So basically between the lines if you love vinyl this album is disappointing.

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maumau

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downagain

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bitusa2012
I hope the sound of any new album is not quite so sharp, brittle and bright as Hackney. I love the songs on HD, bar Mess it Up, never got this one, but to me it’s hard to listen to straight thru. It’s just a bit “crisp”. I’d like the new record to be a bit darker and denser.

The common digital versions of HD are horrendously compressed. The vinyl is decent and from what I understand the Atmos mix is very dynamic. I really wish they would show respect to those of us who still buy physical media by providing a dynamic mastering. Send out a compressed mix to Spotify, etc. if you want to, but why not let those of us who are supporting them most financially have a better experience?

If those are petitions to Andrew Watt I sign them both: give us a more dynamic sound (when I play HD is vinyl or Atmos, cd's unbearable)

Yes the attempt at "modern" sound was too bad, especially on the CDs. I found vinyl and ATMOS excellent; nothing to complain about. Only issue is that most people will only have heard the more common digital version.

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maumau

If those are petitions to Andrew Watt I sign them both: give us a more dynamic sound

Matt Colton (Mastering Engineer at Metropolis Studios, London) was responsible for the brickwalled CD/HiRes mastering of Hackney Diamonds - [www.ThisIsMetropolis.com] .

Although the Vinyl was mastered & cut by Matt Colton, it was assisted by Daniel Harfield - [Instagram.com] , [Instagram.com] . The runtime of ca. 24mins per side prevented also a brickwalled mastering of the Vinyl. The Dolby Atmos mix was by Giles Martin (with Joe Wyatt).

Maybe that's my problem with it, have only heard it on CD.

~"Love is Strong"~

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NashvilleBlues

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maumau
Yeps, really looking forward the Clifton Chenier's cover! The glimpse I heard was really promising. The whole project is.

As for Mess it up, I feel the same, though live seems it worked fine and funny. But on record I still skip it, and it is the only one I skip

Mess It Up wasn’t one of my favorite Hackney Diamonds tracks, but I really did like it live in Atlanta. Glad it replaced Miss You in the set that night.

I preferred the alternative melody on chorus that the early snippet/leak of ‘mess it Up’ had. It’s abit less of a consciously catchy poppy chorus. The little bit we heard of the earlier leaked melody was more statesman like to me, carried a bit more weight. It’s a shame they didn’t flesh that one out/brush it up rather than go with the released version, it’s just on the released one the chorus line also gets emphasised with the accompanying bass line in that part which compounds its poppyness.

HD chorus feels abit less sincere, more poppy pop pop. I get the ‘miss you’ comparison but on that one the bass line is for me a great counter to melody of the vocal line. They both dance with each other really well, the chorus on the HD ‘Mess it Up’ both bass & lead vocal kinda dance more like a ‘cancan’ together, they’re not dancing ‘with’ each other, but more so in unison which although reinforcing ‘the chorus’ isn’t as interesting as the snippets potential to me.

The chorus on ‘get close’ feels weighty, strong @ a kinda similar heat to the leaked snippet melody of get close



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-06-20 23:36 by Captainchaos.

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keefriffhards
So basically between the lines if you love vinyl this album is disappointing.

no the vinyl version (and cassette) sound lovely

it's the the cd and most other digital versions that sound awful

and i mean a bigger bang cd bad

i really hope the new album will sound better on cd because i had to convert the vinyl and cassette to digital to have a version to listen to comfortable in a digital format (i don't do atmos)

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ProfessorWolf

i really hope the new album will sound better on cd

Not very likely since Matt Colton did the same awful (brickwalled) mastering with e.g. Elton John's & Brandi Carlile's 'Who Believes in Angels?' or Peter Gabriel's 'i/o'.

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Irix

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maumau

If those are petitions to Andrew Watt I sign them both: give us a more dynamic sound

Matt Colton (Mastering Engineer at Metropolis Studios, London) was responsible for the brickwalled CD/HiRes mastering of Hackney Diamonds - [www.ThisIsMetropolis.com] .

Although the Vinyl was mastered & cut by Matt Colton, it was assisted by Daniel Harfield - [Instagram.com] , [Instagram.com] . The runtime of ca. 24mins per side prevented also a brickwalled mastering of the Vinyl. The Dolby Atmos mix was by Giles Martin (with Joe Wyatt).

thanks for the info Irix, or the reminder. So let's say the petition goes out to anyone that is in charge for the ultimate sound of the band on any support

That Beth Gibbons' splendid Lives outgrown came out from that same mastering studio gives me hope though



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-06-21 01:03 by maumau.

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downagain

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bitusa2012
I hope the sound of any new album is not quite so sharp, brittle and bright as Hackney. I love the songs on HD, bar Mess it Up, never got this one, but to me it’s hard to listen to straight thru. It’s just a bit “crisp”. I’d like the new record to be a bit darker and denser.

The common digital versions of HD are horrendously compressed. The vinyl is decent and from what I understand the Atmos mix is very dynamic. I really wish they would show respect to those of us who still buy physical media by providing a dynamic mastering. Send out a compressed mix to Spotify, etc. if you want to, but why not let those of us who are supporting them most financially have a better experience?

Yes, I play the vinyl. That’s the saving grace. I have to get up and flip the record. My ears get a breather. It’s still too sharp to my ears, too in your face.

Rod

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ProfessorWolf

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keefriffhards
So basically between the lines if you love vinyl this album is disappointing.

no the vinyl version (and cassette) sound lovely

it's the the cd and most other digital versions that sound awful

and i mean a bigger bang cd bad

i really hope the new album will sound better on cd because i had to convert the vinyl and cassette to digital to have a version to listen to comfortable in a digital format (i don't do atmos)

Yeah, normally, even when there are clear differences I often still listen to both the vinyl and an average digital mix. But I really only listen to HD on vinyl, the digital versions are that bad.

Hackney Diamonds sounds absolutely fine on Spotify and through a decent pair of headphones.

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Big Al
Hackney Diamonds sounds absolutely fine on Spotify and through a decent pair of headphones.

Fine is in the ears of the beholder. I can tolerate the Spotify version of HD on my small google speaker but it drives me insane through my hi-fi system or decent headphones. Here are the dynamic range results for the various formats (copied from chat GPT):

CD (Stereo, 2023)
Album DR: ~5

Track range: DR4–DR7, most songs clustering at DR5

Example DRs: "Angry" DR5, "Whole Wide World" DR4, "Tell Me Straight" DR7
quadraphonicquad.com
+9
dyradb.com
+9
magicvinyldigital.net
+9

Audio Scientia descriptors: “stereo CD is poor at DR6”
archimago.blogspot.com

Vinyl (Clear Purple / standard)
Album DR: ~10

Track range: DR9–DR11 (e.g., "Dreamy Skies" DR11; global DR10)
iorr.org
+2
magicvinyldigital.net
+2
dyradb.com
+2

Considered noticeably more dynamic than most stereo digital editions
quadraphonicquad.com
+7
magicvinyldigital.net
+7
archimago.blogspot.com
+7

Streaming Services (24?bit/96?kHz UltraHD Stereo)
Album DR: ~5

Matches CD: most tracks around DR5, lowest DR4, peaks at DR7 (“Tell Me Straight” DR7)
dyradb.com
archimago.blogspot.com
+3
magicvinyldigital.net
+3
dyradb.com
+3

Dolby Atmos Streaming (Tidal/AM4 Atmos)
Album DR: ~12–13

Track range: DR12–DR15 — e.g., “Get Close” DR14, “Mess It Up” DR14, “Tell Me Straight” DR13
reddit.com
+2
archimago.blogspot.com
+2
audiosciencereview.com
+2
magicvinyldigital.net
+1
dyradb.com
+1

Blu?ray Stereo (24?bit/96?kHz PCM)
Album DR: ~5

Same as CD/streamed stereo mastering
archimago.blogspot.com
+8
magicvinyldigital.net
+8
dyradb.com
+8

Blu?ray Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1.4)
Album DR: ~12

Track range: DR11–DR13 — e.g., “Depending On You” DR12, “Mess It Up” DR13



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2025-06-21 14:08 by downagain.

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downagain

Here are the dynamic range results for the various formats

Source of that: [MagicVinylDigital.net] . Also posted several times on [iorr.org] . DR5-7 for Hackney Diamonds in HiRes was measured by ProStudioMasters.com as well - [iorr.org] - but they don't provide this feature anymore (unfortunately).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-06-21 16:05 by Irix.

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downagain

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Big Al
Hackney Diamonds sounds absolutely fine on Spotify and through a decent pair of headphones.

Fine is in the ears of the beholder. I can tolerate the Spotify version of HD on my small google speaker but it drives me insane through my hi-fi system or decent headphones. Here are the dynamic range results for the various formats (copied from chat GPT):

CD (Stereo, 2023)
Album DR: ~5

Track range: DR4–DR7, most songs clustering at DR5

Example DRs: "Angry" DR5, "Whole Wide World" DR4, "Tell Me Straight" DR7
quadraphonicquad.com
+9
dyradb.com
+9
magicvinyldigital.net
+9

Audio Scientia descriptors: “stereo CD is poor at DR6”
archimago.blogspot.com

Vinyl (Clear Purple / standard)
Album DR: ~10

Track range: DR9–DR11 (e.g., "Dreamy Skies" DR11; global DR10)
iorr.org
+2
magicvinyldigital.net
+2
dyradb.com
+2

Considered noticeably more dynamic than most stereo digital editions
quadraphonicquad.com
+7
magicvinyldigital.net
+7
archimago.blogspot.com
+7

Streaming Services (24?bit/96?kHz UltraHD Stereo)
Album DR: ~5

Matches CD: most tracks around DR5, lowest DR4, peaks at DR7 (“Tell Me Straight” DR7)
dyradb.com
archimago.blogspot.com
+3
magicvinyldigital.net
+3
dyradb.com
+3

Dolby Atmos Streaming (Tidal/AM4 Atmos)
Album DR: ~12–13

Track range: DR12–DR15 — e.g., “Get Close” DR14, “Mess It Up” DR14, “Tell Me Straight” DR13
reddit.com
+2
archimago.blogspot.com
+2
audiosciencereview.com
+2
magicvinyldigital.net
+1
dyradb.com
+1

Blu?ray Stereo (24?bit/96?kHz PCM)
Album DR: ~5

Same as CD/streamed stereo mastering
archimago.blogspot.com
+8
magicvinyldigital.net
+8
dyradb.com
+8

Blu?ray Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1.4)
Album DR: ~12

Track range: DR11–DR13 — e.g., “Depending On You” DR12, “Mess It Up” DR13

I use the best tool for me, my ears.

Rod

Exactly, Rod.

Songs are meant to be heard ... not viewed through an anylzing tool.

Sounds a but off topic to me... Couldn't we speculate a little bit about possible promotion gigs this year?

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Stoneswolf
Sounds a but off topic to me... Couldn't we speculate a little bit about possible promotion gigs this year?

Well who's stopping you, speculate away.

Personally i don't think the Stones go to to the trouble of rehearsals etc unless it's for big bucks, so no promotion shows without a tour to follow.

So if they do a promotional show it's exiting because we know what will follow next.

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keefriffhards

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Stoneswolf
Sounds a but off topic to me... Couldn't we speculate a little bit about possible promotion gigs this year?

Well who's stopping you, speculate away.

Personally i don't think the Stones go to to the trouble of rehearsals etc unless it's for big bucks, so no promotion shows without a tour to follow.

So if they do a promotional show it's exiting because we know what will follow next.

The rehearsed a week before the Racket gig in 2023. No big bucks for that one

I think I don't wanna be here anymore when the new record comes out. It gonna be December and 'till then we could have 110 sides in this thread without anybody could have listened to one tone. 90% of all posts here sound they talk about a new coming car than a new bunch of songs of the Greatest Rock'n Roll Band in the World. Just boring facts and high level Professor-talk. The IORR spirit from the starting years is hidden under this all or mostly gone.Too many people now who put this old wild animal called Stones under their microscope to investigate it again and again.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2025-06-24 12:37 by caschimann.

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bitusa2012

Quote
downagain

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Big Al
Hackney Diamonds sounds absolutely fine on Spotify and through a decent pair of headphones.

Fine is in the ears of the beholder. I can tolerate the Spotify version of HD on my small google speaker but it drives me insane through my hi-fi system or decent headphones. Here are the dynamic range results for the various formats (copied from chat GPT):

CD (Stereo, 2023)
Album DR: ~5

Track range: DR4–DR7, most songs clustering at DR5

Example DRs: "Angry" DR5, "Whole Wide World" DR4, "Tell Me Straight" DR7
quadraphonicquad.com
+9
dyradb.com
+9
magicvinyldigital.net
+9

Audio Scientia descriptors: “stereo CD is poor at DR6”
archimago.blogspot.com

Vinyl (Clear Purple / standard)
Album DR: ~10

Track range: DR9–DR11 (e.g., "Dreamy Skies" DR11; global DR10)
iorr.org
+2
magicvinyldigital.net
+2
dyradb.com
+2

Considered noticeably more dynamic than most stereo digital editions
quadraphonicquad.com
+7
magicvinyldigital.net
+7
archimago.blogspot.com
+7

Streaming Services (24?bit/96?kHz UltraHD Stereo)
Album DR: ~5

Matches CD: most tracks around DR5, lowest DR4, peaks at DR7 (“Tell Me Straight” DR7)
dyradb.com
archimago.blogspot.com
+3
magicvinyldigital.net
+3
dyradb.com
+3

Dolby Atmos Streaming (Tidal/AM4 Atmos)
Album DR: ~12–13

Track range: DR12–DR15 — e.g., “Get Close” DR14, “Mess It Up” DR14, “Tell Me Straight” DR13
reddit.com
+2
archimago.blogspot.com
+2
audiosciencereview.com
+2
magicvinyldigital.net
+1
dyradb.com
+1

Blu?ray Stereo (24?bit/96?kHz PCM)
Album DR: ~5

Same as CD/streamed stereo mastering
archimago.blogspot.com
+8
magicvinyldigital.net
+8
dyradb.com
+8

Blu?ray Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1.4)
Album DR: ~12

Track range: DR11–DR13 — e.g., “Depending On You” DR12, “Mess It Up” DR13

I use the best tool for me, my ears.

This might be interesting if I understood any of it.

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StonedRambler

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keefriffhards

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Stoneswolf
Sounds a but off topic to me... Couldn't we speculate a little bit about possible promotion gigs this year?

Well who's stopping you, speculate away.

Personally i don't think the Stones go to the trouble of rehearsals etc unless it's for big bucks, so no promotion shows without a tour to follow.

So if they do a promotional show it's exiting because we know what will follow next.

The rehearsed a week before the Racket gig in 2023. No big bucks for that one

And a tour followed 5 months later, big bucks.

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kovach

This might be interesting if I understood any of it.

Dynamic Range - read here: [en.Wikipedia.org] , [MagicVinylDigital.net] .

Ultimately, all the 'compressed/brickwalling' chat is only relevant to less than 1% of the listening population, so it's probably just best to suck it up and enjoy what we are given.

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GasLightStreet

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retired_dog

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GasLightStreet

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Lien
Wood is currently working with Rod Stewart on a documentary about the Faces, and a new album by the group. And later this year he will be back working with Jagger and Richards, planning the next Rolling Stones album. It will be their 32nd studio album (not to mention the 39 live albums, 28 compilation albums and 51 video albums).

Woah. You said "not to mention" and then you did.

What's up with that!!!????

Why are you fighting? And what for?

Correctness.

People say "hot water heater" - there's no such thing.

People also say reelator instead of realtor...but we don't publicly humiliate them (though I think we should).

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angee
Maybe that's my problem with it, have only heard it on CD.

And that shouldn't be your problem...it's just the totally avoidable problem!

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LeonidP

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treaclefingers

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Shott
If you took out speculation, opinion, vitriol, and pure bullshit from this thread there would be like 3 posts about the Stones in the studio this year.

You should give it a shott.

at least One More Shott

It's just a shott away.

As of today "Hackney Diamonds" has sold more than 1 million copies world wide.
Not bad.

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rollmops
As of today "Hackney Diamonds" has sold more than 1 million copies world wide.
Not bad.

It's a bit depressing if anything but not surprising.

Blue And Lonesome almost 2 million.
That's nearly twice as many sales and it's not a studio album of originals. .

VOODOO LOUNGE 7 Million

Bridge's To Babylon 5 million


Go back to Tattoo You 17 million

Sticky Fingers and Let It Bleed 22 million each.

It shows what the music they made prior to Hackney Diamonds meant to so many people.
Now I'll get hammered by GLS for being nostalgic but the Stones have been about nostalgia for decades, it's where the success and money come from, people don't go to see the Stones to hear Bite My Head Off and Live By The Sword, they want Gimme Shelter, Start Me Up and Midnight Rambler etc. Nostalgia.

I know some of you think HD was a good album but the sales reflect not nearly as many people like it as much as Blue And Lonesome or A Bigger Bang the previous studio album selling 2.4 million copies by March 2006.
When you consider the 18 year wait for HD it's impressive in the fact Mick And Keith were in their 70s but not impressive in the way we hoped.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-06-23 21:40 by keefriffhards.

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keefriffhards
It's a bit depressing if anything but not surprising.

When we talk about HD, we're talking about a time when physical and digital album sales have largely been overshadowed by streaming. These figures may as well reflect the simple reality that far fewer people buy albums today.