Top Engineers – Bob Clearmountain

Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love

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An incredible sounding copy with both sides earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades
On the better pressings you get something approaching the warmth and unforced clarity of analog we audiophiles crave
Some of Bruce’s best material is here: the title track and One Step Up are two of our favorites
“Bruce Springsteen followed the most popular album of his career, Born in the U.S.A., with [a] low-key, anguished effort, Tunnel of Love.”

As is the case for the Bob Clearmountain mix of Born in the USA, the sound is not exactly vintage analog at its best, but at least on vinyl you get more analog qualities than would otherwise be possible. This is 1987, not 1967 and not even 1977. That said, the copies that earned the better grades were big and rich, with plenty of studio space and nicely present vocals.

Mostly what they do well is that they fill out the sound and take the edge off of it without losing musical information, dynamics or energy. Not many copies managed that feat but this one did. (more…)