Question about motown two-fors

[Kamasu_Jr]

I have a question about some of the first Motown CDs. Specifically those issued in 1986 under the 2 CLASSIC ALBUMS SERIES. I've noticed the sound quality or fidelity is very low on CDs like The Four Fops and The Four Tops Second Album and Mary Wells' sings My Guy and Two Lovers. Many of these titles were later reissued as single titles [[one title per disc) and Motown UK issued its own series with some changes. My question is were the UK editions issued because of the inferior sound on some of the other discs issued in 1986?

[Motown4Ever518]

I hope so! 1986, a good time for me Motown wise. I heard Tears of a Clown, the Make It Happen Version on CD and lost my mind being able to hear Benny B's drum fills as opposed to the re labeled, Tears Of A Clown version which was what you heard on radio or what was on the endless compilation albums or best of and greatest hits packages. So indifferent sound quality notwithstanding, I began listening to Motown's classic era on purpose after not listening to the music for about 15 years prior.

[theboyfromxtown]

Kamasu. I think the very reason that we buy later issues of the same material is because we are led to believe that there is "better packaging and sound". To the majority, better packaging is clear but sound is not so obvious.

There are improvements on subsequent issues which tend to be brought up to the latest technology but to the majority of listeners, the improvements are not noticeable. If you have a source which is below standard, it seems to me that it can never be duplicated to a better standard.

[soulster]

The earlier CDs were basically straight transfers of whatever tapes John Matousek had available. This was in the early days of the compact disc, and companies were rushing to get anything on CD. The best of the technology was 16-bit/44.1, and the converters weren't very good compared to what we have today.

Today, the only problem is that the engineers compress the best tapes available. They sound loud, but not always best. before we blame the mastering engineer, remember that they usually must follow orders from the artist, project producer, or record label.

Most average people can hear the difference.

[Kamasu_Jr]

Thanks for the answers, guys. I didn't think my ears were deceiving me. Those discs from the 1980s don't sound very loud on some players. I can't hear eveything on those old discs. I'd rather have the music loud.

[Nothing But Soul]

For one thing, those 1986 Motown twofers went out of print. I eventually picked up about a dozen of them out of the bargain bin at my local Camelot [[now FYE) store in the early nineties. By the time the UK twofers were issued, many of those classic Motown albums were no longer available on CD. It’s a great thing that those UK twofers were issued when they were because we would probably still be waiting for them to be reissued again here in the States.

There is no question that the sound quality is better on the UK reissues. For example, I have the 1986 Junior Walker twofer Shotgun/Roadrunner and the 2003-04 UK twofers Shotgun/Soul Session and Road Runner/Home Cookin’. The improvement in sound quality is pronounced between the the later CDs and the earlier one. The same is true of other Motown albums that I have from both series [[Smokey & the Miracles, Four Tops, etc.).

[soulster]

Thanks for the answers, guys. I didn't think my ears were deceiving me. Those discs from the 1980s don't sound very loud on some players. I can't hear eveything on those old discs. I'd rather have the music loud.

Oh, you were talking about volume level? That's different.

See, in the early days, it was a real concern of engineers to not exceed full-scale 0. So, they would be very conservative about where to set the peaks of the program. Sometimes the peaks could be a low as -6db! Added to the fact that many mastering gear was 12-bit, that amounted to a lot of noise and distortion in the music in addition to the low levels, questionable tape copies, and converters. In the late 80s and 90s, engineers found way to keep upping the volume level on CDs, and started compromising the sound of the tapes. By this time, tape vault researchers and engineers started demanding better tapes.

Again, today, the technology is much better, but the engineers found ways to boost the crap out of the levels with compression and limiting, and destroying any of the natural dynamics the original tapes may have had. So, take your pick: low volume and distortion, or high volume and distortion.