Greetings fellow fans,
This might seem like a lot, but I'm not sure where else I should put this. I thought of creating this thread as a way to share an experience I'm currently having regarding Genesis' catalogue - as well as to learn about possible similar experiences other fans here have had!
Having been born in the early '80's and not becoming a Genesis fan until the mid '90's, I had never really experienced their albums as they were first released. My first experience with Genesis' back catalogue (beyond the radio over the years) was thru the '94 remasters on CD. During my high school years I slowly discovered album after album. Then the 2007 remixes were coming out, coinciding with the band's Turn It On Again Tour. It was a great time to be a fan! The main attraction for ME was the 5.1 surround sound mixes. For many years I was quite content with my boxsets and was able to find many positives in the sound quality of the remixes, despite the many comments that existed regarding the compression, clipped dynamic range, and of course the weaker sounding drums.
In 2022, I had gotten into vinyl. I must admit, the last 2 1/2 years have been quite a journey of learning and experience in that area, as I gradually collected more and more music-some new some old. I had naturally gotten the 2018 half-speed mastered versions of the Genesis albums. And for a long time, I SWORE I couldn't imagine those albums sounding better! The half-speed masters offered a brightness, clarity and balance from high to low that I'd never heard in the Genesis albums before. I had no idea what I was missing, apparently!
Over time however, my motivation for collecting shifted from sound quality, to also being about nostalgia. Suddenly it became important to me to be able to hear the music they way my parents did when they were young - the way the artists originally released it. So I started hearing the 2018 Genesis albums I had differently; perhaps due to having collected originals of lots of other music and hearing the warmness, richness and punch each of those albums had. I started to become curious if the original vinyl releases of the Genesis albums could sound that way too. Although I was happy with the remixes at the time, I still always did have nagging feelings about certain differences in the way the songs sounded; songs like Misunderstanding missing certain sounds, several songs in Invisible touch being mixed quite differently, etc. And part of this sense of nostalgia set in to cause me to miss the original mixes I remember from when I was a kid.
So, once I discovered that I could get the original vinyl releases in great condition but for surprisingly low prices on Discogs, I decided to give the originals a try. I have several of them so far, and I am SHOCKED at the difference! Having never heard these albums the way they were originally intended - AND on the best possible format, it was amazing to me to see how much more warmth and richness the songs had. There is this...analogue presence that just doesn't exist in any other version of these albums. Lastly - and perhaps most importantly - the drums had so much more power and punch! Part of what's great about Genesis' music is Phil's drumming, and with these originals it shines thru like I've never heard before. I hardly knew what I was missing - it made me fall in love with Phil's drum sound all over again, really!
Now, I still acknowledge that IMO the remixes do have benefits; mainly sounding brighter and cleaner, with a nice balance from high to low. And I still love them in 5.1 Surround. But I have now discovered, it all comes at the expense of the sense of richness and "presence" the mix has in the originals (at least on vinyl), and of course sadly also at the expense of those beautiful, powerful drums. There's a song here or there that IMO still sounds better in the half-speed version, but apart from a couple across the catalogue, IMO the original vinyl versions are just amazing, and make the remixes sound like a "mistakenly altered copy of a copy."
I just thought I'd share with you my experience of re-discovery of Genesis' albums, and I'm glad to be able to hear them the way they were originally intended. Has anyone else had a similar experience like this? Listening to a certain version for years, and then discovering how different-improved or not improved-these albums can sound based on trying out a different version??? Have you changed your own preferred versions? Why?
I'd love to hear YOUR story! 