Re: The Sound Of Bushness

[dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford)]

DSearch@aol.com wrote:
: Anyone know which of Kate's CDs have sound quality differences between US,
: UK, and Japanese editions?

: The only one I've directly compared is the US vs UK TWS, and the UK is
: noticably superior.  Would anyone who's compared the others be willing to
: share their insights on the subject?

I think most people would agree that Kate's UK CDs are superior to the US
pressings though the differences depend on the album and which US pressing
you have.  You can bet that EMI UK get either get the original master tape
from Kate or a first generation copy.  EMI-USA may only get an "n"th 
generation master.  In addition, when Kate's catalogue was first available 
on US CD, the mastering was pretty bad.  I bought the initial US release of
NFE and was appalled by the hiss an pops.  Hearing the import was a breath 
of fresh air and I have never bought a US CD again, unless there is no
foreign release or the import is deleted or out of print.  US CD sound
quality and quality control was poor in the late 80s while the record 
companies got product on the shelves, having been caught with their pants
down in the mid-80s without having pressing plants on-line.  The UK 
editions all come with lyrics in nice booklets rather than skimpy bits of 
paper.

I cannot comment about Japanese versions.  I understand they are better than
the US versions but there are differing opinions about the comparison to
the UK issues.  Japanese CDs by law must have lyrics and many also have
short biographies.  The lyrics are ususally in both English and Japanese,
the biographies are in Japanese only.  

Hope that helps,

Derek
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Derek H. Langsford                               dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu 
Dept. of Biology                                 Tel. (619) 594 2885
San Diego State University                     
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