Over a year later the debates continue.
So this week, I did something that I have not done for over twenty years. No not THAT!!
I took myself off to one of my local music stores (what we used to refer to as a record shop) and I actually bought a brand spanking new album on 180 gram vinyl and in Audiophile quality no less.
I have to say that it was quite a liberating experience and it brought back loads of memories of how I would buy albums and lovingly carry them home under my arm, unable to resist the temptation to take them out of the carrier bag on the bus journey home and study every detail of the cover. Of course it also gave one the opportunity to show it off to other passengers, as if to proudly say "Look what I've got!" I have to say that this week I resisted that temptation and I was safely home before the selected album came out of the carrier bag.
Nevertheless I must confess that it was a pleasure to once again hold something tangible in my hands rather than the crappy jewel cases that the majority of CD's have been packed in and of course the downloaded files which consist of - well, nothing really. So far so good.
Next up, came the tricky business of taking the album out of the sleeve. Oh how the memories flooded back of how this is not quite as straightforward as it seems. Eventually however, the inner sleeve came free and my much practised hands slid the vinyl out with fingers balancing the reassuringly thick vinyl, ensuring that only the label and the edge of the disc were touched. It was shiny and black and looked quite beautiful and of course there was that distinctive smell of new vinyl. Surely there's nothing else quite like it.
But, the purpose of the whole expedition was to test whether in reality, vinyl sounded better than CD's or MP3 files. So, the album I chose to purchase was 'For Your Pleasure', the second album by Roxy Music and one which I have previously owned on vinyl and which I now possess on CD and in MP3 format. The turntable was hooked up to my usual music system, the disc carefully placed over the centre spindle and the stylus allowed to slowly descend onto the the outer groove of side one.
'Do The Strand' began.
The whole ritual was quite satisfying but at the same time I could not help but think what a palaver it was compared to just switching on my music player and via the remote control, very quickly finding the album or songs I wished to play from the comfort of my sofa.
But what about the sound I hear you ask.
Well I have to say that it gives me absolutely no satisfaction whatsoever to report that I could hear no perceptible difference in the quality of sound in any of the three formats. In fact, if I'm totally honest I actually preferred the crystal clear sound of the non vinyl versions. Just in case the album was to blame, I also checked the vinyl EP's that were included within my recently received Small Faces box set. The difference in my view was even more marked. The CD versions won hands down though that might have been something to do with the coloured vinyl, a gimmick I could never really get away with anyway.
Where, I wondered, was this famous warmth that I am supposed to have been missing all these years? Where was the 95% of sound Neil Young claims I have been losing by listening to compressed music files? Could such claims merely be cunning marketing ploys to get us to buy our record collections all over again? Surely not! The record industry would never be so cunning, would they?
As I pondered this, the tricky business of manoeuvring the disc and inner sleeve into the album cover was completed and I sat down to listen to my CD version of 'For Your Pleasure'. No hassle, no clicks or pops. Just absolutely wonderful music.
Anybody out there want to buy a Roxy Music album, played only once?
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