Remastered Licensed to Ill?

[MagicSpork]

I hope this isn't a noob question, but does anybody know if there will ever be a remastered Licensed to Ill? It's still my favorite album of all time, but it definitely sounds like a 22 year old CD. I have to turn it up really loud to get a decent thump from the bass heavy tracks like Slow Ride and Brass Monkey. Maybe there are some decent MP3s out there? I don't want to pay for an MP3 and have it sound the same as my CD. Thanks...

[Sir SkratchaLot]

The lack of "loudness" your hearing is because the disc actually has dynamic range. That means that there's quiet sounds and loud sounds on the disc. In the nineties mastering studios started compressing all the CDs to make everything loud because people (stupidly) thought, "louder is better." This pretty much kills the sonic quality of a lot of albums because there is very little contrast. The soft stuff is loud, the loud stuff is loud, everything is just loud and that equals ear fatigue after 15 minutes.

So, from an audiophile standpoint the more recent CDs sound like shit. MP3s sound like shit because not only are they compressed in the way I just told you about, but they are also compressed in that they have data removed from them to make the file smaller. But most people now don't give a shit because they listen to shitty music on shitty I-Pod headphones.

What you're starting to see now is backlash against all the super-loud CDs that are coming out. Like Tom Petty's new album is being advertised with "full dynamic range"

Here's a little article on all this stuff. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_wars

Anyway, the long and short of it is that a lot of the audiophile people go wayyy overboard about tiny quality differences that nobody would ever really notice, but as far as the way they are pressing CDs now, anybody who pays attention will notice the problem. MP3s make it even worse. So yeah, turn up the volume on your old CD and bump that shit. Its gonna sound better than some compressed as hell "remastered" version.

[Brother McDuff]

The lack of "loudness" your hearing is because the disc actually has dynamic range. That means that there's quiet sounds and loud sounds on the disc. In the nineties mastering studios started compressing all the CDs to make everything loud because people (stupidly) thought, "louder is better." This pretty much kills the sonic quality of a lot of albums because there is very little contrast. The soft stuff is loud, the loud stuff is loud, everything is just loud and that equals ear fatigue after 15 minutes.

So, from an audiophile standpoint the more recent CDs sound like shit. MP3s sound like shit because not only are they compressed in the way I just told you about, but they are also compressed in that they have data removed from them to make the file smaller. But most people now don't give a shit because they listen to shitty music on shitty I-Pod headphones.

What you're starting to see now is backlash against all the super-loud CDs that are coming out. Like Tom Petty's new album is being advertised with "full dynamic range"

Here's a little article on all this stuff. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_wars

Anyway, the long and short of it is that a lot of the audiophile people go wayyy overboard about tiny quality differences that nobody would ever really notice, but as far as the way they are pressing CDs now, anybody who pays attention will notice the problem. MP3s make it even worse. So yeah, turn up the volume on your old CD and bump that shit. Its gonna sound better than some compressed as hell "remastered" version.


word up, scratch. good call.

that album actually still holds up, i feel, sonically. it was nice and clean to begin with, and still sounds warm and welcoming. if anything, Paul's Boutique needs a serious remastering. That album could be done up much, much better when it comes to the mix and mastering.

i know we've gone over this issue on the board numerous times before, but i wasnt about to let an opportunity to address it slip by me. (hint hint bboys) :p

[MC Boulangerie]

I have this version: http://beastiemania.com/discog/show.php?r=lticdeu
and the sound is ok (!)

[dave790]

it's already been remastered. it was part of the def jam remasters series released back in 2000 or around then. i know because i have it and it's probably the loudest beasties cd i own.

edit: as the above post points out

[silence7]

There's been a large uproar among Metallica fans because of the mastering of their newest album because of the loudness. Clipping problems and just overall poor mastering of the album. This has been an ongoing issue for some time now. Maybe with such a major release getting a lot of criticism, someone will finally listen, but I doubt it.

Great video explaining why the "Loudness War" sucks for consumers of modern music. HERE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ)


Even Heavy-Metal Fans Complain That Today's Music Is Too Loud!!! (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122228767729272339.html?mod=rss_media_and_market ing)
But audiophiles, recording professionals and some ordinary fans say the extra sonic wallop comes at a steep price. To make recorded music seem louder, engineers must reduce the "dynamic range," minimizing the difference between the soft and loud parts and creating a tidal wave of aural blandness.

Metallica "Death Magnetic" - Stop The Loudness Wars (http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-stop-loudness.html)
This post is partly my attempt to publicise the damage that the so-called "Loudness Wars" are doing to music. In a nutshell, the continuing arms-race for "loudness at all cost" is now dramatically damaging the music we listen to - even in a traditionally loud, distorted genre like rock.

[facedownfall]

listen to your music on vinyl, it sounds better. :cool:

anyhow, i know what you speak of. I have a numark turntable with usb port, and recorded the tracks from the LTI vinyl and imported them to iTunes, sounds much better than the cd...you still lose quality with the mp3 compression but it gives you the bass thump sound you were looking for.

if you listen to Bob Dylan's "john wesley harding" on sacd, you can hear a huge difference im the compression on the regular cd, the harmonica is way too loud on the sacd...i have this record on vinyl and the harmonica is at a proper volume with the rest of the music.

[Megalon X]

There needs to be a new release for LTI. It's crazy that you can only buy the old version in stores.

I get the dynamic range argument, but over all, I think remastered albums on average sound a lot better than shit mastered in 80's.

[Sir SkratchaLot]

There needs to be a new release for LTI. It's crazy that you can only buy the old version in stores.

I get the dynamic range argument, but over all, I think remastered albums on average sound a lot better than shit mastered in 80's.

I like to buy all the 12" singles because they tend to sound great (better than the LP) and they're often (com)pressed louder for radio play. The ones that sound the best only have one track per side. 33&1/3 will have better bass and the 45 pressings have better high end. I think all but a few of the LTI tracks have been put on 12". I think only Rhymin' and Stealin' and Slow Ride are missing.

[Micodin]

I like to buy all the 12" singles because they tend to sound great (better than the LP) and they're often (com)pressed louder for radio play. The ones that sound the best only have one track per side. 33&1/3 will have better bass and the 45 pressings have better high end. I think all but a few of the LTI tracks have been put on 12". I think only Rhymin' and Stealin' and Slow Ride are missing.

I think I have all of them too. I can't recall which one "Girls" is on tho.

[tt5brevisited]

The 12" singles def sound best.
My old CD sounds good enough, would hate to see a squashed to pieces remaster of LTI.

[Megalon X]

The 12" singles def sound best.
My old CD sounds good enough, would hate to see a squashed to pieces remaster of LTI.

All their other albums got a remaster, do you consider those squashed?

[tt5brevisited]

All their other albums got a remaster, do you consider those squashed?

I don't think all their albums were remastered.
Squashed? I wouldn't know, but probably a bit as they 'need' to compete with today's stuff, I only have the original pressings which sound just fine to my ears, that's how they intended them to sound when they came out anyway.
If I want loud, I just turn up the volume.

[Micodin]

The PB, CYH, IC & HN remasters were not supervised or remastered by all three B-Boys. An outside party remastered them, which I found a bit disappointing.

Yes, they sounded nice. But it was kind of a big letdown on the commentaries when they were talking about hearing some songs for the first time in 10 years.

When the remasters were announced, I thought that the band would be a big part of the process.

[Rodie]

The PB, CYH, IC & HN remasters were not supervised or remastered by all three B-Boys. An outside party remastered them, which I found a bit disappointing.

Yes, they sounded nice. But it was kind of a big letdown on the commentaries when they were talking about hearing some songs for the first time in 10 years.

When the remasters were announced, I thought that the band would be a big part of the process.

Are you sure about that? I thought that they were heavily involved in the process, especially Paul's Boutique. I thought the commentaries were just recorded before the remasters were completed.

[Micodin]

Are you sure about that? I thought that they were heavily involved in the process, especially Paul's Boutique. I thought the commentaries were just recorded before the remasters were completed.

I'm not 100%. From the insider knowledge I have, Chris Athens did the remastering for PB, CYH, IC & HN. He also mastered TT5B.

I'm sure Yauch was present for some of it but Chris did the bulk of the work.

[pesto pizza]

it's already been remastered. it was part of the def jam remasters series released back in 2000 or around then. i know because i have it and it's probably the loudest beasties cd i own.

edit: as the above post points out

I've got this as well, it came out 5th april 2004 and it has a DVD of the 3 LTI videos.The sound quality is high,well worth the purchase to replace my orignal copy.
ASIN-B0001RBFBA
they selling on amazon uk for a silly price,but then you might not care

[Brass Monk]

There needs to be a new release for LTI. It's crazy that you can only buy the old version in stores.

I get the dynamic range argument, but over all, I think remastered albums on average sound a lot better than shit mastered in 80's.

Yeah, it would be good to have it remastered. Sounds like I have the CD most everyone else has which has caused me some issues.

I'll throw all the tracks onto various Hip Hop mixes I have which feature other tracks that are "better" mastered. As a result when a track like the New Style comes on, I'll bump up the bass on it and then I'll forget to turn it back down when the next track on my mix comes on. This eventually breaks my car speakers, although they still work enough to use.
I've done this to my last 2 car stereos.

When you import a track into iTunes library from CD it gives you the option to mess with the various levels, but I lack the knowledge to make the necessary adjustments (if this would help at all, IDK)

[pesto pizza]

it has been remastered in 2004

[tt5brevisited]

Yeah, it would be good to have it remastered. Sounds like I have the CD most everyone else has which has caused me some issues.

I'll throw all the tracks onto various Hip Hop mixes I have which feature other tracks that are "better" mastered. As a result when a track like the New Style comes on, I'll bump up the bass on it and then I'll forget to turn it back down when the next track on my mix comes on. This eventually breaks my car speakers, although they still work enough to use.
I've done this to my last 2 car stereos.

When you import a track into iTunes library from CD it gives you the option to mess with the various levels, but I lack the knowledge to make the necessary adjustments (if this would help at all, IDK)

There's nothing wrong with the original master, i't's just that current stuff is overly compressed, limited and therefore louder.

Current CDs SEEM to sound better at first, but if you would level your new CDs lower so they kinda match up with older CDs you'd hear the older CDs usually have more dynamics and won't cause ear fatique after like 3 songs.

[Brass Monk]

There's nothing wrong with the original master, i't's just that current stuff is overly compressed, limited and therefore louder.

Current CDs SEEM to sound better at first, but if you would level your new CDs lower so they kinda match up with older CDs you'd hear the older CDs usually have more dynamics and won't cause ear fatique after like 3 songs.

Oh, I see. I'm not as frustrated with loudness, at least not on most Hip Hop tracks. But thx for the good info.