I have a vintage 1978 copy of this album and it sounds amazing (yes there was a printed inner sleeve on the original copy). The Stranger may be his most commercially successful album and objectively his best, and while I do absolutely love that album I have to say 52nd Street might be my personal favorite Billy Joel album. The 4 albums he released in a row with The Stranger, 52nd Street, Glass Houses and Nylon Curtain is one of the greatest album runs off all time in my opinion. Billy Joel is probably my favorite solo artist out there next to Bruce Springsteen (I though describing him as sort of a mix between Elton and Bruce was a good assessment). Anyways, I always enjoy watching these CD vs Vinyl videos and hearing your opinions. Keep it up! 👍
I’m proud to say I still have my original vinyl copy purchased in 1978 and it sounds terrific. Joel was one terrific musical artist. Always enjoy your comparisons.
Solid classic rock album, hard to pick which of this period is his best. He had a great run of classics. They still sell and young people are buying them right now keeping it alive.
TJR, thank you very much for your help with recommending the acrylic mat! It came in the mail today and was a neat glow in the dark green color. I put it on and placed a record on top. Black Sabbath Master Of Reality UK Vertigo press. Already, it sounds a bit more clear and it seems that the Bass from the sub woofer is more regulated. When I used to turn the volume high sometimes you would hear a vibration hum or it would get out of control. I will have to say the bass sounds much cleaner and direct. Also, I do not see any dust or debris on the record like before. Getting the anti-static mats was a big help as well. Excellent, thank you very much for your help, I am super happy! Cheers!!
I got two releases of 52nd Street on both "CBS Master Sound" on the 1/2 Speed Mastered Vinyl LP and a Gold CD (Collectors Edition) that is specially mastered by a process called Single Bit Mapping (SBM), both audiophile editions. I also have just a standard LP that's pretty good but in reality, it's pretty good but not quite as impressive as far as the sound and quality of the music, just isn't audiophile quality like the other two. The 1/2 speed mastered LP is a little warmer and easier on the ears and the Collectors Gold CD is great also brighter and having more dynamic range and more presence. I agree with you, the LP is a better listening experience. Great Video as usual, love your attention to detail on your reviews, good job!
Billy Joel's hit Uptown Girl is The Four Seasons by the book. It would have been cool if Billy had invited Frankie Valli to the studio during the recording of that song as a guest vocalist.
My favorite Billy Joel album, ahead of The Stranger. This record just bleeds New York and contains some of his best deep tracks....Zanzibar, Stiletto, Rosalinda's Eyes, Until the Night...not a bum track on the record. EDIT: The Billy Joel remasters from the 90's are harsh and loud. I find An Innocent Man almost impossible to listen to but it's the only copy I own still, so while I like the songs, I rarely listen to it. As for 52nd Street, I've got the MoFi SACD and it is glorious!
I remember being a teenager when 52nd St came out. I liked it so much, I followed up by getting the Stranger. I really can't decide which one of the two is better LOL.
I just found out something cool in the music world that may require further research if your interested. If you happen to be a fan of the first "Black Sabbath" album and you wanted a copy as close to the original UK pressing, BMG has released a 50th anniversary LP on 180g that uses the Vertigo press. This is an official 2020 UK press of the first album which includes "Evil Woman." You would be looking for "BMGRM053LP" If you manage to pick this up it should about around 25.00 plus shipping, I hope you enjoy it!! :-D Rock on!!
I have an original pressing and it has a photo inner sleeve. On the front is Mr. Joel sitting on the end of a yellow plain couch, like from a lobby, with his feet up on the couch facing to the left of the couch and he is looking at the camera and holding a trumpet with his elbows on his knees. on the back is 5 separate pictures of band members. Also, on the front left top corner is the credits for the album... If you want, I could send you photos of it...
Thank you. I appreciate it. But not necessary. Your description jarred my memory and now I remember it. That was all I needed. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.
Yeah, just checked my copy, the inner sleeve is printed with the picture of billy and some credits on one side, and individual pics of the band and their names on the other side.
I have a sterling ted jensen lp, which has a nice sound to it and is in great condition. The only problem with it is it is just slightly off center and on the slower piano sections closer to the middle I hear the pitch varying.
Yes they did a poor job of mastering to CDs initially. They were equalized for records not CD. Another reason why the CDs are a lot more quiet (and prob led to the 'loudness' compression wars) because they loved to push the idea that CDs wouldn't distort back then too from my recollection.
some of the early cds are the best sounding. really depends which one. the bowie rca ones are of note, the first issues of bowie on cd. 84/85 its why they cost 100+. generally we find that late 80s/early 90s cds have sound the best. by the 90s you started to get stuff having to the sound and much worse in the 2000s. one of the biggest drivers by the 2000s was ipods and the small earphones, as many cds were simply brought and put onto itunes and repeated those tiny earphones were not good at the full range of frequencies so they simply boosted everything up - creates a murky sound. there is a lot more to this too, one of the issues with players is error correction, you can get the same cd and burn it on to cdr and it will sound better as cdr than the original cd. finally your cd player also matters, high end cd players are really a lot better, but they weight a tonne and cost a fortune to run but you will hear it.
I owe you and the audience of this channel an apology. I asked a question in a previous video about analyzing a track from (unnamed band). I did this without realizing I may have put you in a tough situation (without meaning to). If you had responded and determined that there was a flaw in the song, it may have upset many fans to discover this flaw; pretty much spoiling the power of the track. This type of question may have been more appropriate if we were sitting down listening to music and I had pulled out the record, played it, then asked what you heard around a specific time range. Sometimes, when we are dealing with legendary bands, we just have to translate what our ears hear and accept it for what it is. I suppose there are plenty of artifacts in well known songs we discover if we listen carefully. I feel bad in this situation, because I did not want to come off as one of those people that ask a questions with the intent to lead into other topics. I do not run a RU-vid channel and this was an example of composing a message without thinking of its impact. I do appreciate you and everyone's patience and kindness! :-D
@@varsityathlete9927 Regardless, when mofi plays the master tape it is then going through the lathe electronics and then cut. It is still a step removed from the tape. The same can be said going through a DSD converter. I don't see anything transparent when we are going through the electronics of the tape machine playback to the electronics of the lathe. I am not trying to be difficult, but then your turntable, your cart, your phono stage and your amp and speakers are more steps removed. Then we are all left with the mastering engineer's take on if he is going to add EQ or not, which someone is going to decide that with whatever speaker system they are using. It is certainly not anything I would own. I can never hear what they hear. The mastering engineer can make or break this process and it may be that their tape machine is of better quality and better shape than what the master tape was made from. It is all a part from it. When I hear that even some tapes have to be "baked" to make them usable it is clear that better care needs to be had when storing master tapes, but often that is not the case, and some can't even be found.
@@jtavegia5845 wall of text no one is going to read. if you dont hear the difference between a typical mofi mastered lp and the original lp, then you got bad hearing and writing walls of text don't fix that.
