Why does The Joshua Tree...

[Rastat]

... sound so GREAT on vinyl and sounds so CRAP on CD????

Why don't they remaster it? So it can be more accurate to the original sound?

Listening to them the cd version seems to be behind a filter... couldn't they CLEAN it?

I think it would be a great thing if they made a remaster series with all their discography... isn't it?

 

[u2ulysses]

A "Gold Remastered" version of the CD was released a while ago. This sounded SO much better than the CD I bought in '87. On that CD, songs like "Exit" were almost inaudible as they were so soft. On this "Gold" CD, everything sounded crisp and clear (great for some outstanding JT songs, horrid for some of the bad songs on JT).

However, I heard that the company that did these remasterings is no more, so this might be a bit difficult to find. If you can find one, though, I'd recommend it (if you are a JT fan).

 

[neutral]

Yeah the gold remaster is nice isn't it.

I umm acquired it not too long ago. Definitely worth hearing.

 

[RademR]

thanks u2ulysses, i didnt even know that. I have the other version and the sound SUCKS. Its awful and is the reason I rarely put JT in my car CD changer. "Exit" sounds awful, but then again even if I had the remastered version I would still listen to live rattle & hum version first.

 

[Rastat]

Thanks, I know about the Gold Edition, but it's very VERY expensive right now.
I think a band like U2 should care abut the quality of their releases, and that's why I think they should remaster all of their back catalogue... Now more than ever, with the new album and all that Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame stuff... don't you?

 

[U24EVAR]

How do you know if the CD is the remastered one?? I just bought The Joshua Tree recently and is there any way to see if its the gold version or not??

 

[Rastat]

Well, if my memories are right, the Golden Edition had an enormous GOLDEN EDITION written in the cover. Plus, the cd was golden, not silver... so... you have the regular edition... sorry, my friend...

 

[neutral]

Thanks, I know about the Gold Edition, but it's very VERY expensive right now.
I think a band like U2 should care abut the quality of their releases, and that's why I think they should remaster all of their back catalogue... Now more than ever, with the new album and all that Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame stuff... don't you?

Wow you weren't kidding about the price. I just looked at a few used copies on Amazon, holy crap. Starting at $75 USD.


I know you didn't ask me but yeah, remasters seem like a no brainer. Maybe they'll do them all some day.

 

[U2Kitten]

The entire War album sounds poor on CD compared to vinyl. It must be because it's so old and the technology is different now and it doesn't match up or, something, I don't know. I also know that War, Boy and October sound like crap when taped onto cassettes from CD (I did this before I had a CD player in my car) Maybe they'd have to actually go back and re record the old stuff a different way and they don't want to spoil its originality or something.

 

[ylimeU2]

This is why I tracked down vinyls and bought a record player in 2001.

 

[Axver]

Am I the only person who thinks vinyl sounds worse? I must be going mad.

 

[ylimeU2]

Axver, I doubt you're the only. After all, records aren't exactly the most sought after form of playing music. I just think vinyl has a raw sound to it that just can't be captured on a remastered CD.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

JT sounds fine to me......it's the first few albums, particularly War that seem to have problems....recorded on analog, no?

 

[u2ulysses]

How do you know if the CD is the remastered one?? I just bought The Joshua Tree recently and is there any way to see if its the gold version or not??

The Gold Remastered album is VERY distinct. The cover is not the same (there's still the JT cover, but there's a black and gold trim around it).

At the time these were released, they were more expensive - $20-25. However, as I wrote above, the company that made these Gold CD's is no more, so they have become a lot more expensive.

They also did a Gold Remastered version of "War", although I didn't get that as I felt my CD version of "War" was just fine. However, the '87 CD version of JT really lacked something.

 

[Dr Floyd]

U2 blasphemy

it sounds fine but I can understand how vinyl might sound better, especially with JT

I have listened to War on vinyl

 

[beegee]

i have josh on vinyl but i have never listened to it.