What prompted this was the purchase of two second hand LPs from either end of the 80s. The Tourists: Luminous Basement (1980) and Dusty Springfield: Reputation (1990). Now, it may be that both records could do with a good clean (although both are superficially clean) but both of them seemed to me to suffer from the production techniques at the time both in the studio and at the record press. They both sound 'squashed' and 'closed' in, perhaps the former more than the latter, no lows, no highs and a sound stage like a gnat's ass. The vinyl is thin and flimsy and, if I remember correctly, this was around about the age of the 'vinyl shortage'. Eventually, I put on Thelonius Monk: Monk's Dream (a modern press of music originally released in 1961. Now it was more like having musicians in the room, there was a stage with piano on the right, sax in the middle and drums and bass over on the left, there were lows and highs and each instrument had its own voice and character, etc. etc.
Now, here's my contention:
- Most people buying this kit (like me at the time) listened mainly to contemporary rock/pop artists
- Most people buying this kit did not have much exposure to live music, their reference point was the radio - Radio 1 and John Peel, probably
- People who listened to Jazz or Classical tended not to buy this kit
no its a helicopter. In reality if you stood next to one without ear defenders you would be deaf in no time.
