SHM CD Deep Purple and Blind Faith REVIEW

[artto]

(DUPLICATE OF POST IN GENERAL QUESTIONS)

I listened to two of the new CD Japan SHM CDs last night,
Shades of Deep Purple and Blind Faith, both SHM SACD.

Shades of Deep Purple is mastered in such a way that is kind
of typical of the late 60’s/early 70’s hard rock albums. It’s intended to be
played LOUD. It just doesn’t sound right if it’s not LOUD. It’s kind of bass
heavy but it’s the kind of bass that you feel more than hear, yet when it’s
missing the sound seems to have lost everything, especially if it’s not being
played LOUD.

I had the average levels at about 105dB at the listening
position, and it probably could have used another 5 dB or more. My speakers are
now 35+ years old and all original so I really don’t feel like pushing my luck
on a new recording that I’m listening to for the first time. My wife said the
pots and pans in the kitchen were rattling so I guess that’s good enough.

I have the original LP of this recording but no need for
comparison. My LP, while in “good” condition, is one of the few in my
collection that are old enough to have been played repeatedly on a Zenith
console stereo I bought back in High School when I thought Zenith was the best
you could get (ROTFLMAO).

It was nice to really hear all of Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar
work for the first time. There’s a lot more coming through on here than I ever
heard on the LP, lot’s of little rhythm guitar licks that were previously
buried in the mix. And Jon Lord’s keyboard work on that dirty keyed Hammond B3,
amazing stuff, kind of like a second lead guitar.

Some of the songs still come through a little “dorky” IMO,
somewhat amateurish arrangements while others like their cover of the Beatles
Help are really quite good. There’s a number of bonus tracks not on the
original LP, mostly out-takes versions. I had to laugh at the bonus track of
Hush. Now I don’t feel so bad for some of my very earliest bands I was in. It
was nice to hear Deep Purple sound just like a good old fashioned garage band.

The Blind Faith SHM SACD, now this is nice! I turned this one
down a little, average levels around 90-95dB. All the fine textures of Clapton’s
guitar work and Ginger Baker’s amazing finesse on percussion come through on
this with sparkling detail. I remember the drummer from one of my bands back
then had Baker’s solo down pat. Steve used to always remark about how many drum
stick clicks he heard from Baker’s solo. Steve, I got news for you, there’s a
lot more than three times that Baker hit his sticks together (smile). There’s
really not much more I can say except that I have the original LP of this recording
also but no need for comparison here either. This was probably as close to
listening to the original master tape as I’ll ever get. And it is a very good
recording. I really enjoyed it.

[billybob]

Happy you are enjoying the quality of the recordings. The Shades album has the infamous Hey Joe co-opt that is very typical of the genius of the early DP.

The renderings of Blackmore have depth beyond spellbinding. Lord's keyworks/performance(s) are nothing but not unreal on more than one plane.

Agree there is a garage like feel on a cut or two, but overall the offerings were ahead of some so-called bubble gum at the time.

The Blind Faith is about right to compliment/appreciate Ginger in his prime. The video of the park in London is decent and rare. Winwood was in good form.

Would tend to agree with your assessment of volume levels between the 2 somewhat different sound/style for that particular offering. There is some music which I have not been able to fully appreciate otherwise. When you get it right, it can be highly rewarding.

Of course, I do not have the hearing of a younger self, so need to be careful of not selling the artist's musical intentions short. Also, when that is required the GF is usually off of the premises.

If you have a link for a supplier, please let know. Thanks

[artto]

Happy you are enjoying the quality of the recordings.

Of course, I do not have the hearing of a younger self, so need to be careful of not selling the artist's musical intentions short.

If you have a link for a supplier, please let know. Thanks

Here's the link for the sampler:

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=UIGY-9036

At $17.99USD it's relatively inexpensive compared to most of the full albums.

Regarding hearing, I agree about being carefull with sound levels, especially for prolonged periods. Interestingly, I recently went for a hearing exam to see if I might benefit from any of the modern hearing aids as I have some known damage in my right ear dating back to high school. The doctor told me that listening to music the way I do is actually a good thing. It helps stimulate the ears nerves. People who are always around very quiet situations are the ones who often suffer hearing loss the most. As for the hearing aids, I can hear more difference in sound between two different $7K speaker systems from the same manufacturer than I could with or without the hearing aids ~ which also cost $7K.

[billybob]

Happy you are enjoying the quality of the recordings.

Of course, I do not have the hearing of a younger self, so need to be careful of not selling the artist's musical intentions short.

If you have a link for a supplier, please let know. Thanks

Here's the link for the sampler:

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=UIGY-9036

At $17.99USD it's relatively inexpensive compared to most of the full albums.

Regarding hearing, I agree about being carefull with sound levels, especially for prolonged periods. Interestingly, I recently went for a hearing exam to see if I might benefit from any of the modern hearing aids as I have some known damage in my right ear dating back to high school. The doctor told me that listening to music the way I do is actually a good thing. It helps stimulate the ears nerves. People who are always around very quiet situations are the ones who often suffer hearing loss the most. As for the hearing aids, I can hear more difference in sound between two different $7K speaker systems from the same manufacturer than I could with or without the hearing aids.

Certain tracks are just made for this treatment. Thanks for your doctor's opinion. Happy to know am on track. On my own mission for clarity of source and material. What kept bringing me back at one time period, to live performance is that clarity and in some case acoustic quality found.

Will do it for my health. Music apparently is good for a body:

http://www.internethealthlibrary.com/Therapies/MusicTherapy-Research.htm

Thanks for the link. Now I know what SHM is.