Clear and sharp, but......

3 Stars
Posted
Thursday, August 8, 2019
by
VicN
This version of an old classic is very clear, fast and sharp, but as I listened to it, it just didn't grab me. They've achieved this clarity by biasing the high frequency end at the expense of the mid range. The result is a noticeable amount of the "music" has been sucked out of the mids leaving them very lean. The high end is empathised to the point that some songs were sibilant in parts. I was wondering if it was just me, so I threw on the Sundazed version I've had for a while, which was also produced from the original master tapes. The Sundaze version didn't have quite the same amount of resolution as the MoFi release, but was fuller in the mids, sounded better balanced and had no sibilance. To me the Sundazed version better captured the warm 60s sound and was more involving. So if you're a clarity/resolution freak, then the new MoFi is it. If you prefer the original warmer fuller sound, then the MoFi mastering may leave you a little cold (pun intended).