trystero

Astralwerks remaster: corrected version, Jun 1 2004

The first pressing of the remastered Astralwerks release has an error. Track 13, "Everything Merges With the Night", is missing about five seconds (it's 3m54s as compared to the older version's 3m59s), starting about fifteen seconds in. The first two bass notes, some acoustic guitar strumming, and the first word on the vocal track ("Rosalie...") are all missing.

To their credit, Astralwerks has stepped up to the plate and addressed the problem. They've sent me a replacement CD with the corrected remaster, restoring the missing five seconds. I'm very pleased with their handling of this issue.

Other buyers who got the defective first pressing should contact Astralwerks… Read more

Sonic problems with this edition, Nov 2 2002

My five issues with the mastering on this edition of one of my favourite rock albums:

(1) Some tracks have rather muffled sound: "Ziggy Stardust" is just a tiny bit congested when compared with the old EMI disc, but "Suffragette City" is noticeably lacking in upper-end bite. There's more low-end on the new disc, so this may represent an intentional change in emphasis, but it still sounds odd to my ears: much of the snarl is missing from Ronno's chugging guitar riffs.

(2) The little tiny three-note guitar lick at the very end of "Ziggy Stardust" -- the one *right* before "Suffragette City" crashes in -- has been faded out, so that the two songs no… Read more