mt (12/03/82)
current analog mastering, I suggest two recent Alan Parsons albums:
"Turn of a Friendly Card", and "Eye in the Sky". The former is analog,
the latter is digital.
My impression is that Alan Parsons tries for the cleanest sound possible.
He engineered "Dark Side of the Moon" -- a traditional audiophile favorite.
I am sure that he turned to digital in "Eye in the Sky" to obtain even
better sound.
The results, to my ears, indicate disaster. The sound of "Eye" appears
to be clean, but it is fatiguing after one or two cuts. I have played
this album to uninformed listeners, who usually say that the sound is
impressive, but who usually request to have the record shut off after a
few cuts. "Friendly Card", on the other hand, sweeps the listener into
a dense, heavily produced sound that is not at all fatiguing.
In a word, LISTEN. Digital shows promise, but I consider that promise
yet unrealized.
Mike Tucker
.. ucbvax!hpda!mt