Vinyl for Digitally Recorded Music - ?

02-18-11: Albertporter
...although I have no proof I'm betting the Allison Krauss live LP set on Mo Fi is digital master.

I have two Norah Jones LPs, "Live from Austin TX" and "Come Away with Me", the latter mastered by Bernie Grundman on Classic Records. On its own, the Live album sounds excellent and I'd hardly suspect it's a digital recording were it not for the incredibly lush and ambient "Come Away with Me." I definitely prefer the LP over the CD regardless.

Speaking of Alison Kraus, I have the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou on both CD and LP. I'm sure it was originally digitally recorded, but I definitely get more enjoyment out of the LP than the CD.

I just recently got the Metheny Nonesuch double LP of Day Trip and Tokyo Day Trip Live. I don't know which way it was recorded, but I suspect it was digitally recorded. Whatever it was, the LP sound is awesome and the ambience is pretty lush. By that I mean you can really hear the room and the instruments' bloom, resonance, and decay.

Yep, that new Metheny, "Day Trip" is a great sounding LP.

I found mine on sale at Music Direct (3 LP + free CD) at $19.99, making it a true bargain and far more enjoyable musically than I expected, especially after initial judgement from the Amazon samples.

Johnnyb53 wrote: "I just recently got the Metheny Nonesuch double LP of Day Trip and Tokyo Day Trip Live. I don't know which way it was recorded, but I suspect it was digitally recorded. Whatever it was, the LP sound is awesome and the ambience is pretty lush. By that I mean you can really hear the room and the instruments' bloom, resonance, and decay."

As Pat Metheny is one of my favorite artists, and I have seen him live more than just about any other performer I like in concert, I am happy to agree with this assessment. I also think we can be fairly sure it was recorded digitally; however, the truth is I find it still lacking and the CD version I think is truly disappointing. Metheny has written many times about how much he likes digital recording techniques compared to "the old days," but frankly, his old EMC analog recording on vinyl I believe sounds vastly better than any of his digital releases. So, in my opinion, Metheny's more recent works--including the Day Trip LP--are good examples of how analog transfers of digital recordings can't heal all wounds.

02-18-11: Albertporter
Yep, that new Metheny, "Day Trip" is a great sounding LP.

I found mine on sale at Music Direct (3 LP + free CD) at $19.99, making it a true bargain and far more enjoyable musically than I expected...

Yeah, I got mine on the same sale (MusicDirect, Acoustic Sounds, and Elusive Disc all had that sale) plus James Taylor's Mud Slide Slim, Ricki Lee Jones (self-titled debut), and Van Morrison and the Street Choir for $11.99, Faces' A Nod is as Good as a Wink for $12.99 and Chicago (the horn band's second album, not the soundtrack or the Fosse musical) for $16.99. I particularly like the Ricki Lee Jones and Van Morrison remasters (and the Metheny, of course).