U2 reissues

Shadorne is on the money with this one.

It is very hard to find good production in this time period, vinyl or CD, coming out of the UK and US.

Many studios went digital during this period and engineers had a greater array of tricks to use, including all the techniques you speak of above.

I remember visiting a lot of recording studios during that period and seeing all the analogue equipment was shuttered in the corner, left to collect dust--with it went the tubey magic.

I kind of hold up the work done by Mitch E in NC (REM's first EP), Bob Dylan's Oh Mercy and Los Lobos Kiko as albums done right during that period.

With that said, I find, as a general rule, that the Aussie studios produced some of the best sounding music during the same period because it was not compressed. It plays beautifully loud. Try all of Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly and Crowded House albums for that period and be amazed. Play those next to the last four Red Hot Chili Pepper albums and see how heavy compression can suck the wind out of great bass player like Flea.

Agreed, my copies of Diesel and Dust by the Oils and the first Crowded House album, both original release pressings, are dynamic and sound fantastic on Columbia and Capitol, respectively.

Bob Dylan's Oh Mercy

I agree - great sound on that one - awesome - in fact when U2 works with Lanois they are distinctly less compressed/aggressive sounding - for example Joshua Tree. Likewise Lanois work with Peter Gabriel - "So" was way better sounding than the mechanical sound of "melt" by Steve Lillywhite. Steve used to say NO CYMBALS - he was so firm about making everything sound harsh. I think they figured a lot of this out with early U2 stuff and the early Police stuff - keep it harsh and raw and urgent sounding - get people's attention kind of music - punk was really popular in those days. Luckily the Police toned it down and produced some glorious sounding stuff later on like Ghost in the Machine (Hugh Padgham) and Synchronicity.

Nevertheless the compression dial has been creeping up and you can hear more of it on U2's "All that you can't leave behind" compared to Joshua tree (even though it was Lanois again - perhaps the mastering engineer got control and over tweaked it)

Shadorne, always enjoy your perspectives.

The devil is in the details and you have a nice technical appreciation for music production. I grew up in an extended family of three generations of session musicians and know very few albums ever capture the live feel of recording sessions, let alone their playing style, due to the mastering engineering processes that usually have to tweak everything out.

Do check out Lanois's work with Willie Nelson called Teatro from 1999. Even as a CD-only release, it is beautifully formed from a dynamic soundstage perspective, each instrument given space to breathe. Willie's playing is inspired and drums sound like, well, drums. I know that Rick Rubin gets a lot of credit with Cash on the five American Recordings projects, and his recent work with Neil Diamond, but I always go back to Lanois. I think the work he did with Bob Dylan and Willie are sonic masterpieces, as well as his own solo albums. I know you are a fellow ATC owner--really special listening sessions on these speakers.

Now, on to the 1980's. Always hated the Police and U2 early stuff from a production standpoint for the very reasons you state. The only U2 album I have heard that is beautiful with the right copies is the Unforgettable Fire. The best stampers of that album from 1985 run circles over the other four albums during that decade.

Seperate from the Aussie bands, I really like the technical work done by all the pioneering Ska bands (The Selecter, The Specials, The English Beat) and some of the mid period Elvis Costello. "Get Happy!", "Imperial Bedroom", "Trust" and "King of America" are highly underated albums that hold up well as beautifully recorded albums, especially the best copies of Trust. The live BBC sessions of the Smiths, out on Manchester/UK, are also wonderful--look for "Hatful of Hollow" from 1988.

From a post punk perspective, a lot of the early Blasters, David Lindley and El Rayo-X, X, and Beat Farmers from So. Cal. sound pretty dynamic and enticing. The best versions of X's "Los Angeles" are incredible, as well as the first EP by the Beat Farmers, "Glad and Greasy," a great unsung San Diego band that fused punk to country. The Replacement's "Let It Be" is another lost classic--the hot stampers of that album are incredible.

I also like the work that Scott Litt did with Paul Kelly at A & M in 1987 and REM for Warner Brothers in 1989.

True...the more recent U2 recordings have been especially "hot" sounding....these are intentially tailored to the commercial mainstream crowd...however...as noted...JOshua Tree sounds very good (at least the remastered 07 edition)...way better than my orginal german LP which sounded muddy and veiled...and early Santana sounds amazing too...