Duffy - Rockferry

[Haselsh1]

I've just received the Rockferry album from Duffy on vinyl lp and I am staggered. This is just so classy it is astonishing. It smacks of Lulu, Dusty Springfield and Brenda Lee all rolled into one. The vinyl is excellent quality and very heavy with a lovely silent background and all this from Amazon for around 18 quid. There are many standout tracks but if you're expecting it all to sound like Mercy, forget it...!!! This is serious quality music.

she has a bit of amy winehouse in her vocals, which, imo, is no bad thing

[The Shadow]

Agreed it is a great album with the qualifier that it has to be the vinyl version. The CD is awful! Compressed to within an inch of its life and relentlessly loud even in the quiet bits. A particularly horrible example of the loudness wars.

Steve

[Cobblers]

It is a real shame, it's nice music and she has a great voice but if ever there was a made for radio mix..........

[JerryT]

Originally Posted by The Shadow

Agreed it is a great album with the qualifier that it has to be the vinyl version. The CD is awful! Compressed to within an inch of its life and relentlessly loud even in the quiet bits. A particularly horrible example of the loudness wars.

Steve

I'm glad you said that... I've the CD which shows a little promise (not quite as bad as it seems to you then, using my old multibit DAC and 14year old Marantz player) but in no way matches the descriptions here - or the sound I thought I heard on the radio which prompted the original request for it as a birthday present. Daughter (16) is amazed to think there was music like this in the past and old whatsit's like me might actually like it!

Jerry

[Haselsh1]

What goes around, comes around. Thank God music was invented all those years ago and not 2008.

[Barry D Hunt]

Originally Posted by The Shadow

Agreed it is a great album with the qualifier that it has to be the vinyl version. The CD is awful! Compressed to within an inch of its life and relentlessly loud even in the quiet bits. A particularly horrible example of the loudness wars.

Steve

Yes, I agree. In fact I measured only 6dB (at most) dynamic range on the title track, 'Mercy' and 'Distant dreamer'; curiously the tracks that received the most air play. The other tracks did a little better; up to 20dB.

As 'Distant dreamer' is one of my favorite tracks, obviously influenced by the Phil Spector 'wall of sound', I fished out my copy of 'Phil Spector's Greatest Hits' (Impression Records PSPLP 1). Maybe not surprisingly, most of the tracks displayed a 23 - 25dB dynamic range, insofar as I could measure it, being limited by the time contant of the VU meters.

[Haselsh1]

Since purchasing this vinyl album I have upgraded my cartridge from a Godawful Ortofon to a Denon DL160. The sound from this record has improved dramatically but I still find that it pushes the tracking of the Denon to the limit because it is quite loud. I have set the Denon up as best I can but there are still moments when it almost breaks up due to the sheer volume of the recording. My next purchase is to be 'Covers' by James Taylor. I bet that's not as loud...???

[Andrew]

I wish I could rave about this album, I really do, it shows so much promise when I hear it out and about, but, at home, it always sounds to me like she is "bunged up", awfully nasal, adenoids......sorry, I much prefer Adele's 19.

-- Andrew

[Haselsh1]

Ya see Adelle's '19' is an album I cannot rave about due to the Godawful production. There are moments in the '19' album where the sound just distorts and breaks up due to the level it is recorded at and therefore I simply cannot listen to it. I should add here though that I only have the '19' album on CD whereas I have 'Rockferry' on vinyl. Maybe that is what makes the difference.
I fully agree though, in musical terms, Adelle is by far the clear winner. It's such a shame about the dreadful production.