More of the Music of The CarsReviews and Commentaries for the Music of The Cars
I mean, really bad.
Kevin Gray has struck again. He’s a modern one man demolition crew, taking exceptionally well recorded analog albums and turning them into the vinyl equivalent of CDs, and bad CDs at that.
Steve Hoffman did the first Cars album on Gold CD and it sounds quite good. I still own mine. How can Kevin Gray, his former assistant, make such a mess of the album on vinyl?
This question has a rather obvious answer, and much of what we have to say about this record was said in our review of the disastrous Stand Up Gray cut for Analogue Productions.
Allow us to repeat ourselves:
We were finally able to get our hands on the newly remastered Cars first album, a record we know well, having played them by the score. Our notes for the sound can be seen nearby.
If ever a record deserved a “no” grade, as in “not acceptable,” this new pressing mastered by Kevin Gray deserves such a grade, because it’s just awful.
Here is what we heard on side one of the new Cars remaster.
Good Times Roll
- Top is sandy [Sandy typically refers to transistory, dry, grainy, or gritty sound.]
- Hi-hat is spitty and gritty
My Best Friend’s Girl
- No real space or punch
- Flat and sandy
You’re All I’ve Got Tonight
- Flat
- No real space or weight
- No dynamics
Bye Bye Love
- Soft and sandy
- Small and smeary
Grant Green on Music Matters had many of these same problems. Unsurprisingly, it too was mastered by Kevin Gray.
How this guy is still getting work is beyond me.
I am clearly being facetious here. These guys get work because audiophiles will buy the records they master. The market has decided these records sound just fine, and who am I to say otherwise?
Of course, people can say anything they want about these records, opinions being worth what you pay for them.
We take a different approach. We will sell you the pressing of the album that can mop the floor with this Heavy Vinyl trash. We rarely have the first album in stock, but if you want one, just let us know and we will be glad to put you on the waiting list. Email Fred at fred@better-records.com.
Compared to What?
Is the Rhino pressing the worst version of the album ever made? In our view, it’s only competition would be this disaster, a record that also sold well back in the day. The more things change…
If I were to try to “reverse engineer” the sound of a system that could play this record and hide its many faults, I would look for a system that was thick, dark and fat, with plenty of tube colorations and no real top end to speak of.
I know that sound. I actually had a system thirty years ago with many of these shortcomings, but of course I didn’t have a clue about any of that. Like everybody audio enthusiast I met back then, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
I’m glad to say things are different now, I think.
If you made the mistake of buying this record and can’t stand the phony top end, try covering your tweeter with something absorbent. Foam might work. Also you could try disconnecting your super tweeters if you have any. This is good advice for any record mastered by Stan Ricker as well.
Since that old school vintage tube sound takes the opposite approach to music reproduction that we’ve spent the last few decades working on here at Better Records — our goal being neutrality above all else — we are clearly not playing the record back on equipment that is capable of making it sound anything but godawful, hence our relentlessly negative reaction to the record.
On any properly setup, halfway decent stereo system, any original pressing with RTB in the dead wax should murder this Heavy Vinyl piece of junk. If you don’t have a system like that, we encourage you to get one. You will save a lot of money by not buying crap vinyl like this, only to discover later just how bad it sounds on the higher quality equipment you eventually end up with. (Here is some good news on that subject.)
Although, to be honest, if you are buying these kinds of awful records, it’s hard to see how you will ever get out of the hole you are in. Some audiophiles manage it, but I suspect that most never do.
You can also buy the CD — whether on DCC Gold or just whatever disc Elektra put out — and hear for yourself if it isn’t better sounding. I would be very surprised if it were not.
Further Reading
- More reviews and commentaries for Rhino-Warners Vinyl
- Some stereos make it difficult to find the best sounding pressings
- First get good sound – then you can recognize and acquire good records
If you’re searching for the perfect sound, you came to the right place.
Well, the consensus on the Cars self-titled Rhino Audiophile series cut by Kevin Gray is that it’s the best sounding vinyl example of this album.
Yes, that does seem to be the case. Sad, isn’t it?
TP
Tom,
To those people I say “more is not necessarily better”.
For me it is about connection….Does the music move me?….Do it make me want to get up and dance?!!
Just like that Cars s/t lp with the new one from Rhino! Yes it does reveal more, but the music is blown…it does not connect with me….does not have that groovy feel….but it sure does sound “audiophile”.
The warm bass just oozes out of the speakers on a nice old copy…..that just completely disappears and is replaced by well I don’t know how to call it…you know that bass that just seems overdone and is just always there….which doesn’t sound natural.
Michel, thanks for writing.
I would take issue with the idea that the new pressing “reveals” more. If you have a good early pressing and you clean it right, it will reveal dramatically more more information than anything Kevin Gray ever cut on his transistory, opaque, airless, low-resolution cutting system.
As for the bass, we noted that there was no real space or punch, that the sound was flat, and that may be what you are describing, just a blob down low that never changes, hitting the same note over and over.
And of course the word “natural” gets right to the heart of it. None of these new records ever sound natural. They sound like audiophile records because audiophiles seem to like that sound, so why not give them more of it?
I have a couple of early pressings and they are my go to pressings. I bought the KG one just to see, but am selling it! The originals destroyed it!
Right on. Records that are no fun to play need to find other homes.
If you think Kevin Gray remasters sound dull, opaque, airless, low-resolution, etc., you might want to get a new system, and / or new ears. I’ve got more than a few and they are in general, excellent.
Dear Sir,
We would be happy to get you a pressing of The Cars’ debut that can show you just how much you are missing with the Kevin Gray cutting.
You can’t know what’s missing on his records until you hear it, and we have the copies that will let you do that.
I see we have none in stock at the time of this writing, but if you contact fred@better-records.com he can put you on the want list.
And of course our records are guaranteed to be as good as we say they are or your money back.
We make it possible to hear the difference for yourself on your own system, something we highly recommend you do before you spend any more money on Heavy Vinyl.
Our customer Dan wrote us a nice letter about hearing the difference, which you read here.
Thanks for writing,
Best, TP
Ad Hominem Attack: The author attacks Kevin Gray personally, suggesting that his work is consistently poor without addressing the specific issues with the remastering process.
Appeal to Authority: The author mentions Steve Hoffman and his successful remastering of The Cars’ first album on Gold CD, implying that because Hoffman did it well, Kevin Gray should have done the same. This disregards the possibility of differences in approach and technique between the two engineers.
Appeal to Popularity: Popularity does not equate to quality.
False Dichotomy: The author presents a binary choice between their preferred pressing and the Rhino pressing, suggesting that the Rhino pressing is objectively bad without considering the possibility of subjective preferences or different listening experiences.
Appeal to Emotion: The author uses emotive language (“just awful,” “godawful”) to elicit a strong negative reaction from the reader, rather than providing objective evidence to support their claims. This would be very difficult considering that taste and preference is subjective.
Hasty Generalization: The author assumes that anyone who disagrees with their assessment of the Rhino pressing must have inferior audio equipment or lack understanding of audio quality. This overlooks the possibility of legitimate differences in opinion or subjective preferences.
Appeal to Ignorance: The author suggests that because they personally find the Rhino pressing to be of poor quality, it must be objectively bad. However, personal experience or opinion does not necessarily reflect objective truth.