Two Jacksons and a Prince

There have been a couple of CDs that I've had a lot of fun listening to in the car recently. One was Janet Jackson's "Design Of A Decade: 1986-1996", the other was Michael Jackson's "Dangerous". I think I bought "Design Of A Decade"when the old FYE in Mall St. Matthews in Louisville was going out of business, and I chose it over a more comprehensive compilation since I figured it would be less of a Loudness War victim, having come out in 1996. I was mostly correct. Using the Dynamic Range Meter, the majority of tracks rate a DR8 or 9, which is acceptably loud. Only two tracks rank lower, "Black Cat" at DR6, and "Rhythm Nation" at DR7. I'd prefer the loudest track to be DR8, but since most tracks are 8 or 9 and "Black Cat" is *supposed* to be loud, I don't mind two tracks being lower than 8. What usually isn't mentioned when talking about the early days of the Loudness War is that before 1994, DR8 was at the extreme end of the spectrum. 1995, which most people consider the beginning of the Loudness War, was when DR8 started becoming the average, rather than the extreme. While "Design Of A Decade" could've been more dynamic, we're lucky that it didn't get a good squashing.

A case could be made that the Loudness War actually started in 1991 with the increasingly frequent use of peak limiting, though it was pretty tastefully done at that time. Michael Jackson's albums were so well recorded that it would take some real effort to make them sound bad, no matter how much you compress them. I don't mind having remasters of some of his earlier albums, but for "Dangerous", I really wanted that 1991 sound. I finally got my hands on a 1991 copy, and sound-wise it does not disappoint. The Teddy Riley produced tracks are almost entirely synths and drum machines, but the drum sounds really have some impact to them. I really wish that people making synth-leaning Urban music would use the production and mix as a template for how to record or mix their music.

While those two CDs were fun, I feel like I must express my disappointment at Prince's "Purple Rain" remaster. The 3 CD/1 DVD expanded edition is worth having for the bonus tracks and the concert video, but the remaster of the original album is extremely underwhelming, which is why I have no intention of parting with my original CD. "Let's Go Crazy" is the worst victim, and at DR5 it's a good example of why songs should generally be no louder than DR8, even though it gets so loud towards the end on the original CD that it probably shouldn't be compressed at all. Oh well.