Pretty Hate Machine [2010 Remaster]

Nine Inch Nails | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: October 20, 1989
• Label: Null
• Copyright: 2010 Null
• Total Length: 53:05
• Genres:
  • Dance & DJ > Electronica
• ASIN: B004DE4CI0
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,035 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)
  • #42 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Albums > Dance & DJ > Electronica

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.

73 of 82 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?

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.