Just received another #vinyl haul from #VMP. #Yield is one of my favourite #PearlJam albums &, once again, this is so well done - high quality jacket, impeccably pressed, dynamically mastered by #BobLudwig no less, & cut at 45.
And it does sound very, very good. Given to Fly, in particular, is lush, rich, with tons of detail. I am able to compare this with an OG and the VMP wins out by some distance.
and here’s the second half: #bobludwig—the #mastering master bids farewell.
#music #masteringengineer #audio #audioengineering #vinyl #cd #streaming #industry #interview #story #history #retirement #stereophile #tomfine https://www.stereophile.com/content/bob-ludwig151the-mastering-master-bids-farewell-part-2
of course i know (the works of) #bobludwig! and this a fascinating read: “the #mastering master bids farewell” by #tomfine.
#music #masteringengineer #audio #audioengineering #vinyl #cd #streaming #industry #interview #story #history #retirement #stereophile https://www.stereophile.com/content/bob-ludwig151the-mastering-master-bids-farewell-part-1
Photo: Peter Luehr If album sales, longevity of career, position on the leading edge of audio technology, reputation in the music business, and involvement in many of the most important albums in history are the measurements, Bob Ludwig is the GOAT (footnote 1) of music mastering. "I'm an old goat, anyway," he joked during our multiday, many-hours conversation, centered around his recent retirement announcement and his five-plus decades as a mastering engineer.
Birra Moretti time, & #NowPlaying #KidA from the 2022 #KidAmnesia by #Radiohead.
I didn’t fully get Kid A on release - it took a little time to acclimatise to its strangeness, but, listening to it now, #EverythingInItsRightPlace, #TheNationalAnthem, #HowToDisappearCompletely, &#MotionPictureSoundtrack are compulsive, compelling & quite brilliant.
This is mastered by #BobLudwig & is flat, clean, centred & improves on the UK OG. But not night & day.
Meeting friends for lunch at Yuzu, but, first, I’m #NowPlaying #Guero by #Beck.
On release, I half-dismissed this as a reprise of Odelay. But that is unfair: Epro, Girl, Missing, Black Tamborine, Hell Yes, Scarecrow, & Rental Car more than hold their own within Beck’s rich back catalogue.
This is the 2005 pressing mixed by #BobLudwig and cut at 45. It sounds good enough, well pressed, but I’m not sure the SQ justifies twice the number of disks…
Bank Holiday Monday & I’m #NowPlaying #UpsideDownMountain by #ConorOberst. This 2014 release was weirdly overlooked. It’s a double album with contributions from #FirstAidKit, #MikeMogis, #NateWalcott, & #MWard, among others.
#TimeForgot, #HundredsOfWays, & #EnolaGay are close to peak Oberst (post-#BrightEyes).
This is an OG EU pressing, mastered by #BobLudwig & as is generally the case with Oberst, it’s flawless, dynamic, & well presented.
Andy
bernardo