Tonight I noticed that the drums on I Can't Live With You are really cool, but at least on my CD the drums are way back i the background. Is there a better remasterd edition?
That's the big problem with Innuendo, to me and to many others .... the mastering is awful and the sound quality lacks of the brightness and power of many other Queen albums, wich is a pity, given it's one of their finest works. I'll always say this album will always be in urgent need of a new remastering process .... and even a new mix !! John can hardly be heard!
It's been said in some other threads here that the 2001 remaster even sounds worse than the original 1991 one.
Btw, the drums on ICLWY were programmed by Brian, I think. No Roger in there. That's the reason why they went for the "Rocks re-take" years later.
I don't think mastering is/was a problem. It's the mix. That's the way they had that one put together. Yes, poor John is quiet and yes, Roger's drums are fairly quiet and to the back. I think a remix would be interesting. But remastering is such a subtle job, I don't believe Innuendo (in its current state) is a candidate for it.
There's no low end. This is what happens when you employ amateurs - they seem to have finally understood this with the ANATO remaster and the upcoming AG release.
The whole thing sounds really weak and there's very little a simple remastering job can do due to the mix. Not enough compression was applied to individual tracks on the multitrack, so it sounds weak. The albums needs remixing by someone who knows what they're doing.
Well hopefully when the Greatest Video HIts III DVD comes along, we'll have all the Innuendo singles in 5.1. I can't wait - if it ever happens that is!!!
Also, Innuendo needs REMIXING, not REMASTERING. Sorry if I sound patronising but so many people confuse the two things. I agree that the drums on ICLWY are really quiet - they need remixing to bring just their volume up - remastering will just make them sound a little clearer in an overall way...
Adam Baboolal wrote:
I don't think mastering is/was a problem. It's the mix. That's the way they had that one put together. Yes, poor John is quiet and yes, Roger's drums are fairly quiet and to the back. I think a remix would be interesting. But remastering is such a subtle job, I don't believe Innuendo (in its current state) is a candidate for it.
Adam.
I couldn't have said it better myself Adam. Well put.
Remastering isn't necessarily trivial to the ears ... when done properly (like anything else) it can completely change how the song comes across. Unfortunately, too often "remastered" simply means saturated with dynamic compression so the whole thing screams along at top volume with no let up.
I plan to buy AGH, mainly because I was so impressed with the remastering done on the Singles Collections 1 & 2. They sound so much warmer, more organic, and lively. All the instruments sound REAL and happening right in the room with you. When you can use a post-production PROCESS like remastering and get THAT kind of result on the individual instruments, it's clearly being done with care.
I know we don't all have money to buy the same stuff 10 times over, but they're finally starting to get it right with the sound!
but i agree on Innuendo... deserves BOTH a remix and remaster... the Rocks take of ICLWY is leaps and bounds ahead of the album version. think what they could do with that record now!
and, yes, we'd all love to run naked through the Archives as well...