Search - Jon Anderson :: Animation

Cool album but Incompetent Remastering...

Jamie | Franklin, Tunisia | 11/09/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Jon Anderson fans have been waiting quite a long time for this album to have its first CD release and when it was announced on Jon's website we were all excited the wait was finally over.



Unfortunately, instead of putting forth the proper effort and use the original analog master tapes like a normal CD remaster they decided to source this CD from a worn LP played on a turntable that was out of alignment. You can hear crackles and pops throughout and the sibilance of the vocals sound more like "shh" than "sss" due to tracking error of the phono cartridge. The pitch has also been noticeably lowered for some reason. It's not at true pitch which is a bit odd.



On top of that they incompetently compressed, limited and EQ'd it into a distorted mess. It sounds hollow and has the classic U-curve sound that many inexperienced engineers turn out, you know all bass and treble with a heavily recessed midrange. Also, the digital levels are run so hot they are in constant digital "over" which causes audible clipping and the whole album to sound even more distorted. It's a total mess that was approved by Opio Media!



It seems those who released this Animation CD have conceded their efforts were lackluster. I'm told they now know where the tapes are but I still can't believe the amount of people who argued this CD was acceptable and sounded fine. I'd wait for them to finish the re-worked CD they will be announcing soon. Even if you love this album this CD is certainly NOT worth your money. Save your money for now and wait for a new version.



Why would they ruin such an opportunity like this? Hopefully they decide to start caring about Jon's music, spend some money, use the correct master tapes and do a quality mastering job this time! Just give us a proper CD release. I would think they would instate an exchange policy for those of us they conned into buying this first abortion. This is what starts class action suits.



Jon Anderson deserves better than to have these people be in charge of his catalog."

A decent album but a disastrous CD

Christopher Hosford | Atlanta, GA USA | 11/10/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Unfortunately the rumors are true. The official, Jon Anderson sanctioned CD release of Animation is transfered from vinyl. If they couldn't get any better tapes and they let the public know then it wouldn't be so bad. However, there is no indication of the source of the CD in any of the copy that I have seen promoting it.



This might not be so bad except for the fact that the CD was mastered far too loudly which not only magnifies the problems all ready present, but creates entirely new problems. Distortion and clipping might be desireable if you're listening to Steve Howe torture his Telecaster on "Soundchaser" from Relayer, but certainly not on Jon Anderson's vocals. The overall effect is not entirely unlike listening to Animation through a battered transistor radio with a perforated speaker instead of from a shiny new CD. Because of this I find the CD to be very tough going, even though I mostly enjoy the actual album.



I strongly urge people not to shell out for this product until those responsible can be bothered to fix it or redo it with the actual tapes.





"

Typical of the mismanagement which plagues YES

Gimme A_Break | USA | 11/17/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"THERE IS SIMPLY NO EXCUSE FOR THIS LEVEL OF UNPROFESSIONALISM!



I am no longer surprised by anything that comes out of the YES camp as a COMPLETE DISASTER.



Think back through the long years, every release either delayed, or defective or.... you name it.



The Animation CD is the one CD the LOYAL fans have waited so long for. To release this hodge-podge travesty is just another kick in the wallet.



What were they thinking by remastering this from an old, scratchy, Vinyl Record LP!?!?! WTF?



I half wonder if they did it on purpose. That would force all of us who rushed to buy it, to now get the supposedly fixed RE-RE-mastered CD they will be releasing soon.(think: "all the Yes Catalog")



Of course, I know it sounds far-fetched and paranoid, but we are talking about a band who has re-mastered and re-re-re-re-released the same albums more times than I can count. Tell me that is not "in it for the money."



My cassette tape of this album Animation sounds far superior in sound quality than this $20.00 wallet and ear assault.



Am I bitter? I guess so. I mean, we shell out and shell out and they continue to rip us off:



-I have 3 house of blues dvd's, ALL defective and do not play.



-I have the Steve Howe Guitar CD-ROM Defective and unusable.



-I paid $300 for a "gold level" meet and greet the band backstage ticket to the last Yes concert I went to and THEY NEVER SHOWED UP!



-My supposedly "remastered" CD's of Yesshows and Yessongs sound like they were re-recorded over a payphone.



-I have countless box sets with the SAME songs, only with some little rarity dribbled out to make us buy another $70.00 one.



Man, I could go on for an hour. The bottom line is that I have written and called the companies to get these defective pressings replaced or refunded, but Yes management (which is Yes,) have no time to waste on me. They say: "thanks for your money, don't let the door hit you on your way out."



Sorry, but after the first several times the Yes camp pulled this kind of garbage, I became a lot less forgiving. Sure, mistakes happen. But Yes is so plagued with this type of mis-management and malfunction, that it has become their modus operandi.



What is that old saying...? Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me..



THERE IS SIMPLY NO EXCUSE FOR THIS LEVEL OF UNPROFESSIONALISM.



"