Pretty Hate Machine: 2010 Remaster [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Nine Inch Nails | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 22, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Bicycle Music Company
• ASIN: B00489YLBS
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,724 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Head Like A Hole

2. Terrible Lie

3. Down In It

4. Sanctified

5. Something I Can Never Have

6. Kinda I Want To

7. Sin

8. That's What I Get

9. The Only Time

10. Ringfinger

11. Get Down Make Love

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered and expanded edition of this 1989 debut album from Trent Reznor and Co. featuring one bonus track: 'Get Down Make Love'. Rob Sheridan, NIN's longtime art director, has also re-imagined the packaging of Pretty Hate Machine under Reznor's supervision. The Bicycle Music Company acquired the rights to Pretty Hate Machine from a division of Prudential Securities in the spring of 2010. It was Bicycle's intention from the onset to enable Reznor to regain some control of the lost piece of NIN's legacy, resulting in this artist approved 2010 reissue of one of music's most groundbreaking and influential albums.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

151 of 160 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Trent's first endeavor, built with 21 years of new tech November 22, 2010

By Deven

Format:Audio CD

Has it really been 21 years? Hard to believe that Trent was changing the world at the same time that songs like Tone Loc's "Wild Thing" were bouncing around people's heads. Let's get down to it (or rather down in it).

I first have to commend Trent for the packaging. Clear lettering slip cover, insert with lyrics, sharp album art and a nice info section round out a fantastic physical product. There's a nice touch just below the "Thank You" section, but I won't spoil it for you.

Onto the music. If you've ever seen or heard NIN live, you've probably thought: "Man, why can't [insert PHM song title] sound this good at home?" Fortunately, we have Halo 02R to change all of that. The album sounds like 1989 Trent hopped in a wormhole to the year 2010, re-recorded the album, heard a Justin Bieber song on the radio and ran straight back.

The first thing you notice is that it's louder. Anyone who's listened to PHM knows that it had a "quiet" sound. Then you hear Trent sing, and you realize that his vocals are finally as loud as the instruments/synths. Finally you start picking up the fun stuff, like the remastered thump of bass guitar in Sanctified's intro, or the background quips and sounds in Terrible Lie. The real winner on the album is Kinda I Want To. Listen to it with earbuds or good surround sound and you'll hear what I mean. I could go on and on about how "this part" from "that song" sounds, but you really have to hear it for yourself. All I can do is promise you that the re-master wasn't overdone. This is still 1989 Nine Inch Nails, but with higher quality for your listening pleasure.

Long story short, drive to your local cd retailer, throw down your $8 and buy this. Of course, if you're a NIN fan you already have.... I drove through a semi-blizzard in Fargo, ND at 9am to get it. Now if you'll excuse me, I must return to my hot chocolate and my music. Read more ›

75 of 84 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as everyone would like you to believe. December 12, 2010

By borgy

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

My title and rating in no way refer to the music, but the new 2010 remaster.

I've always thought the 1989 CD master i have sounded a bit thin and could've benefited from having a fuller sound and a bit more power. So this remaster for me, was a must buy. I even imported it from the US through Amazon.com because it's mot available here in Australia. The 1989 master has never gone out of print here so that's maybe why (Pretty Hate Machine is on Interscope here - they must've bought the rights for this country of TVT when NIN made it big in the early 90's).

Anyway, This new master despite being done by Trent himself suffers from loudness war mastering and i just don't get it. Trent surely has to know about this stuff since he's not some beginner audio newbie and unlike most bands he produces his music as well instead of just performing it. He's even been around since the 'golden age' of CD mastering (late 80's - early 90's).

It's really disappointing that this remaster was done brilliantly and then for some reason it was decided that the dynamics should just be sucked out through peak limiting added as a finishing touch. 'Kinda I Want To' used to have schizophrenic drums that seemed to leap out of the speaker at you and now they just sound held back and restrained, changing the song drastically. Just listen to 'Head Like A Hole' remastered and then play the 1989 original back to back... notice the punchy drums in the original?

This remaster gets even more confusing taking into account 'The Downward Spiral' remaster from 2004 that didn't suffer from this loudness war problem! It was a bit louder but the waveforms weren't clipped like on this 'Pretty Hate Machine' remaster.

I thought maybe this remaster caters for the iPod generation...... but then i also thought they wouldn't have gone through the effort of redesigning the cover art and designing nice new packaging if that was the case.

I'm confused. Why are people calling this remaster fantastic, do they not own a decent quality home stereo? Do they not know louder does not equal better? Read more ›

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars BIG improvement over original! November 23, 2010

By G. Ellisberg

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

The clarity and updated sound of this remaster is outrageously good. The lows are richer and the highs are crisper. The instrument and sound separation in the mix is far superior to the original. I am intimately familiar with every note and sound on this album and I hear things I never noticed before. I am glad that the original tracks found their way back home for a little polishing. Well done Trent.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars sounds as though it could have been recorded yesterday November 22, 2010

By Daniel Maltzman

Format:Audio CD

Nine Inch Nail's debut album has been in my walkman, discman and i-pod for well over a decade. It's one of my favorites and something that got me through my teens and 20s. I know every note of music on this album, so it's a bit surreal listening to the 2010 remaster. It's a bit of a trip hearing something that you are so familiar with sound different.

How does the 2010 version of PHM differ fro the 1989 version? As others have pointed out, it is louder, crisper, and just sounds fresher. When one listens to the original album, as good as it is, one can date it. From a production standpoint, it sounds like it came out in 1989. This new version sounds as though it could have been recorded yesterday--as these classic songs have been polished up a bit.

The new packaging and design, with the fold-out slip-case is awesome. If you are a NIN fan and love the original PHM, this new remaster is well worth the eight bucks. Although I'll still hold on to my original album, as it's kind of like an old friend and it's how I remember hearing these songs.

What follows is my review of "Pretty Hate Machine" that I wrote five years ago and appears in the review of the older pressing.

If you don't own any NIN's albums, this is definitely the place to start.

"The Downward Spiral" will probably forever be Trent Reznor's most popular and critically acclaimed album. And "The Fragile," in my opinion is Reznor's magnum opus. And although those are some of the best albums in modern rock, they both need time and a few plays to get into. "The Downward Spiral" is a classic, no doubt, but it's so intense, people unfamiliar with NIN may be initially turned off.... And with the "The Fragile," there are a lot of instrumentals with long buildups and climaxes (not that that's a bad thing). Both of these albums need a few plays to really appreciate. "Pretty Hate Machine" is more meat-and-potatos and gets right to the point with each song. It's easy to digest these songs with just one listen.

NIN's debut album, "Pretty Hate Machine," is instantly accessible, instantly catchy. Some industrial purists may eschew NIN for being overly assesable/pop, but the hooks in these songs are undeniable. "Pretty Hate Machine" is not the kind of album where you listen to it a few times, every once and a while, or listen to a few songs now and then. "Pretty Hate Machine" is the kind of album that you get hooked on. And it's not just a few songs, the entire album is mesmerizing.

From the opening classic "Head Like a Hole" to the closing "Ringfinger" every song is meticulously crafted and delivered. Even if you know nothing at all about Trent Reznor, just by listening to any of NIN's albums, you get the sense that every song on every one of his albums is a labor of love.

This is the kind of album that any person can relate to. Trent Reznor takes universal feeling and themes of being rejected, disappointed, screwed over, dejected and depressed, and he puts it to catchy industrial beats. There is a certain healing power to the music of Nine Inch Nails. You feel a certain catharsis when you listen to Trent Reznor's music.

"Pretty Hate Machine" is a modern-day classic and a cornerstone in any college/alternative collection. Read more ›