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Hot topic What unreleased demos and remixes do you think will be on Thriller 40 Disc 2?

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filmandmusic said:
You guys really make me curious about all that remastering business.
Would thriller sound that different in the highest possible quality?
It sounds great the way it is. I have no ear for these little details or I have never realized how different it can be
Is it possible to have the highest possible quality on a streaming service or do you need a professional sound studio in your home to create that sound lol

As you can see I know absolutely nothing about it.
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Basically we are hoping for a master that isn't horribly compressed, most remasters nowadays are just made louder with compression, which crushes dynamics in the sound and destroys detail.

If you look at the 2001 version of WBSS compared to an earlier master of the album you can see the difference in loudness levels and overall dynamics.

2001:

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Older Pressing:

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A badly compressed master will sound bad on most audio equipment unless you're using the earbuds that came for free with your phone or something, also doesn't really matter which streaming service you use either as bad master is gonna sound bad anywhere. It really depends if you care enough about it to bother noticing but the difference is there and it is often quite big.
 
Alright thanks guys

BUT why don’t they release stuff the proper way then? Is it costly? Time consuming? Not profitable?

Also does an untrained ear, a regular guy like me and my neighbor notice the difference?
 
filmandmusic said:
BUT why don’t they release stuff the proper way then? Is it costly? Time consuming? Not profitable?
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None. It's actually simpler. People began to be able to listen to music outside their house, they'd not be stuck to records anymore. So, if you want to hear your fav tracks on your earbuds back home, it has to be louder. That's what compression does: make stuff louder at the cost of ruining the dynamics.

filmandmusic said:
Also does an untrained ear, a regular guy like me and my neighbor notice the difference?
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I'd say no. You might notice how it's quieter and more balanced, but nothing more I think.
 
thiron said:
They do? Like a HQ Version of Thriller40? Where?
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Michael Jackson - Thriller

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab is excited to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the King of Pop’s Thriller. Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP set is mastered from the original analog master tapes, pressed at RTI, and strictly limited to 40,000 numbered copies. This release, along with...
mofi.com
 
Compression itself is fine and isn't a bad thing, it's just when it's horribly overused that it starts to become a problem. Loudness normalisation on streaming services has made compressing masters to that extent pretty pointless (it was already pointless lol) but it still happens all the time and it's sad mastering engineers are being paid to do it.
 
SmoothGangsta said:
Compression itself is fine and isn't a bad thing, it's just when it's horribly overused that it starts to become a problem. Loudness normalisation on streaming services has made compressing masters to that extent pretty pointless (it was already pointless lol) but it still happens all the time and it's sad mastering engineers are being paid to do it.
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The early 2000s were the absolute worst point of the loudness war, but still we have reissues like Bad 25 that is absolutely the worst version of the album there is.
 
MJbr2 said:
To be fair with you, I think even 20 is delusional. I'd be fine with like 5-8 songs, although I believe it would be really stupid to waste finished songs on a reissue.
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Finished tracks are a product of their time and will never appear on a new posthumous album by Michael Jackson. That's why "Thriller 40" should be a comprehensive document of an era, showing the genius (at a particular moment in time) of Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton, Bruce Swedien, Greg Phillinganes, Paulinho Da Costa, Steve Porcaro, David Foster, James Ingram, Louis Johnson, Howard Hewett, Jerry Hey, Michael Boddicker, the Waters family, Paul Jackson Jr., etc. The Thriller days have easily produced 20 decent demos and outtakes. Some songs may have been released previously or recorded by other artists but this isn't important. They belong in this project as a whole. Releasing 2 bonus discs including 10 songs each is very achievable. I'm not so fond of re-recorded songs with a contemporary vibe but they could feature on an anniversary edition ... on top of 20 original efforts.
 
AlwaysThere said:
People really have to lower their expectations. We aren’t getting “Chicago 1945,” which was recorded after Thriller came out, on a Thriller reissue. It’s only gonna breed disappointment.
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i don’t think it will be included as much as i would love for it to be but to be fair it fits in with the thriller era far more than sunset driver which is being included.
 
DapperDan said:
i don’t think it will be included as much as i would love for it to be but to be fair it fits in with the thriller era far more than sunset driver which is being included.
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“Sunset Driver” is from the Thriller era. “Chicago 1945” technically is as well, but it feels more like a Victory or Bad outtake.
 
I even consider captain EO as part of the thriller era. His image didn’t change yet, his dancing still was in the early 80s mode and he still had his short hair curls.
All of this changed only a year later with the release of Bad.
 
filmandmusic said:
I even consider captain EO as part of the thriller era. His image didn’t change yet, his dancing still was in the early 80s mode and he still had his short hair curls.
All of this changed only a year later with the release of Bad.
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Captain EO was released in 1986, but it was filmed in 1985.

Bad's music video and the Pepsi commercials were filmed in 1986. I consider Thriller era to be 1982-1985 and Bad to be 1986-1989.
 
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@Spaceship yeah you’re right. I also think for example we are the world bookends that period perfectly.
I didn’t mention it in my original post but his voice was just a tad more vibrant, expressive and beautiful than in any era post thriller Imo.
 
It most likely is. We don't know why its gonna get released on Thriller40.
 
filmandmusic said:
Also does an untrained ear, a regular guy like me and my neighbor notice the difference?
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MJbr2 said:
I'd say no. You might notice how it's quieter and more balanced, but nothing more I think.
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As a regular person with untrained ears, I would say yes, the difference is noticable often, exactly as described above, the music is quieter, lyrics are easier to hear, it's overall a more pleasant experience. But that is only if I am sitting down and listening on a good device. On phone with ear buds, on the go, maybe not.
 
Niteline said:
Just searched Google for Thriller 40 songs and it lists the 9th bonus track as Nightline. Please let this be true. michael jackson thriller 40 songs https://g.co/kgs/1jNyTK
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UPDATE: Since I posted this, and awaited moderator approval, Hot Street was added as the 10th track, but since my post was approved I noticed both Nightline & Hot Street have been removed. Makes one wonder if that was a leak, and whether the Estate are reading our posts?
 
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