Soft Parade [Gold CD, Original recording remastered]

The Doors | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 18, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 1969
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Gold CD, Original recording remastered
• Label: Audio Fidelity
• ASIN: B001UNSZSA
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,820 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Tell All the People

2. Touch Me

3. Shaman's Blues

4. Do It

5. Easy Ride

6. Wild Child

7. Runnin' Blue

8. Wishful Sinful

9. The Soft Parade

10. Touch Me [40th Anniversary Remix] [*]

11. The Soft Parade [40th Anniversary Remix] [*]

Editorial Reviews

THE DOORS The Soft Parade (2009 US exclusive strictly limited edition audiophile 11-track digitally remastered 24Kt+ GOLD CD album the 4th longplayer from the legendary group originally released in 1969 includes the single Touch Me plus 2 bonus recordings - this audiophile release has not been maximised brickwalled limited or compressed in any way retaining the original recordings dynamic range! Presented in individually numberedsealed die-cut card slipcase)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Review for the Audio Fidelity release, November 18, 2009

By 

Timmothy R. Acheson "Tim" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soft Parade (Audio CD)

The Doors - The Soft Parade (AFZ 038)

The original mixes are compressed on the Steve Hoffman mastered CD.

Regardless of ones opinion of the sound, these CDs should not reveal compression beyond that used during mixing. The 1988 Elektra CD reveals that the original mixes are available without the compression that is found on the AF CD. Since AF states they are using the original master tapes and that they are not adding compression in anyway, there should not be more compression on their release. If anything, copy tapes would have more compression than master tapes. For instance, if the 1988 CD was made from a copy and the AF was made from the master, the AF should have the same, or greater dynamic range. Oddly, the 40th anniversary remixes do not reveal the compression that has been applied to the original mixes.

Contact "Dream Operator" on IMWAN for more information.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This remaster parades an under rated gem from The Doors album 3 stars, remaster sound 5, August 25, 2009

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Soft Parade (Audio CD)

First I have to admit that this was never my favorite Doors album. The writing is inconsistent. The band though decided along with their producer to tackle something they'd never done before--create an album with elaborate orchestral arrangements. On songs like "Touch Me" and the opening track the orchestra adds nice color to the band's music. Guitarist Robby Kreiger provides most of the tunes here and while he isn't the best lyricist, the music more than makes up for his shortcomings in that area. "Shaman's Blues" and "Wild Child" are two other highlights that contrast nicely with the experimentation of using a full orchestra and the rambling but fascinating title track.

Steve Hoffman completes his remastering of The Doors catalog with this album and "Morrison Hotel" (which is a strong album than this but isn't quite as varied). "The Soft Parade" has never sounded so good on CD. Hoffman does a nice job with the album and provides us with two bonus tracks for comparison--the remixed versions of "The Soft Parade", "Touch Me" from the recently remixed/remastered effort by original engineer Bruce Botnick. It's nice to compare the two and while the remixes sound really good, I prefer the original analog two track masters as presented here to the remixes. They have a bit more punch and character.

Interestingly, if you look at the sound waves there does appear to be some peak limiting on the track "Touch Me" but unless you listen for it very carefully you might not hear it (you'd have to listen to it on exceptional equipment). Nevertheless, "The Soft Parade" sounds exceptionally good. I haven' heard an explanation as to WHY it appears that some peak limiting appears to be going on when the packaging mentions that no peak limiting has been used.

We get a booklet with the original lyrics included as part of the package as well. This is available in a limited numbered edition so if you are a big Doors fan you'll probably want to snatch this up as soon as possible. While it might seem redundant in the wake of the remixed/remastered catalog reissued last year, these are the best sounding versions of the original mixes I've heard.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Version So Far - By a Good Margin, June 8, 2010

By 

D. Allen "Mr. Mojorisin" (North Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Soft Parade (Audio CD)

I know I'm in the minority here when I say this is my favorite Doors album. It's more than that actually - I CHERISH this album. It ranks in my Top 5 of all albums of ANY genre. And Wishful Sinful, along with the title song, are probably my all-time favorite Doors songs. Yes, there is some lounge singing on this album along with substantial orchestration, but as it turns out, Morrison was exceptionally good at it, and I think adds to the album's varied and sometimes wacky writing. No groove here - they were all over the place.

Audio Fidelity, the company that produced this remaster, has been causing me to lose my religion of late; releasing remasters that either aren't superior to all previous CD versions of a title, or just barely surpassing them. Worst of all, there has been verifiable compression and limiting on a few of their releases, and those are huge no-no's for an audiophile label. This title is one of those sinners. And although it's only employed minimally, you have to wonder what they were thinking. People are rightfully upset about this.

That said, this gold disc is the best sounding CD version of The Soft Parade to date, and the compression isn't noticeable. The old versions sound muddy, especially the bass, compared to this one. This sounds more detailed and hi-res, and the bass sounds taut. I also didn't detect any of the shrillness that has plagued a couple of songs on side one (the first half of the disc) of previous versions.

All-in-all, it is a very enjoyable listen, and I'm extremely grateful to have this superior sounding version of one of my favorite albums.