Tom Petty "Hypnotic Eye"


I'm a huge fan, IMO, one of the greatest American bands to date. Their lps have always sounded very good. So what's wrong with their latest, (sonically)?

It's obviously trending in the digital direction which somehow has mostly been avoided up until now.

I'm a dedicated analog listener. I realize most of the recent recordings are digitally based. Somehow this latest TP lp is not grabbing me. It lacks SOUL! I love the content, it doesn't grab me as much as "Mojo" did.

Compared to "Mojo", their last lp, "HE" is sterile, bland, while being a record I really want to get into! I'm not tapping my foot/feet, bobbing my head.

128x128slaw
I listened, streamed, to it and therefore I can't get a good "sonic" feel for the recording. But I thought it was well done and the writing was good. I am also a big TP fan and enjoy most all of his work. I wouldn't hold this up to Full Moon Fever or other recordings, but I am considering a vinyl copy, but if you say the recording is poorly done, I may stick with streaming.
After another listen, I realized the soundstage has no width beyond the speaker boundaries which a first for me with TP lps. I tried adding .04 additional tracking force. This made it much more listenable. I don't have to do this with any other lp. The vinyl is noisy also.
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