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Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters

Having read favorable comments on this disc in the likes of Hi Fi+, I purchased this cd over the weekend. What a huge disappointment! This recording is compressed to a significant degree and even worse is a spitty/crackly sound to the vocals and some of the spot miked instruments. It sounds like a poor cable connection or bad pot in the mixing/monitor console. I have not tried to play it on my truck cd/stereo to find if it is any more listenable.

I would be interested to hear if anyone else is similarily disappointed with the sonics of this disc. BTW, it sounds really bad on both of my home systems.
rhljazz
abucktwoeighty's avatar
abucktwoeighty
1,079 posts
 
I expected something more, not exactly sure what the "more" was. But I seem to enjoy it more each time I listen to it, and I'm listening to it more often. It grows on me. That's it, no more.
onemug
784 posts
 
Small world sometimes. I just picked this up a few weeks ago. I liked Herbies Jazz Moods/Round Midnight so I thought I'd buy the "2008 Album of the year". Definitely not recorded as well as JMRM. The piano sounds strident.

When Jone heard it she probably cried a river. :-)
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
I've got the LP version and it doesn't sound overly compressed to me. I do hear spots of compression here and there, but not the kind of broad compression over the whole spectrum that's ruining many recordings theses days.

Musically I enjoyed it very much. I'm not a big fan of Joni's voice, so I love others interpreting her wonderful songs.

Dave
albertporter's avatar
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
Several months ago I listened to preview clips at AMG and other music sites and concluded this was not an album I wanted.

I'm not judging sonics, having listened only via internet but musically I heard enough. Like Detlof, I think It's way too commercial and too "smooth Jazz."
rhljazz OP
1,252 posts
 
I listened to the first two tracks again last night on my headphone system which consists of Sennheiser HD600 phones, ASL MG II tubed amp, and a Cambridge D500SE cd player. It sounded even worse. Listening through the phones, it sounded like a lot of digital circa 1985, brittle, etched, crystaline would be apt adjectives. The vocal mix on Edith and the Kingpin is especially hashy and spitty. I couldn't take any more.

Disregarding the sonics, the music doesn't inspire me either.
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