Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Entertainment › Music › Rolling Stones 2009 Universal Remasters - Reviews, impressions, warnings?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Rolling Stones 2009 Universal Remasters - Reviews, impressions, warnings?

post #1 of 6
8/25/09 at 5:18pm
Thread Starter 
Does anybody have any firsthand experience with the 2009 Universal Rolling Stones remasters?  I decided to pick up "Some Girls" at BB today for $6.99 and I figured, even if it sounded awful, I wasn't out a lot of money.  However, I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet and have never owned any previous copies so I have no audio "baseline" if you will.  The rest are also $6.99 a piece, so I was looking for some impressions and/or review before I go hog wild buying them up.
Reply
post #2 of 6
8/27/09 at 7:03pm
Ron, I'm far from an audiophile and generally prefer sound on vinyl as opposed to CD, but I did pick up this Some Girls remastered disc and have the original CD recording and the earlier remaster as well on Virgin records. There is no question this is superior to the original disc release but to my ears, the earlier remaster actually sounds better. The new issue sounds very compressed, artificial and downright tinny at times.

I bought it because I heard someone raving about it at work, saying that it brought the vocals, and especially the bass to the forefront...its my favorite Stones album, so I figured what the heck...Not really worth it, though for $6.99 no biggie either way.

When CD's first hit the scene, I pretty much bought all the major Stones releases on CD to update them, but virtually all of the original discs were flat. Ultimately, I think it depends on what you've already got on disc. If you've got the original releases on CD, I'd pick these up because again, it's an improvement for sure. If you've got the Virgin reissues already or can find them used, I'd stick with those.

FWIW, I'm pretty disappointed this series of reissues is completely devoid of extra goodies...Seriously, could they have at least thrown in some unreleased live tracks? A decent outtake or two? 
Reply
post #3 of 6
8/31/09 at 1:06pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the response, Carl!

The only Stones I have are the hybrid SACD remasters of Let It Bleed, Beggar's Banquet and Hot Rocks and I thought those sounded fantastic.  Of course, that was SACD and not redbook.  Some of the reissues I saw were flagged as having been "DSD-based" remasters but it was all of the earlier stuff.  Other than the SACDs, I don't have any other Stones, so I may just pick these up since they're so cheap.  I wasn't crazy about the mix on "Miss You" but then "Beast of Burden" sounded significantly better, so that was good.
Reply
post #4 of 6
9/3/09 at 5:33pm
No problem Ron! If that's all the Stones you have, then I'd say go for it. Can't beat the price that's for sure. I heard they were holding off on releasing one of them, (Exile or Sticky Fingers???) to do some anniversary edition or something like that..I haven't been following it close enough to know which. I'll say this though, I never tire of their 70's work.
Reply
post #5 of 6
9/9/09 at 7:05pm
As long as we're talking about the SACD hybrids, you should grab 12x5 and Aftermath (UK) if you see them available. Those are some under-appreciated gems.

-R
Reply
post #6 of 6
9/9/09 at 8:16pm
The Best Buy website also mentions a Rolling Stones CD sale. Looking to pick up some of the later ones, Undercover through Voodoo Lounge, but they range from $7.99 to $8.99 on the website. Looks like the $6.99 is in-store only? Anyone know if the in-store sale is still going on?
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Music
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Entertainment › Music › Rolling Stones 2009 Universal Remasters - Reviews, impressions, warnings?