Re: This Woman's Work

[heisjohn@juno.com]

Alan wrote
>My only question is how do the new anniversary re-releases compare
>sonically to the box set?

That depends...

HoL is crisper, cleaner and LOUDER than the UK box set disc, with *NO*
noticeable tape hiss, but I find the final product to be a little too
digital sounding for my tastes.  Lord knows I'm no expert in these
matters (in fact, I'm darn near deaf from listening to too much Ritchie
Blackmore), but the sound is reminiscent of those "full digital"
recordings that were introduced for a brief time in the late '80s.

Remember the discs where the separation was *SO PERFECT* it sounded
completely artificial?  (Michael Jackson's "Bad" and Tracy Chapman's
first disc come to mind.)  Well that's what I hear through headphones on
some of the quieter passages on T9W.  Not a bad sound, mind you, but I
prefer a more natural analog sound that releases all the harmonics that
seem to get lost in digital-land.

Of all the HoL releases, I prefer the Japanese box set version.  It's got
less hiss than the UK version, but it's less "sterile" sounding than the
remaster.  All things considered, I'm *really* looking forward to next
month's vinyl version.

John