New miles davis cd.... wow


Just wondering what is wrong with my miles davis kinda blue cd. I just bought it tonight and was looking forward to some good listening. It sounds like a broken record or maybe one that is warped. Did i get a bad cd or is this thing just recorded that badly. I had to put in a Dave Grusin cd just to make sure my equipment was ok. It really sounds terrible. Lots of hissing in the background. I cant stand it. lmk asap Kevin
flyin2jz
Keep in mind the original recording was made in 1959. That was years before even Dolby was available for hiss reduction. I don't have the current CD issue (I've got the 1997 CD but it looks like there is a 2001 issue too) but it sounds like they may have done little or no digital processing to the version you have.

Also note that close miking and multi-channel mixing wasn't used back then in the same fashion as it is today.

I find my version quite typical of recordings from that era. If your taste is a modern Diana Krall type of recording you're just not going to get that out of something done in the 1950s or 60s. I rather enjoy the direct, unprocessed simplicity that many of these older jazz recordings have.

Defective CDs don't typically produce hiss or wow/flutter but you can certainly take it back to the retailer and exchange it. If a second one sounds the same then it would appear you're noticing the recording equipment & techniques they used almost 50 years ago.
I have three CDs of KOB and, allowing for modest tape hiss they all sound REALLY good This was an outstanding recording, and not just for the time. Yours may very well be defective. Dave