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.

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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.
The session was recorded 24/48. My LP sounds damned good: uncompressed with detail, separation, layering, width, bass control, and free of surface noise. Above all there is TOTL Petty songwriting and a return to gritty R&R that's been missing from his last few.
Dgarretson: Is your copy an import? Mine is. As I've reported (Amazon: SLS) my copy came in as a "sick human in need of rehabilitation". Since I've bought mine, (through Amazon), the price had dramatically decreased.

I was made aware of an "audiophile" version out now. Elusive Disc prices it as $51.99! No way!

I will say, all of the effort I made to bring this lp "back to life" paid off.

The soundstage is still limited to within the inner boundaries of my speakers.