[net.records] Traffic, Pink Floyd

bhaskar (04/19/83)

If I remember correctly, the song "John Barleycorn Must Die" was on an album
called "Low Sparks" (or something very similar) by Traffic (but it *was*
around 10 years ago, so my memory may be faulty).

I don't know specifically what is covered under or meant by "sonic holography"
in Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut" but I own a copy of the record (I am a Pink
Floyd fan) and have a few comments about it:

-   I consider it to be their 2nd best album to date (after "The Dark Side of
    the Moon", which is one of the best rock albums ever made).

-   I haven't seen an audiophile edition yet, but the regular record isn't bad
    at all (comparable to my low end audiophile recordings, though not on par
    with MFSL or Telarc) for a regular edition (but I may have an early
    pressing).  A large number of them are being returned for excessive
    warping, I understand, so check it out at the store.  Surface and subsonic
    noise are lower than on typical rock recordings.

-   The imaging is fantastic!  Listen to the opening few seconds of Side 2
    (but be careful -- you may blow your speakers with the sound of the bomb
    exploding).  In comparing it to the cannon in Telarc's 1812 Overture, the
    dynamic range is nowhere near as good, but the sonic image is superior.
    You will need a good system to be able to understand the (faint) words in
    places, just as on TDSOTM.  In another place, the sound of cars passing
    was very real, but I felt vaguely uneasy about it until I realized that
    they were passing on the right.

All in all, it is definitely worth buying, whether you are into listening to
music or whether you are into listening to your equipment.