Customer Reviews

Crosby, Stills & Nash (180 Gram Vinyl LP)

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I pre-ordered the CSN 180 gram vinyl Rhino reissue two months before its announced release date and proceeded to wait for it with the highest of expectations. After all, it was reported to have been remastered and cut from the Original Analog Master Tapes by the legendary Bernie Grundman and pressed at the prestigious Pallas facility in Germany. And considering that Rhino had done such a terrific job with their vinyl reissues of the first two Chicago albums earlier this year, I figured how could this NOT be good?

Things started out well enough. The record arrived in timely fashion, curiously packed in a regular Amazon carton with NO BUBBLE WRAP or any other protective padding. How the delicate vinyl record made it all the way to my house unscathed and undamaged is beyond me...but somehow it did! I removed it from the box and admired it as I slowly peeled off the shrink wrap, amazed at how true the album artwork and labeling were to the original 1969 Atlantic issue. Even the included lyric sheet was a dead-on replica.

I slipped the record out of it's lined sleeve and inspected it, immediately noticing some surface irregularities which resembled small scuff marks. They were only on one side, but still, not what I wanted to see on a brand new record. If only that had been the worst of it! I placed the record on my turntable, gave it a quick swipe with my trusty Discwasher brush, and lowered the tonearm, waiting to be blown away by "Audiophile Quality" as proudly proclaimed by the big stick-on label on the plastic wrapping.

People, this reissue is NOT audiophile quality. In fact, it's not even good! There is NO high end! NONE! Everything from the high mids on up sounds like it was put through some kind of repressive electronic filter. None of the crispness and vitality of the classic 1969 issue carries over to the 2009 version. In fact, despite the years of wear and tear, my 40-year-old original LP absolutely BLOWS it away in terms of audio quality. It's not even close!

Bottom line: If you care at all about sound quality and fidelity, do NOT waste your money on this disappointing reissue. Find a used Atlantic SD-8229 original issue in decent condition at a fair price instead and you'll be much happier! My Rhino LP is going back!!

EDIT: I had originally given this product only one star ("I hate it") but I reconsidered and am now bumping it up to three stars ("It's OK"). Based on musical content alone I would give this album 4.5 stars. Unfortunately, the inferior audio quality significantly diminishes its worth!