What is your WORSE recording?

[jim777]

After the thread on your best recording, I was curious to know what is your worse sounding recordings? Let's keep this fun

Mine is Californication from Red Hot Chili Peppers - the thing is to compressed and it clips, horrible sound... Such a disgrace because RHCP's bassist is so fun.

[Kevin P]

Some of my new "remastered" CDs sound horrible and compressed. I actually liked the sound of the originals better.

AC/DC's Back in Black remaster comes to mind.

Most modern "pop" is horribly recorded. It's funny how when CDs first came out, one of the selling points was its wide dynamic range. Now they compress the crap out of it to the point were cassettes from the 80s sound better. Just to cater to the boombox/discman crowd.

Instead, they should have added a compression button to cheap CD players, and leave the recordings alone.

[Kingdaddy]

Most of my old Rush collection is nearly unlistenable, very harsh at high volume levels.

[Danbry39]

As far as sound quality, probably my recording of Beethoven's 9th conducted by Furtwangler during Hitler's reign in Germany. Still, it is my favorite Beethoven No. 9 for the transcendent performance.

[BillBramha]

I recently picked up a copy of Richter playing "Pictures at an Exhibition" that was recorded live in 1957 in Sofia. The microphone sounds like it is pointed in the wrong direction. Dreadful beyond description.

[Race Car Driver]

After the thread on your best recording, I was curious to know what is your worse sounding recordings? Let's keep this fun

Mine is Californication from Red Hot Chili Peppers - the thing is to compressed and it clips, horrible sound... Such a disgrace because RHCP's bassist is so fun.

GOOD!
Im not the ONLY one to think that!! I thought I was going NUTS!
It clips and sounds like CRAP. I thought my tweets were shot the first time I listened to that album!! Great album HORRIBLE recording! :M

Crossfade sounds pretty bad too. Doesnt clip and do wierd things like the RHCP disc, but sounds flat and compressed.

[Ovation]

Surprisingly, I have a Telarc SACD that has a lot of noise in the background--so much so that I though something was wrong with my gear until I found several other people experienced this problem (It's a quartet arranged for orchestra--Dvorak, I think--haven't listened to it in quite a while and it's in another room).

If we don't count 1930s era recordings, I have to say the worst-sounding CD I have is a Tears for Fears compilation I picked up on the cheap (6$ new) in the Essentials of the 20th Century series (something like that). It's okay in the car, with all the ambient noise, but I can't listen to it in my main system.

[Adolf Holz]

Gaby Albrecht, "Teil meine Sehnsucht"

[Bob]

Gaby Albrecht, "Teil meine Sehnsucht"

I'm surprised. You should try the Steve Hoffman remastered version in Telarc surround.

[Adolf Holz]

I'm surprised. You should try the Steve Hoffman remastered version in Telarc surround.

I will try and find online. Thank you.

I bought off street vendors in Munich.

[Brandon B]

My Smashmouth CDs are pretty lacking. Wish my Oingo Boingo CDs were a little clearer, but they don't suck I guess. THe Beatles definitely need some remastering, compared to the vinyl versions i have.

But all in all, it would probably have to be Relayer by Yes. That has been remastered, and it cannot overcome the fact that it was originally recorded in some mobil studio.

The CDs I was most surprised had really great quality in my collection were by Jellyfish.

BB

[greenjudas]

My two worst sounding cd's would be Motley Crue' Decade of decadence and a Rose Tattoo cd.I find that if I use 5 ch stereo with bad recordings it can make them listenable[just]!

[KeithM]

my worst recording has to be a chicago comedian who's CD I got free. Good thing you don't need a good recording to enjoy good comedy.

[Karma]

HI All,
The original vinyl release of the soundtrack from the movie Patton. I loved the music and was very excited to get the soundtrack recording. It was noisy beyond belief. Downer!!

Then about a year later I found a second copy. It was just as bad as the first one. The noise was not from use. Both records appeared to be unplayed. I can not imagine how these got into the marketplace.

Sparky

[David Meek]

Def Leppard's X. It sounded okay cruising in the truck or the convertible (road noise, etc. to mask its problems) but got it home and it was basically unlistenable due to lots of low-level noise, distortion and compression. So, it has a permanent home in the vehicles.

[raider]

Coldplay X&Y
Muddy bass compressed hi freqs and horrable siblance!!

[BTB]

Sign me up for Coldplay's - X&Y as well... rubbish recording, made for iPod.

Another made for iPod special is the Absolution album, by Muse, this is easily the worst recording I own... sounds like and old cassette tape that's been recorded on about a thousand times, pity... they play pretty good (and very melodic) hard rock, could've been real edge of the seat stuff if only it sounded like anything.

David Russell - Aire Latino, a rotten, dull recording. Sounds like the engineers covered the dude in a blanket, then the microphones also and then just to make sure they'd rendered it completely lifeless, compressed the daylights out of it for good measure! On Telarc mind you, who still found the time to state what sort of interconnect cables linked the recording gear together, very helpful.

BTW, see some guys hate the SQ of the 'Peppers "Californication" album... must say, I don't find it that bad, sure it's got some rough edges, but compared to any of the above it's a dream!

[jim777]

If you google a little bit, you will find someone who posted (in another forum) clipped samples from a Telarc recording... not as bad as the Peppers but from Telarc it surprised everyone! Sorry I think I can't link to another forum in this thread..

[fordster]

I'd have to agree about Coldplay's X&Y. I bought the CD after hearing it playing in a local record store but was very disappointed when I tried it on my system.

I also find my Guns n' Roses CDs are not great. Maybe they think it doesn't matter as you're meant to play them so loud your ears will bleed anyway!

[DifferentLee]

U2 How to Build an Atomic Bomb.

I love U2 but this is a travesty...compressed beyond all recognition. U2 should have better QC than this.

[Chris D]

Really? I didn't find it reference quality or anything, but I didn't think HTDAAB was horrible. Was there a certain track that really caught your ear in a bad way?

[comeup]

Marvin Gaye (Forever Yours) DTS one of the worse multichannel recordings I've heard.

[jim777]

Marvin Gaye (Forever Yours) DTS one of the worse multichannel recordings I've heard.

Was it wrong with it? (I never heard it)

Few MC mixes are done right IMO so the list would be very long. The only track I really loved in MC is the Porcupine Tree track (on a B&W DVD I think). I'm pretty much a stereo guy at home..

[comeup]

Everything about this is bad the imaging the mix the quality of sound. I do have some MC that I like but this one I could never get through a couple of songs.

[Kingdaddy]

I forgot Thin Lizzy Chinatown and Black Rose, both are un-listenable.

[martino]

Areosmith Toys in the Attic SACD.
Completly sucks!
Center channel is way to loud, makes it sound mono.
worst SACD I own

Martino

[benny]

Obviously the points made about the RHCP disc are accurate, but.... I really think that's the sound they were going for. (like Rage's "Evil Empire") The vocals had to be driven WAY into the red on the VU meter when they recorded that and only the most novice engineer wouldn't notice that. I've certainly heard of singers passing on the $10k mic to instead overdrive a cheap Shure mic for a certain sound. The compression does suck, though. It's like listening to a Pantera record but the Chili's sound doesn't fit that type of in-your-face production. Just my 2 cents- Happy Listening all!