Doom9's Forum - View Single Post - Petition: Red Hot Chili Peppers CD Re-Mastering (Fix Clipping & Compression)

simonhowson · 6th December 2005, 14:40

http://www.petitiononline.com/RHCPWBCD/petition.html

I realise this is a primarily technical forum regarding video and audio technologies.

However, I am hoping that some will be willing to support a petition I have created regarding the poor quality of recent CDs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Obviously I am primarily trying to get support from fans of the band, however many of them do not understand issues such as the compression of audio dynamics (as opposed to data compression) and other flaws in contemporary CDs such as limiting, and digital distortion / clipping.

I am hoping some forum members will be willing to support my petition on purely technical grounds, even if they do not like, or are unfamiliar with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Recently campaigns by fans, and audio professionals of the band Rush were able to motivate a record company to reissue an album (Vapor Trails) that is less than 4 years old. I'm trying to generate similar support for correctly mastered versions of the later RHCP albums, particularly Californication, and By The Way.

The text of the petition is as follows:

To: Anthony, Chad, Flea, John / Warner Bros. Records

This petition promotes the re-issuing of the Red Hot Chili Peppers back-catalogue from their Warner Bros. period (1991 - Present).

We feel it is necessary for all of the music to be carefully re-mastered, and possibly re-mixed, under the close guidance of the band members, and a suitable engineer such as Steve Hoffman (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/).

The main objective is to release new versions of the albums that do not contain excessive compression, and are free of digital distortion (clipping) that is sadly prevalent on current CD, and even LP copies. (For more details on excessive CD loudness and digital distortion see: http://tinyurl.com/96eh7 and http://tinyurl.com/3jak)

The band's 1991 album 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' represents the highest sound quality of any Red Hot Chili Peppers album. It features wonderfully written music, superbly produced, arranged, performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered. The current CD communicates impressively the outstanding performances of the band members during those memorable sessions.

Unfortunately, later albums such as 'Californication' and 'By The Way' do not live up to the exacting standards of that earlier album. The later albums feature extensive mastering deficiencies that significantly detract from the performances of the band, and ultimately make the albums sound overly processed. The current CDs, and LPs, do not accurately reflect the talent, skill, and spontaneity that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are renowned for during live performances and studio sessions.

We hope this petition influences the mastering choices made for the forth-coming album, and feel its impending release presents an ideal time for Warner to revisit the band's back-catalogue in order to present it, for the first time, how it was meant to be heard.

Each song should be mastered in a way that enhances the varying qualities of the different styles, and musical techniques used by the band. Proper mastering should reflect the variations, and dynamics, that exist both between, and during songs. The music should not be mastered simply to make all of the songs sound as loud as possible when broadcast on radio.

We encourage Warner to release the complete albums, and all non-LP tracks as previously issued on various CD singles. We hope Warner will release the material on CD, high resolution (192 KHz 24 bit) DVD-Audio, Direct Stream Digital sourced Hybrid SACD, and vinyl LPs cut from analog, rather than digital tapes. It may be possible to include multi-channel versions of the albums on SACD and DVD-A, however the main objective must be to present properly mastered stereo mixes.

Re-issuing these albums after careful re-mastering will prove profitable for the label and the band, and crucially, it will provide the music loving community with the best possible copies of this important music.

Thank you

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The petition is located here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/RHCPWBCD/petition.html

Simon Howson

6th December 2005, 14:40	#1 \| Link
simonhowson Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 122	Petition: Red Hot Chili Peppers CD Re-Mastering (Fix Clipping & Compression) http://www.petitiononline.com/RHCPWBCD/petition.html I realise this is a primarily technical forum regarding video and audio technologies. However, I am hoping that some will be willing to support a petition I have created regarding the poor quality of recent CDs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Obviously I am primarily trying to get support from fans of the band, however many of them do not understand issues such as the compression of audio dynamics (as opposed to data compression) and other flaws in contemporary CDs such as limiting, and digital distortion / clipping. I am hoping some forum members will be willing to support my petition on purely technical grounds, even if they do not like, or are unfamiliar with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Recently campaigns by fans, and audio professionals of the band Rush were able to motivate a record company to reissue an album (Vapor Trails) that is less than 4 years old. I'm trying to generate similar support for correctly mastered versions of the later RHCP albums, particularly Californication, and By The Way. The text of the petition is as follows: To: Anthony, Chad, Flea, John / Warner Bros. Records This petition promotes the re-issuing of the Red Hot Chili Peppers back-catalogue from their Warner Bros. period (1991 - Present). We feel it is necessary for all of the music to be carefully re-mastered, and possibly re-mixed, under the close guidance of the band members, and a suitable engineer such as Steve Hoffman (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/). The main objective is to release new versions of the albums that do not contain excessive compression, and are free of digital distortion (clipping) that is sadly prevalent on current CD, and even LP copies. (For more details on excessive CD loudness and digital distortion see: http://tinyurl.com/96eh7 and http://tinyurl.com/3jak) The band's 1991 album 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' represents the highest sound quality of any Red Hot Chili Peppers album. It features wonderfully written music, superbly produced, arranged, performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered. The current CD communicates impressively the outstanding performances of the band members during those memorable sessions. Unfortunately, later albums such as 'Californication' and 'By The Way' do not live up to the exacting standards of that earlier album. The later albums feature extensive mastering deficiencies that significantly detract from the performances of the band, and ultimately make the albums sound overly processed. The current CDs, and LPs, do not accurately reflect the talent, skill, and spontaneity that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are renowned for during live performances and studio sessions. We hope this petition influences the mastering choices made for the forth-coming album, and feel its impending release presents an ideal time for Warner to revisit the band's back-catalogue in order to present it, for the first time, how it was meant to be heard. Each song should be mastered in a way that enhances the varying qualities of the different styles, and musical techniques used by the band. Proper mastering should reflect the variations, and dynamics, that exist both between, and during songs. The music should not be mastered simply to make all of the songs sound as loud as possible when broadcast on radio. We encourage Warner to release the complete albums, and all non-LP tracks as previously issued on various CD singles. We hope Warner will release the material on CD, high resolution (192 KHz 24 bit) DVD-Audio, Direct Stream Digital sourced Hybrid SACD, and vinyl LPs cut from analog, rather than digital tapes. It may be possible to include multi-channel versions of the albums on SACD and DVD-A, however the main objective must be to present properly mastered stereo mixes. Re-issuing these albums after careful re-mastering will prove profitable for the label and the band, and crucially, it will provide the music loving community with the best possible copies of this important music. Thank you Sincerely, The Undersigned The petition is located here: http://www.petitiononline.com/RHCPWBCD/petition.html Simon Howson