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Rolling Stones Mono Box Set (lp or cd)

I wanted to get the ball rolling. I thought that including both formats here would be beneficial to the entire discussion. I personally have little experience with the Rolling Stones. However, I think I can add an opinion in the form of having heard lots of music from this era and how this box relates to the Beatles Mono Box. I'm currently using my stereo cart. I've listened to the first 5 lps in chronological order.

One thing that has stood out to me is how consistent these 5 lps are in sound quality. ( "Out Of Our Heads", US has more pronounced bass, haven't listened to the UK yet.) This is kind of unusual in my listening experience. Compared to the Beatles Mono box which wasn't as consistent, album to album. I find the detail, the ambient retrieval, and the bass overall to be very good. What bothers me is I feel it is recorded too hot as well as I feel the overall sound seems somewhat very slightly artificial. ( I never felt this way listening to the Beatles Mono box). These last two issues may have to do with the re-mastering chain. It may be the quality of the mics, the recording venue, etc...I don't know. I don't have the originals to compare. There is the dimensional character of the soundstage that is very nice as was the Beatles. The vinyl itself is super quiet but I see that a few of these will need to be flattened. So far, there isn't an pressed "off-center" issue.
astro58go
jafant's avatar
jafant
20,088 posts
 
astro58go-

an update: last night I unboxed my Japan import of this Mono box set.
As always, the weight (10 lbs) and packaging is outstanding! This special set in on SHM-CD in 7 inch cardboard sleeves that reflect the original 60's albums sleeves (UK & US). It will be quite awhile before I open it.

As soon as I find the more domestic set for actual listening, I will keep you posted. Happy Listening!
tostadosunidos's avatar
tostadosunidos
1,197 posts
 
I appreciate Ian's (who was an original member of the Stones) contributions as well as Nicky's (who was so good in the first Jeff Beck group)--but they don't start to compare to the difference in sound that George Martin made.  The Stones' longevity is inconsequential to me since they peaked somewhere around Sticky Fingers, not long after the Beatles' demise.  And if you compare the sound of that recording to Abbey Road--no contest.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,089 posts
 

Halleluiah! Tostado, I am so weary of The Stones continuing to be held up as The Greatest blah blah blah long after they started sucking. Which was a long, long time ago. Why they weren’t written off after they put out a disco album is an absolute mystery to me.

I don’t expect 1960’s Pop or Rock albums to sound very good. As Pete Townshend said, they were made to sound "good" (whatever that means) on car radios. About the worst sounding are The Who albums prior to Tommy. So thin and brittle, nothing like they sounded live, which was extremely punchy (thanks to Keith Moon and John Entwistle, who sounded SO awesome!), like a direct-to-disc LP and the Decca/London cartridge.

geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
I opine the SQ of Sticky Fingers is actually quite superior to that of Abbey Road. Even the notorious Mobile Fidelity Sticky Fingers, a big big sound level underachiever, is nothing short of spectacular in tone and frequency response and resolution. What the Beatles albums lacked generally speaking was dynamic range as revealed in the Unofficial Dynamic Range Database.

jafant's avatar
jafant
20,088 posts
 
America's greatest rock n roll band- Aerosmith.
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