What in the world is going on.....

I'm sorry that you are disappointed in the vinyl version of the new Paul Simon record, "Stranger to Stranger." I bought the CD the day it came out and played it in the car on the way home, and played it again listening to headphones later that day. I like it! So, just ignore the poor quality of the vinyl and buy the CD. After all, we're in it for the music, right?

Have you not noticed how loud this album is? Usually that is a sure sign of heavy handed compression. I'm going to make a digital transfer and will check the wav file. My guess is that I'll see plenty 9f chopped off peaks.

Do not have this CD but other recent Paul Simon CD I do have was definitely mastered to be "loud".

I can't say anything other than this particular record is not his best - So Beautiful So What is, IMHO, a far better album. 

I agree with the observations about its sonics - there's a marked difference between the two 

His early solo albums--standard issue-- sound pretty great as I remember. Don’t know if they were all Phil Ramone, but that would explain a lot. I have more respect for him now than I did back in the day--it was too "pop" oriented for me at the time. I got to hear him play several years ago at a small benefit show in a non-music venue-- audience of several hundred people. He was unbelievably musical.