Burning Sounds

I was deeply disappointed by the the Burning Sounds reissues from secretrecords (vinyl and cd) due to the dull and lifeless sound compared to some NM original vinyls in my collection, bought back in the day.

I just discovered, however, that the reissues are not sourced from worn vinyl and "dulled down" to hide the poor condition of the original records. But those responsible are either deaf or have wholly unsuitable mastering speakers, highs so exaggerated that what sounds ok there becomes unacceptable in almost every other playback system.

But every cd I have so far checked only needs a healthy dose of EQ because there is info still to be brought out of that murk! That it is not a matter of irretrievably lost info due to deteriorating analog tapes is shown by the Maytones "Only Your Picture" CD where a generous 8dB boost at 8 kHz (a wide Q of 0.70) reveals very detailed male sibilants och subtle details. This CD also needed a light +3dB bass boost at 125 Hz to achieve a decent tonal balance (that is, if the listening room is treated for good acoustics - most people don't realize the extent to which a poor room damages the tonal balance).

Of course there are also theearly Linval Thompson productions which sounded crappy on vinyl already back in 1978/79. These are just as bad after re-equing the cds. Seems he learned production techniques as he went along...

After this discovery I am no longer averse to picking up the further cd versions from this latter day Burning Sounds since it is so easy to fix their uniformly mediocre sound. (One Al Campbell twoofer actually sounded half decent without EQ). Said Maytones album, certainly a low budget production in its day, really turned into something quite lovely whereas at the first listen I was horrified at having bought yet another tinny och dead reissue. Reggae came out of the third world and it certainly has its share of impoverished thieves and unscrupulous gold diggers, with no love for the music but only the money to be had from it...

The recent represses are really bad, most of which I received were scuffed already. Judging by the looks of the label they are pressed by Sunspot releases.
I'd appreaciate a good standart pressing over a badly manufactured 180g pressing. Perfect example why the vinyl hype kills the music.