The beauty of the remaster

Reader Kevin Norton sent me a link to a short review in TAS by Alan Taffel of the reissue vs. the download of The Band's The Last Waltz. The original CD, which Alan characterizes as flat and lacking in dynamics, has been remastered by Rhino Records and released as a new CD. Apparently it is now significantly better. So much better that Alan encourages all of us to purchase it. I have every intention of doing so after reading the review. And then there's the HD Tracks download. According to the review the download is a higher resolution version of the original master and while better, not all that impressive. To be expected actually, as this seems like putting lipstick on a pig. The pig looks better, but it's still a pig. I am not putting down HD Tracks at all. I think the Chesky brothers are doing a great job and providing a much needed service to our industry. What I am commenting on is the beauty of the remaster. Properly done and with the right engineers, it appears that formerly lackluster recordings of great music can be revised, remixed and turned into classics, enjoyable by those of us who really care. That's an awesome promise that if successful for the label, will encourage even more reissues of great music. There's a ton of great music out there. There's not a ton of great recordings. This could change. I for one will support this effort by purchasing a copy. It's the best way to vote.