After the surprise of the really improved "Queen 2" I took "A Day at the Races", another album which for my ears always sounded a bit "weak" in parts.
Compared to the Hollywood remaster the result is not as impressive although it's quite interesting.
Basically the new versions are 3 dB louder with some EQ in the middle frequencies around 3 to 6 Khz. Which adds more transparency and detail to the songs.
When you do that on the Hollywood version you won't hear any big difference.
But unlike adding treble or bass it's not so easy for most listeners to turn up the middle range. Also it's notacable that in some cases single parts of certain songs have been treated differently. Like the coral intro of "Somebody to love". Here they boosted the deep voices a lot and it really sounds fuller. So if you really like that album it's worth considering to "upgrade" your collection, if not - then the old cds will still be fine.
The additional tracks are not that exciting - apart from the Hyde Park version of "You take my Breath away".
The TOTP "Lover Boy" sounds a bit "muddy". Most people will have the video.
And I do not understand why they added the HD remix of "Teo Toriatte". It's a real improvement but puts a question mark over this whole set, why they didn't give that treatment to the whole album.
I can understand when lesser popular acts cannot invest too much money in their remixes/remasters. But hey....this is "Queen" .....
Teo Torriatte HD mix was released in 2005 exclusively in Japan, now 6 years later QPL added it in deluxe for europe/america. That's the point. Also this HD mix without ADATR outro (basically a standalone version) now is a commercial exclusive, because in 2005 it was available only on promo CD single. 'Jewels' compilation includes TT spliced with ADATR outro.
As I remember in 2004 there were rumours/info that QPL worked on ADATR DVD-A but unfortunately (as always) it's still haven't materialised.
Rick wrote: They raised Brian's volume on Long Away.
How would they have done that? Since it's a remaster, not a remix. Maybe they could use EQ to boost those mid-frequencies where Brian's voice would be, but they couldn't really raise the volume of a single instrument/voice.
Danne wrote: Rick wrote: They raised Brian's volume on Long Away.
How would they have done that? Since it's a remaster, not a remix. Maybe they could use EQ to boost those mid-frequencies where Brian's voice would be, but they couldn't really raise the volume of a single instrument/voice.
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Look, it sounds as if they did that, according to my ears. You may judge differently. I have the same feeling towards Some Day One Day.
But that's precisely the point - EQing different frequencies can play tricks on your ears, as the ear can hear some frequencies better than others. The overall sound and mix you're hearing is no different from what we've been hearing since 1988.