on CD Commercially. Does anyone have those Cardboard Bio-Gradable CD box's, and has Yours started to turn to dust?.
This isn’t the right video but something curious happened since I saw your video of albums never released on CD.. I went into my local indie shop in California and they had the original Culture Club purple cover art CD, complete with that Compact Disc badge and the red block lettering that looked like cassette spines - wish I could copy a pic here
To Wilco's credit, they did eat the extra manufacturing costs for the double CD so the album could be sold at the same price as a single CD (though I'm sure some unscrupulous retailers marked it up anyway).
Couple things that have annoyed me about CDs versus vinyl. Yeah, I tended to dislike a lot of the bonus tracks added to the CD releases. I thought the songs added to the CD version of Fleetwood Mac's Then Play On were totally out of place. As were the tracks added to The Mothers on the CD release of Absolutely Free. But I do miss the extra track added to Patty Smith's CD release of Horses. But the one thing that's bugged me is when records originally issued as CD only, but then later released on vinyl when vinyl was a thing again, that vinyl release sounded like shit. Some of this had to do with the original master. When CDs first started, they would be labeled as either AAD or DDD, the former coming from an analogue source tape, and the latter totally digital. When I saw vinyl reissues of records that were originally CD, I discovered a lot of those vinyl pressings sounded like crap, and it was most likely because the original CD was a DDD, and that original master was a piece of shit and didn't translate well on vinyl. Some engineers knew how to remaster for vinyl. But even some AAD originals still didn't translate well to vinyl. The Blues Travelers CD Travelers and Thieves sounds like it's played through muddy water on the vinyl issue I picked up. But that may also be the result of it being on colored vinyl and the pressing was shoddy. But others that were originally released on CD sound great on vinyl. Oh, yeah, and I hate cracked CD cases, or when the prongs break in that center spot that holds the CD. More than once that was the case when the CD was brand new! But one thing I really like about my Nirvana original CD release of Nevermind is that hidden track at the end. Not even on the big reissue on vinyl, the 4 LP set that came out was that hidden track on there with the bonus material. It's kind of cool that it's there with the original CD release (I guess with later CD issues it was removed?). Fun video, sorry to ramble on like this with my comment.
Really long albums I find work better on CD's than on records. "All Things Must Pass," _great_ album but it's a long haul, 3 vinyl records, whereas it's just two discs on CD. I'd rather get up once to swap a disc than get up SIX times to flip a record. Plus, the CD cases/sleeves age MUCH better than those vinyl box sets from the 70's. This is more anecdotal to me, but I much prefer Abbey Road on CD over the vinyl record. The main reason is the transition between "She Wants You She's So Heavy" and "Here Comes the Sun." On CD they obviously come right after one another with no interruption, and it's like...an experience almost, which you don't really get with the vinyl record because you have to get up and flip it over. Also, there are a lot of compilations that come on CD but not on records, usually cause those compilations were released in the 90's and 2000's. A lot of good compilations too, like a Pure Funk CD I have, there is a smaller number of cassettes of it floating around. I also have a compilation CD called "Highs of the Seventies" which I found at a record store on discount for like 2 bucks. Amazing track listing, a good mix of some popular songs and way more obscure songs, but as far as I know it doesn't exist on vinyl.
I generally only buy vinyl if it’s something from the era where vinyl was the leading format (so up to mid-late eighties), because that’s the way the artists intended it to be heard, with a side one and a side two etc. If something from the CD era gets a modern day vinyl release, like Nirvana’s Nevermind for example, I’m not so interested as it’s not something that was ever conceived with vinyl in mind.
@@RobertFithen Exactly. A lot of CD era albums in the 50 to 60 minute duration range - too long for a single vinyl record but not really long enough to justify a double album, with three songs and 15 minutes per side. Proper double albums like Blonde on Blonde, Tusk, The Wall etc clock in around 75-80 minutes.
A larger coffin, you could call it your vinyl resting place
CD’s are still, and always will be, my go-to format. I prefer the sound and convenience over LP’s.
It's a great time to be into cd's because so many people have sold theirs, the prices have gone way down. Even 2-disc special editions I've seen go for a couple dollars. Most people got rid of their cd's the same way they got rid of their records years ago and may just end up wanting those cd's back someday. I know I'm keeping mine, not making the same mistake twice.
they both have their strengths and weaknesses. Easier for CDs to sound acceptable, but easy for vinyl to not sound good- that said when vinyl IS good, it's better than CD..I think Vinyl has a "feel" to the music, almost like hearing a recording vs hearing a tube amp if you're into guitar. It sounds "deeper"
sadly over dynamic compression and overuse of no noise filters have given CD's a bad name. Just google LOUDNESS WAR....
@@lucalone Well, just remember how most LPs had all sorts of crackles & pops, & get worse with every play.
Preach brother
"Box sets are a pain" LOL that's the fun of enjoying a box when you want to listen to it, taking out the box, opening it, take in the artwork, open the book and the discs and playing each, and enjoying the format and layout. It's more fun than you might think, unless you have ADD and have no ability to concentrate.
What an interesting video! I think I'm about the same age as you, and perhaps that's why I embrace both CDs and Vinyl records. I think you're totally right that condensing the entire creative output of an artist into a tiny package with a little booklet led to the downfall of CDs. As a teenager I would sit listening to a record and I would pour over the sleeve art and whatever additional paperwork they included with the album. It's akin to the concept of compressing all of your nutritional needs into a tablet you take twice a day.
I love vinyl but one of the problems with modern vinyl is that some titles are actually made using the cd release as a master.
Yeah, you have to do a lot of research to not get digital references on vinyl.
that's not so much the problem - a digital master is way more accurate than most tape masters, so capturing the nuances from a digital master is a lot more likely to happen on vinyl than it is with capturing the nuances of a tape master on vinyl (due to vinyl's signal dropoff and limited dynamic range on the inner bands). Case in point: my copy of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. by Incubus sounds as great, if not as accurate, as the digital master on TIDAL because the digital master, by its very nature, captures as much of the sound as it can with its intensely high sampling rate. We're not working with the 16/24 recorders of Tusk and The Nightfly anymore - by the recording of S.C.I.E.N.C.E, they were using 24/48 and (in higher-end studios) 48/96 recorders. A tape master just sounds better because of analog distortion - it sounds warmer, more saturated. There is a desire to recording on tape.
But then again, a great digital master in the '90s that hasn't been ruined by Rick Rubin's army of mastering producers sounds as great as an analog master from the '70s.
The problem is that vinyl requires a specific kind of sequencing - louder tracks at the beginning, quieter or more suite-like tracks at the end of the side, plus sides should be limited to 22 minutes max lest we run into inner-groove distortion, quality loss, and bleedthrough. You listen to your copy of A Wizard, a True Star and A/B that with the CD master - the CD master is much, much better than the vinyl. The vinyl begins to sound terrible starting at the coda on "Zen Archer" on side one, for example. And it's such a low-volume vinyl record too - you have to crank up the speakers just to get "International Feel" to have punch, which means that you hear the distortion really loud and clear on "When the Shit Hits the Fan (Sunset Boulevard)." Just because Todd Rundgren could do it doesn't mean he should've, to very loosely paraphrase the famous mathematician and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm.
Most modern vinyl tries to slam on a bunch of 20+ minute sides with no regards for loud-to-quiet song sequencing - or they try to make an entire record that would better be two-disc onto one disc. Tragic Kingdom and Mr. Bungle would be better if they were three or four-sided albums since those songs are full of intense dynamics that would get ruined from groove squashing and inner-groove distortion.
But I have modern vinyl pressings sourced from digital masters and they sound great. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sounds great, Portishead's self-titled sounds absolutely incredible (and that's largely digital except for the recording of the re-recorded samples), S.C.I.E.N.C.E. sounds great, Rated R sounds great, Parklife sounds great - and why? Because they don't try to SLAM every song into 25-minute sides, which means that with shorter side lengths, they can eschew loud-to-quiet dynamics (which works in regards to Rated R since it has no real quiet side closers due to the inclusion of "Ode to Clarissa"), they can add in hidden tracks (like "Segue 1," the turntablism track that closes out S.C.I.E.N.C.E) without having to spill over into Rundgren-sized sides from his Utopia days, and they act as good breaks between each chunk of song.
Digital masters don't have anything to do with the effectiveness of the album. If that were the case, we wouldn't have people praising copies (including first-presses and MFSL limited runs) of The Nightfly (first entirely-digital album) and Tusk for being so crisp and clean.
I forgot what a "mastering engineer" was. Bit of a brain fart.
Especially after the Universal fire! Thousands of analog and digital master tapes are gone forever.
@@RobertFithen if you want top 20 music from the 21st century or today you will probably not find an analog version
"I wanna do the ritual" There, you said it. Reason number one I like my vinyl. It's a ritual. You listen to an album, you get the big cover and there's this ritual, you have to clean the vinyl etc. CD's are really practical for bonus tracks and box sets, but then I don't buy them now so often since I subscribed to Spotify, which is quite convenient for that kinf of things. Take the Dylan Bootleg Series, would I really want to listen to what would be a double album exclusively dedicated to "Like a Rolling Stone" ? Heck, no. But it's nice to hear all the different versions. Each format has it's pros and cons, but let's face it : the album format was born or at least was developed in the rock era for vinyl and it stays for it. 45 minutes, not too long, not too short. And vinyl are just the perfect media for it
The thing that makes cd better than vinyl for me is storage. Theyre smaller so i can have more in my room(i have roommates). Theyre alot less stressful than vinyl. Usually dont have to worry about stuff getting warped or scratched if you store them properly yoh can jam cds in a bin til its completely full and you probabaly wont fuck the cds up. If a jewel case is cracked you can just go buy some blank ones and replace the cracked parts. If something happens to a sleeve of a record well you might have to just buy a whole new record if you want the artwork and everything.
Also CDs look way better than vinyl on a shelf imo
Really entertained video.
I miss the convenience of cleaning CDs with just a wet cloth
I'm an exception here: I much prefer CDs to vinyl. The records would collect these snaps and pops even though I cleaned them. It drove me crazy. People talk about the warmth of vinyl, but it's temporary. The snaps and pops are going to ruin that warmth.
One of my favouritie tracks on a favourite album had this annoying click on it. I found myself waiting for that click/pop every time I played it. A happy day the day I replaced that album on CD, which sounds great.
I thought maybe you were going to mention gimmicks that can’t be replicated, like “Fingertips” from the They Might Be Giants Apollo 18 album. A “song” that is really 21 snippets of music that would pop up randomly for a silly burst if the disc was played on shuffle. Or the unlisted hidden track that you had to rewind from track one to hear.
I remember weird things like having a Korn album that started off with twelve 6 second blank tracks and then the first actual music track began on number 13 and then continued on in the normal fashion. I remember being really pissed thinking that I got a faulty disk and then laughing at the joke they played on us when I got to number 13.
Nice Video. The number one thing I don't miss about cds is the ridiculous high prices we were gouged for all those years which are now priced more reasonably probably due to downloading, streaming and the resurgence of vinyl. Still buy cds as well as vinyl.
Thanks! Once mastered, CD's are incredibly cheap to mass produce.
Just started collecting vinyl 3 years ago after amassing a collection of around 3000 CDs. Now I'm up to 500 records and counting. Very addictive, but extremely fun and satisfying, hobby. Music - the universal language. Great video!
"It was the hardest bands that had the cutest things."... Hahahaha, so true. I love how Hardchore Punk bands always seem to have pretty pink alternate pressings.
CD's are the best thing ever and I think its great having a whole artists backcatalogue in a single box that be easily stored in a small space. CD mastering quality is down to the poor work of mastering engineers and not the actual format. As for cracked CD cases… they are very cheap and easy to replace.
Love the enthusiasm , i am into both but recently took my vinyl from the attic and bought a turntable , so videos like this worth their weight in gold.
I put all my CDs into a wallet, converted them to MP3 and discarded the cases. Vinyl on the other hand it's all about the experience of taking the record out, putting it on and looking at the artwork. Vinyl brings back a deeper connection to the music and the music artist. No matter how much a techie might tell me how superior digital is to Vinyl, music is all about the experience. Infact a well mastered record sounds better to my ears and the music just comes alive more. Glad Vinyl has made a comeback, even if it can be on the pricey side sometimes.
The heyday of cool elaborate CD box sets was fun. Extra rare tracks, wild designs. I got addicted to them for awhile. Fun to collect and great music they do don’t get on vinyl. Nice overview.
A big thing I prefer about some CDs is not just “bonus” tracks but FULL versions of long songs and completeness - for instance, John Coltrane/Archie Shepp live album New Thing at Newport: the vinyl original only includes one song (12 mins) from Coltrane and 4 from Shepp, but the CD complete issue has 2 full long Coltranes (the other one is 15 mins) and 6 Shepp pieces. That music is essential. Imagine knowing Coltrane performed almost 30 minutes and you only get to hear 12 of them.
Another example is Jimmy Smith’s Root Down. I first heard it on CD and wanted the vinyl but noticed the THREE stand out songs (including “Root Down”) are abridged to nearly half their actual length for the vinyl. As much as I want the vinyl, the CD sounds good enough that I don’t want to compromise the full performances. Not to mention you get another take of Root Down as a bonus track. To me the content is just as important as the sound quality, and in cases like this the CD/digital is good enough to justify. In general the limited space of vinyl makes live issues difficult and too abridged for me.
Same thing with "Mountain Jam" from the Allman Brothers.
john coltrane on cd ,never saw it ,maybe in Europe jazz music stores don´t sell cds but when working as a dj i found in a litle town or vilage , a lot of cds in a drawer for one to use and there it was one of the last miles davis album on cd but only saw that one time
i still prefer sound quality above time of listening , more or less the cd is a recording made in a good deck with dolby c on ,it sounds close
CDs were best for listening to in the car. I was always a sucker for bonus tracks too.
My first copy of Synchronicity was on CD, so when I finally listened to it on LP, I was like, What happened to Murder By Numbers? I now own multiple copies on LP, just for the variance in cover artwork.
A couple items: (1) Something too rarely done with CDs: adding bonus audiophile disks. I mainly just saw this with some Porcupine Tree / Steven Wilson issues. (2) I always find it virtually impossible to keep a vinyl album from developing small scratches, warping, etc., no matter how carefully I store and play them. I guess also (3) just as there's nothing to stop engineers from doing a poor transfer to digital job, there's nothing to stop other shenanigans, like vinyl records that are just transfers from ugly-sounding highly-compressed digital albums.
I have been collecting vinyl since 1954 and the one thing I positively hate is re-mastering. I'm used to the song from when it came out and to hear it with some "engineer's" idea of what it should sound like is unacceptable to me. I did try a DSD remaster of an early Stones album which was made using the original tape and it sounds exactly like those albums, so I bought all of them. they came from Argentina but they were SO worth it. CD's? at least I can listen to them in the car lol.
I had a friend whose family owned 2 radio stations back in the 70s and he would always get us free tickets and back stage passes. Got to meet many bands and after about the fifth outing I asked if I could bring record albums to have the bands sign. He said you can bring the albums but they may or may not sign. I was lucky enough to have quite a few signed. This was way before meet and greets jacked up the prices. It was a different world then.
I used to get quite a few free tickets and cd's working in radio, but streaming and 360 deals changed all of that.
Oh people have done the records in a tin, Public image had thier album in a vinyl sized tin. And drum and bass lable metal heads did a compilation in a tin !
I had a Motorhead album with a leather cover that even my "nonfan" friends thought was cool.
Both CDs and Vinyl have their place, streaming as well.
Great video! Lol at the Nine Inch Nails CD. The vinyl version comes with a 7 inch in a similar little packet. I’ve also never seen that Jar Of Flies CD, that’s super cool!
Hey Robert, this video only just popped up. I agree with a lot of what you said. The CD format has its place. I went through a stage where I bought a lot of CD's, some of which I already had on vinyl, but I kept the LP anyway. The boxed CD sets started to come into their own, particularly those that had complete recordings or a historical overview. I have the LP and also the CD version of that Stones Singles box, but my CD version is the later 3 CD 'fatpack'. I also have the LP sized Stax/Volt Singles boxed set with large booklet. Some of the 'album collection bundle' boxes have been done with love and care while others with a slap dash minimalist attitude (looking at you Warner/Rhino) particularly where one label will give you a lovingly created gatefold replica with all the album artwork, while another gives you single sleeves without even polybag inners for the discs. Worse when they stupidly put the CD openings slots INSIDE the gatefold when they provide one. 🙄
CD's are convenient. I recall taking the inserts only of a couple of LP's for an artist to sign which he happily did. No way would I take the record itself to a gig.
Anyway take care. Cheers mate 👍
I agree with all. There's also the early CDs that came from the best source, Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell for instance, you had to turn them all the way up cause the sound quality and loudness was so bad. Twisted Sisters Stay Hungry was very poor when first released on CD. Great video brother.
fun fact - I also have two other coffin DVD box sets - The Pete Walker UK Collection and the Blind Dead Collection. I've seen some others too.
David Lynch does the same one track deal with various blu-rays but to me its not as bad with movies
There are some Japanese box sets like that Deep Purple set that are considered 'high end'. The whole artist catalog is include in one box with individual sleeves. James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock, Ronnie Milsap, and the Isley Bros have all these are they are valued by collectors. I don't get the whole 'vinyl resurgence' as the better format was answered decades ago.
UA-cam and social media drove the vinyl resurgence as old time collectors showed their wares. I'd rather have a crack on a jewel case over a 25% defect rate which includes non-fill, skips, scratches, off-center spindle holes, heat warps, chips, ect. Half the people buying records don't even open them and many don't have a player.
Ha, for the longest time you could buy 5 packs of CD cases in stores for like a dollar. Just the cases. Always handy for swapping out the paper from the cracked case to a brand new one.
can't do that with vinyl
Had to laugh at the jar of flies comment as the vinyl with the flies sold out on there site in minutes lol
I just got into records. I went to the rock and roll hall of fame and got some records including one of my favorites, The Wall by Pink Floyd. I also have bands like Nirvana, The Doors, Steely Dan, Cat Stevens, and more. And of course Zeppelin and the Beatles. I do listen to CDs, but the novelty feel of records makes me like them more. (Love your Stone Temple Pilots poster!)
Very fun and informative vid! Glad I finally caught up with this one!
Those 2001 Judas Priest cd reissues with bonus tracks, WERE issued on vinyl in the UK in 2011. Sin After Sin through Painkiller. British Steel was a picture disc, and still had the bonus tracks
Just bought King Crimson "THRAK" on vinyl. '90's album just released for the first time on vinyl a few months ago. Original album is on sides 1-3. Bonus tracks on side 4. Bonus tracks on vinyl. This is actually a bit of a trend, '90's albums originally released only on CD/cassette now getting vinyl releases with bonus tracks. The world is turning upside down. And "Lovesexy" is also only one track on download.
The truth was probably that the record industry wanted to kill the vinyl record. at that time, they made more money on a CD than on a vinyl record. then Sony and Philips had probably invested a lot of money. and sony probably remembers their failures with DAT and Beta Video
its crazy reading articles from the nineties about the "death of vinyl" and then realize how things flip flopped
The original Lovesexy cd was one long track.
"Portable" is the word....I literally laughed out load when I saw that. HA!! Great thread, Robert. I enjoyed it.Billy-
There was a thing with CD's where tracks would be omitted, in order to fit an entire album onto one (then) 74 minute disc. A kind of anti-bonus track situation.
* The Jam compilation _Snap!_ had 29 tracks, whereas its CD counterpart _Compact Snap!_ had only 21.
* _All The Best_ by Paul McCartney lost 3 of its 20 tracks, including the great song _Maybe I'm Amazed._
* In 1990 there was a UK pop compilation called _The Hit Pack,_ where the CD had 21 tracks as opposed to 24 on LP or cassette.
When Prince's "1999" was originally released on cd, they left off "Automatic"! A song was also left off of The Cure's "Kiss Me Kiss Me" cd when it was first released.
Leaving off Maybe I'm Amazed is a crime against humanity. I love that song.
I thought I had a big collection. You've got me beat!
Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar and NIN - Downward Spiral have a ton of blank tracks that go on and on and then a hidden track at the end. Korn has one that is track 100.
Actually, Broken, not Downward Spiral
I bought "The Verve" on compact cassette as a kid in the countryside. Felt quite cool to hear the music come on again after just leaving the tape on.
@@eightcoins4401 yes, the "regular edition has tracks 98 and 99 as hidden, in the first editions (the one shown in the video) the 2 songs (physical & Suck) came in the small 8cm CD.
Tool Undertow has the last song (Disgustipated) as track 69.
I've always found it interesting how some things on vinyl records that couldn't be done with CDs, or cassettes for that matter, especially The Beatles - A Day In The Life locked groove on Sgt Pepper, and Monty Python's Matching Tie And Handkerchief, which was an LP with three sides. :D
I would also mention Wow by Mobey Grape - where the last track on side 1 has a warning to change to change the speed to 78rpm and ends in a locked groove, You had to pick upo the stylus and replace to play track 5. Funny thing is, this warning was retained for the cd.
Also, what about etched sides on albums? I have many on vinyl yet only two on cd.
Bad Mastering (Loudness war, clipping, overuse of no-noise filters, etc.) gave CD'S a bad name.
Great video, very nostalgic and entertaining.
I used to have a tin. Adam Ant single Room, at the Top came out in a silver one. The last point about small box sets I never really thought about. Great point.
I collect both CDs and vinyl. I agree the loudness wars and over compressed CDs suck. Also enhanced CDs never seemed to work well. And the bonus tracks are another selling point for CDs. I'd rather just have the original album on LP, and bonus on the CDs.
"the loudness wars and over compressed CDs suck"
yes, that is right. and because of that cd's have a bad reputation sadly, although well mastered cd's can sound fantastic.
You may have just bought a bad CD player. you actually have to pay $ 200 for a CD player to make it sound good
@@lucalone At the same time, millions of people are listening to Spotify and previously they were listening to mp3
@@lucalone adele's CD was heavily criticized for its sound but the attitude was that people were pleased with that quality because they bought hundreds of thousands of copies of that disc
if there are non-existent dynamics CDs it does not depend on the CD it depends on the record company. and the producer
One thing I love about CDs, hidden tracks, on the Oasis album Heathen Chemistry there is a 30 minute gap between the final track and the bonus track, you can't do that one vinyl.
Yes you can. I can’t remember which album it was but there was one released with a double groove.
CD sound has surpassed vinyl sound unlike the early days when they sounded like you were sitting inside a bucket and got hollow sound. Vinyl now seems like they have no quality control and it is hit and miss.
It really just depends on the mastering, etc. I always try to check online to see about pressing quality before I buy, that's how bad it's gotten.
What CD's were you listening to? I started buying CD's early 85 and most of them sounded great. Way better than so called "remaster" versions of late.
there were always cds that were good sounding from the get going, allthough some are incredible bad i think the problems is in the detail ,like vibrations from guitar strings are recognized as noise and erased by the digital convertion ,rock albums were the less good sounding on cd
not even today ,it´s better but then it was also ok just not comparable for the fact that digital it as always limitations in frequency´s and in analog it´s all spectrum of frequencies available for the most demanding music ,no matter the type of sound , i always give the example of dream syndicate live at the rajii´s ,it was the best live rock qalbum i ever listened ,even better than some studio albums but it says in the back "directelly recorded into DAT" but a few years after i bought the record there was the cd with two more songs i liked from this band ,i also bought it but the sound wasn´t close to the record it was bad this guitars wise wich sound perfect on the vinil version wich is recorded from a digital source, so the problem here are cd limitations not even a discussion of wich is best ,but being both cd and record recorded and at the time i was using a turntable from 1976 and a cd player from 87 both were good from the pioneer catalog 11 years appart ,but just a old turntable with original cartridge and stylus ,i might add that today i compared it with a pro-ject that cost around 5.000€ and it sounds much better at all levels, this measured
Speaking of target cds. Turns out the original Japanese cd of Speaking In Tongues by Talking Heads is the only way to get the LP mix. Every cd of it that came out after that is the cassette version with the longer tracks. And then, on top of that. Turns out the UK 12" of Burning Down The House has the cassette only versions of the 2 extra songs that got the longer mix.
The only single track cd i know of is the original cd version of Party Time For Assholes by The Vindictives. Which included 3 extra songs. Which 2 was the Sex Pistols 5" they did.
And then there is that black NIN cd that once you take it out of the player, it is white. Guess the heat changes whatever the top coating is. Would be neat to see in a see through cd player. Wonder if it changes like when a bad needle burns out a styrene record.
Oh, I hear Jar Of Flies is getting pressed with flies in the vinyl. Hopefully, where the label goes and not in the grooves so it goes thumpity thump thump.
Using dynamic compression to increase the loudness goes all the way back to the 40s. It has been done to a lot of vinyl.
There's a great video where Bob Ludwig talks about competing with other engineers to make the loudest rock 45's in the mid 60's.
But now we'm talking about Digital Dynamic Compression and it's much more brutal
I love vinyl, yesterday my 18 year old daughter helped me dig out my collection from the cellar and shelve them in alphabetical order. I’m so disappointed in my poor taste in music as a teenager. One Van Morrison LP and two Pink Floyd, I’ve got four Cars Candy-O, damn.
I like the early WG Target CDs for stuff that was contemporary to that time, but more from a collectibility standpoint. Most of that stuff has been digitally remastered to sound much better in later years, and often the original LP sounds the best anyway. The ones for early digital recordings tend to be my go-to for those recordings, Like A Virgin is a good example - you need the target CD to really hear that album
For box sets, I have a system for easier access which is to remove the CDs and put them in blank CD cases and label the spine and they are place into the CD collection. All the boxes are put in a separate shelve in the vinyl - CD room. As for autographs I have a number of CD booklets I do have a number of them signed by the artist. After a show some artist especially lesser known independent artist will do a meet and greet with fans where they are selling merchandise you can buy their album(s) CDs and get the autograph. Just do not expect that to happen after a Stones show ha ha.
With your thing about the bonus tracks, I actually recently bought an LP (the first glass beach album by glass beach band) that has a bonus track not on the cd or the cassette!!
I get you on the point made on DEEP PURPLE box. (Lowest common denominator in packaging.) But if I didn’t already own most of those individually, I would be so on that mini box!
I’ve started buying some cds and I have some questions for you guys. Is there is certain type of cd that has better quality? I’ve heard that cds made in the 80s are better because they were pressed from the original vinyl, is that true?
"Target" cds from Warner from Japan in the early 80's are supposedly superior. I like cd's that were mastered in the mid-90's the best.
CDs have been declining in popularity for a long time but I wouldn't say that vinyl is back as king of the physical formats. Even though they're only a fraction of what they used to be in terms of sales, I would say CDs are still more popular than vinyl.
Revenue for vinyl surpassed CD in the US in the first half of 2020: edition.cnn.com/2020/09/13/tech/vinyl-records-cd-sales-riaa/index.html#:~:text=Vinyl%20records%20accounted%20for%20%24232.1,Recording%20Industry%20Association%20of%20America.
@@Utubemop true although number of cd's sold is about 5 times higher than vinyl
@@martinfarnworth6659 So..which format do you believe like the companies better therefore ;-)
@@UtubemopI'm sure some of them would like to kill off cd's. People are wiser to these things though than 30 years ago and the supposed death of vinyl. They could tell us about the superiority of vinyl but people have probably made up there own minds.
Awesome video, i do collect cds, and over years got to the point of buying only digipak, because jewel cases break too often, I do like the originals collections with all the sleeves.
94/95 was indeed the start of the loudness war as far as I know. one of the first cd's of loudness war: morning glory by Oasis from 1994.
also they have the odd shaped metal CD singles from bands like Dissection and Hypocrisy, in various weird shapes where there was a disclaimer saying it might not play in your player
I remember buying box sets loved the bonus tracks but doubt you will see them again they are not on spotify recreating the original covers for these cd packages is a waste cardboard sleeves and those jewel cases ready to be thrown out or recycled been a while since I bought a cd very happy with my hefty vinyl library very selective with what I buy next
Great video
They actually did do tins with records. Metal box by public image limited comes to mind.
Status Quo Greatest Hits LP set came in a round blue tin, they are very common in the UK, but I don't think they were issued in the US.
One thing about those tins I've had issue with is the foam stuff sticks to CD when it degrades.
But I still prefer CD the only thing which I miss from vinyl is artwork.
Another cool thing with CDs is bonus DVD/BluRay. "Making-of" documentaries, concerts, interviews, videos.
But yeah, LPs have their own special appeal. Long time CD collector, recently gotten back into vinyl. I still do both.
MegaSaintAugustine Bonus Laserdisc?
Now I really need to see a video on cds with bonus tracks you can't get on vinyl!!!
I know there are cd singles that cost more now than the original cd albums that can only be down to the bonus tracks you cannot get anywhere else.
I miss the album side. I used to put on 5-6 Beatles albums on my parents old automatic turn table and enjoy.
CDs became too long, and lots of late 80s and 90s bands that could have had great/perfect 45 minute albums ended up making good/average 60 minute plus ones.
I can't wait for the loudness wars hitting vinyl!
And don't forget unique CD packagings like Tool's "Lateralus", and "10.000 Days" with the 3D glasses that didn't comes on the Vinyl. Or Dimmu Borgir's "In Sorte Diaboli" Limited Deluxe Edition that comes with a small mirror to read the downsided and backwards lyrics and to see hidden artwork. And don't forget the CD/DVD/Blu-ray Special Editions like the ones Porcupine Tree released, and the Digibook CD editions from many new artists.
Back in the '80s there were a few records that had computer programs on them that you would record to cassette and if you had the right computer (usually a Commodore) you could load up and run the programs.
There was a news story that was going around about one that was recently re-discovered. I don't remember who the band was. I think it was Christian Rock.
@@RobertFithen Correct. Prodigal did it on 2 of their albums.
How many CD's do you have? You have a great collection
1:49 Public Image Ltd released a 1979 album that on initial pressings consisted of three 45rpm 12" discs set inside a metal canister that resembled a film container and named it Metal Box, what else.
The regular version of the album?
Named it Second Edition...
I still love my cds, but lps will always have the nostalgia factor.
That's a sweet little NIN single.
Prince’s Batman has a black round tin, cases are easy to replace compared to scratched vinyl, the volume wars were annoying and I’ll miss the bonus tracks.
Can you tell me something? Why are the Pat Benatar recordings not available on compact disc? This is a shocker to me..
No idea.
I'm from london and i bought some dire straits cds first press that came out in 1983 from a charity shop, in excellent condition, i went to see on discogs they go for between 50 to 200 dollars
One reason why I would get a CD over and LP is that sometimes the albums run time could never fit on a LP without the LP becoming ridiculously expensive to produce, Enter the Phil Zone for Example.
cds were perfect when they simply came in jewel boxeconvenient easy and space saving storage. but the best storage option,the jewel box, had to be played with and "improved". cd jewel cases fit nicely on bookshelves. i use standard pressboard bookshelves and can actually fit 2 rows per shelf by fitting a cardboard divider between the 2 rows. over 100 cds on 1 shelf. but then these odd size storage options. oversized cardboard boxes, metal cans, and odd shaped containers that were impossible to simply store horizontally on bookshelves. you had to separate the cds from these oddball storage containers if you wanted your preferred way of storage to continue using the space saving bookcase method. store the cds using the bookshelf method but having to find a place to store all the books and containers for these collections. this started in the late 80s and early 90s,a few years after the arrival of the cd. didnt make any sense then or now. they dropped the cd longbox early on for space saving but continued on with these ridiculous over sized monstrosities. and i'm not even going to go into the ridiculous small cheap cardboard lp in miniature storage methods. the cd jewel box was the first and the best storage method. if its not broken why try to fix it?
The bronze thing probably had to do with the lacquer on label side of the cd, which you think shouldn't affect the play side.
chadergeist82 Some CDs the metallic layer sandwiched in it is gold hence the bronze color.
I gotta make a correction about what you said regarding Loudness Wars. It wasn’t the mid 90’s, but much later on that that became prevalent in CD’s (2008 with Metallica’s “Death Magnetic” to be precise). CD’s in the 90’s sounded fantastic for the most part. It was only when they reissued certain titles decades later that loudness became an issue.
A perfect example of this is Nirvana’s “Nevermind”. Listen to an original “Nevermind” CD from 1991 compared to the various deluxe/anniversary reissues 20 years later and one can easily hear how much better Kurt and company sounded in ‘91.
It started around '96-'97 with Aerosmith and Metallica releases (I think it was Re Load), it just became worse and worse and by the time "Death Magnetic" was released, it had hit a level of distortion that even average consumers were complaining. I have found the older albums remastered around '93-'95 sound the best.
@@RobertFithen I've heard Oasis being credited as one of the first bands to put out overcompressed albums, in their case What's The Story Morning Glory, from 1995. Metallica's Load and Reload are certainly louder than their previous efforts, but still nowhere near being brickwalled - their waveforms clip quite often, but it's still firmly a wave instead of a brick.
RHCP's Califonication from 1999 was criticized for its overly loud and squashed production right when it came out.
Yeah... And idk about you guys but I feel much happier when I put on some music and think "hey, that sounds nice, turn it up!!" Instead of thinking: "ouch my ears!!! can you please bring down the volume?"
But oh well, that was all the bigshot mastering engineers so I guess their thoughts were smarter than my thoughts.
I find myself ripping some CD's I already own (as opposed to ones I borrow) onto my laptop and eventually onto my phone, instead of actually loading them up on the tray to play. Then I play from my phone onto my big stereo via bluetooth. I'm just getting too old for the physical media ritual nostalgia b.s. Ain't nobody got time fo'dat!
- Red
I've been doing that with movies. Rather than take 6 steps to the shelf, taking the dvd out the case, loading, waiting for menus, warnings, etc..... I just clicked a remote twice and streamed the movies.
They Might Be Giants: Apollo 18 included along with the rest of a normal album a series of 21 mini songs as individual tracks on the CD i always assumed were meant to be played interspersed on shuffle.....) the first X-Files CD also had a particularly hidden track only accessable by rewinding from the beginning of the first track, best song on the album really.....!!) also, some Playstation 1 games and other CD-ROMs could also be played as normal audio CDs in a regular CD player, that was neat.....)
still, not quite as cool as locked grooves and parallel grooves I'd say.....)
i liked what you said about reducing it to nothing...i have a few cds, some given as presents and others just not available on vinyl yet, but i don't consider any of them part of my record collection....
I don't know...my ABBA CD plays perfectly after all these years...
There are many pressings of it. Most are fine.
what about flipping the cd and having music on both sides, and making mix tapes
Well, you actually CAN translate enhanced CD to vinyl... sort of. Polish band Papa Dance has on their debut vinyl album A COMPUTER GAME: you supposed to copy it from the vinyl to compact casette and then run it on Commodore 64 :)
There are bands who never printed vinyl during the CD age, badlands - voodoo highway, most of Ivy's music is cd only, Danzig's - how the gods kill cd single came with a vhs of the uncensored video in a cool box.
8:47 The Bronzing was dew to a Reaction from the Ink used to Print the First batch of CD's, It also attacked the Disc making It Unplayable. This was Quickly sorted out. Funny enough The First ever Commercially released CD was "Arrival - ABBA" and again Pressed In Germany. I have that one and the Billy Joel one too, people tell Me they are worth a lot of Money. I have loads of those Metal Tin ones too. Never put those Enhanced Video CD's In Your computer, They will give It a Virus, or If Your still on a Older system, they will completely crash It. 12:30 I worked as a DJ In a club, and I started to get these 3" singles from Japan coming through. The Club didn't even have a CD player for at least a Year. Before I could even play them, Then the first players didn't have that Dink In the tray. So I had to put them In a Adapter, but they kept falling out. By the time the players came with the Dink, 3" singles were a thing of the Past. I still have them all. I have CD's that play In a CD player and a Vinyl Record Player. I would get up to 40 CD's a day Including Box sets mostly singles and all promo's as well featuring tracks that have never up to now been on CD Commercially. Does anyone have those Cardboard Bio-Gradable CD box's, and has Yours started to turn to dust?.
I have several bad memories of putting enhanced CDs in computers... I haven't noticed bio-degradable turning to dust, just falling apart.
Do you mean the CD "long box"?
Good stuff
This isn’t the right video but something curious happened since I saw your video of albums never released on CD.. I went into my local indie shop in California and they had the original Culture Club purple cover art CD, complete with that Compact Disc badge and the red block lettering that looked like cassette spines - wish I could copy a pic here
I've seen it on discogs, but have never physically seen it anywhere.
@@RobertFithen i bought it for nostalgia! If I find another, I’ll send you one…
$6.99! Early CDs on Columbia didn’t sound so good
To Wilco's credit, they did eat the extra manufacturing costs for the double CD so the album could be sold at the same price as a single CD (though I'm sure some unscrupulous retailers marked it up anyway).
Couple things that have annoyed me about CDs versus vinyl.
Yeah, I tended to dislike a lot of the bonus tracks added to the CD releases. I thought the songs added to the CD version of Fleetwood Mac's Then Play On were totally out of place. As were the tracks added to The Mothers on the CD release of Absolutely Free. But I do miss the extra track added to Patty Smith's CD release of Horses.
But the one thing that's bugged me is when records originally issued as CD only, but then later released on vinyl when vinyl was a thing again, that vinyl release sounded like shit. Some of this had to do with the original master. When CDs first started, they would be labeled as either AAD or DDD, the former coming from an analogue source tape, and the latter totally digital. When I saw vinyl reissues of records that were originally CD, I discovered a lot of those vinyl pressings sounded like crap, and it was most likely because the original CD was a DDD, and that original master was a piece of shit and didn't translate well on vinyl. Some engineers knew how to remaster for vinyl. But even some AAD originals still didn't translate well to vinyl. The Blues Travelers CD Travelers and Thieves sounds like it's played through muddy water on the vinyl issue I picked up. But that may also be the result of it being on colored vinyl and the pressing was shoddy. But others that were originally released on CD sound great on vinyl.
Oh, yeah, and I hate cracked CD cases, or when the prongs break in that center spot that holds the CD. More than once that was the case when the CD was brand new!
But one thing I really like about my Nirvana original CD release of Nevermind is that hidden track at the end. Not even on the big reissue on vinyl, the 4 LP set that came out was that hidden track on there with the bonus material. It's kind of cool that it's there with the original CD release (I guess with later CD issues it was removed?).
Fun video, sorry to ramble on like this with my comment.
I had smashing pumpkins melon collie and the infinite sadness on vinyl, it has 27 songs it takes up 4 whole records
Really long albums I find work better on CD's than on records. "All Things Must Pass," _great_ album but it's a long haul, 3 vinyl records, whereas it's just two discs on CD. I'd rather get up once to swap a disc than get up SIX times to flip a record. Plus, the CD cases/sleeves age MUCH better than those vinyl box sets from the 70's.
This is more anecdotal to me, but I much prefer Abbey Road on CD over the vinyl record. The main reason is the transition between "She Wants You She's So Heavy" and "Here Comes the Sun." On CD they obviously come right after one another with no interruption, and it's like...an experience almost, which you don't really get with the vinyl record because you have to get up and flip it over.
Also, there are a lot of compilations that come on CD but not on records, usually cause those compilations were released in the 90's and 2000's. A lot of good compilations too, like a Pure Funk CD I have, there is a smaller number of cassettes of it floating around. I also have a compilation CD called "Highs of the Seventies" which I found at a record store on discount for like 2 bucks. Amazing track listing, a good mix of some popular songs and way more obscure songs, but as far as I know it doesn't exist on vinyl.
Those "Pure Funk" and "Highs of the Seventies" compilations are excellent!
good stuff
Jefferson Airplane in mono??? sacrilege.
I bought my last piece of vinyl in 1985 when I started buying CD's. Don't miss it at all.
empty tracks especially ones that are several minutes long. will not miss those!
I remember when I bought the wrong version of Phantom of the opera. it was 1 track but I think the recording was a full hour
No problem if you have a player where you can enter the time you want to jump to
I have a vinyl record with a computer game on it! One of the audio tracks can be loaded into a sprectrum computer from the 80s.
Awesome! I've heard about that one.
Pete Shelley?
Brian Eno - Thursday
Actually, you CAN get video on vinyl. I have one. - though at the moment, I cannot recall whom it is by!
How can those CDs on the shelves stay still and not follow the curve of your room?
Dutch angles like Batman.
I generally only buy vinyl if it’s something from the era where vinyl was the leading format (so up to mid-late eighties), because that’s the way the artists intended it to be heard, with a side one and a side two etc. If something from the CD era gets a modern day vinyl release, like Nirvana’s Nevermind for example, I’m not so interested as it’s not something that was ever conceived with vinyl in mind.
Same here. I'm not really into retro-fitted vinyl cd-length double-albums with 15 minutes per side.
@@RobertFithen Exactly. A lot of CD era albums in the 50 to 60 minute duration range - too long for a single vinyl record but not really long enough to justify a double album, with three songs and 15 minutes per side. Proper double albums like Blonde on Blonde, Tusk, The Wall etc clock in around 75-80 minutes.