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After a while you start to smile

I was ten years old when my father bought me Sgt. Pepper's LP for the celebration of the Holiday Season (that was the first LP I ever got). Since then, I've listen to that record, start to finish (I was never capable of only listening to one side), thousands of times. It never ceases to excite and rejuvenate with its endless parade of creative, playful, innovative, inventive and daring ideas. It is a veritable gift that keeps giving :)

However, I've noticed that the excitement transferred during the listening to Sgt. Pepper's largely depends on the sound quality. First time I've noticed that was when I switched from vinyl to CD. I remember popping in the newly minted Sgt. Pepper's CD that was released in 1987, and expecting it to blow my mind. Instead, I just witnessed a whimper of its former self. Gone were all the excitements, the 'jump out of the listening chair' and other enjoyable moments.

I had to wait for another 20 years before Apple Corp. decided to release the remastered CD. Again, having high hopes about that remaster, I couldn't wait to pop it into my CD player. This time, the disappointment was even grander. Sgt. Pepper sounded dull and lifeless. Overall, the sound on the 2009 CD is crude, no finesse, and is shockingly non-engaging. Such a bummer.

Finally, we lived to see the 50-th anniversary reissue! Quite an excitement. This time, I must say, the digital version of this legendary record lived to the expectations. Kudos to the creative team for managing to squeeze the last drop out of the tracks.

Last night I sat down for a dedicated, reverential listen to Sgt. Pepper's. I first played my pre-digital era stereo LP (near mint condition, superb pressing). Once again, for the umpteenth time, I was literally blown away! Words fail to describe the sheer excitement this record brings.

I then played the 2012 mono remaster LP (180 gram made in Germany pressing). Very good sounding record, alive, with a lot of oomph and kick and torque.

Lastly, I played the 2017 CD. Awesome!

So for my personal taste, here is how I would rank various issues, from the most exciting listen to the most disappointing:

Pre-digitized LP > 2012 mono remaster LP > 2017 CD > 1987 CD > 2009 CD > 2012 stereo remaster LP

I don't have the pre-digitized mono LP, and I don't have the 2017 remixed LP, so I could not compare those with the rest of the issues.



Edits: 05/31/17

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Topic - After a while you start to smile - magiccarpetride 09:47:34 05/31/17 (9)

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