[Evan McNaughton]

Lately, I have been listening to a lot of older albums, namely a lot of The Beatles and Electric Light Orchestra among others, and I've found That almost all of The Beatles albums on major streaming services (I tend to use apple music) are remastered versions. Don't get me wrong, I think they sound great, especially the ones in spatial audio, but It loses some of its charm, I personally feel that so many of these new masters, while super well done feel just a bit sterile for my liking. One of my favorite things about older bands, ELO in particular, is that they have that "vintage" sound, my understanding is that much of that sound quality comes from how the tracks were mixed and mastered and by remastering the track they lose some of their magic to me.

I have been getting into vinyl lately and I find that it's a great way to get that "classic" or "vintage" sound that I'm looking for, but buying classic Beatles LPs isn't cheap, even the new re-presses run $30 apiece. Not to mention that the turntable I'm using is some random one-off suitcase turntable I picked up for like $25 at a junk sale. I simply don't have the money to invest in vinyl right now, so I'm looking for alternative ways to obtain that "vintage" sound.

All that to say: I'm trying to find somewhere to listen to the original versions of older albums, can anyone point me in the direction of a site or service that offers this?

 

[Geralt]

Lately, I have been listening to a lot of older albums, namely a lot of The Beatles and Electric Light Orchestra among others, and I've found That almost all of The Beatles albums on major streaming services (I tend to use apple music) are remastered versions. Don't get me wrong, I think they sound great, especially the ones in spatial audio, but It loses some of its charm, I personally feel that so many of these new masters, while super well done feel just a bit sterile for my liking. One of my favorite things about older bands, ELO in particular, is that they have that "vintage" sound, my understanding is that much of that sound quality comes from how the tracks were mixed and mastered and by remastering the track they lose some of their magic to me.

I have been getting into vinyl lately and I find that it's a great way to get that "classic" or "vintage" sound that I'm looking for, but buying classic Beatles LPs isn't cheap, even the new re-presses run $30 apiece. Not to mention that the turntable I'm using is some random one-off suitcase turntable I picked up for like $25 at a junk sale. I simply don't have the money to invest in vinyl right now, so I'm looking for alternative ways to obtain that "vintage" sound.

All that to say: I'm trying to find somewhere to listen to the original versions of older albums, can anyone point me in the direction of a site or service that offers this?

Did you search torrent? I found some great stuff there for free. I can't spend for remastered/Flac tracks and even if I want I can't do that here in my country.

 

[Evan McNaughton]

Did you search torrent? I found some great stuff there for free. I can't spend for remastered/Flac tracks and even if I want I can't do that here in my country.

I have not, I will look into that, thanks!

 

[Redcarmoose]

I had the same experience when in 2009 I purchased the remaster CD of the White album by the Beatles. I listened to it then wondered what the original vinyl sounded like. I went across the street to the record store and purchased the original pressing of the white album, it was by far better. I will not get into the argument about why I thought it was better, so let’s just say it was different, but in a totally good way.

I then looked around and found another copy (in my collection) of the white album from back in the day? So at that point I had two copies.....plus the CD.

A great way to experience the Beatles is with Japan CD pressings too.

 

[Evan McNaughton]

I had the same experience when in 2009 I purchased the remaster CD of the White album by the Beatles. I listened to it then wondered what the original vinyl sounded like. I went across the street to the record store and purchased the original pressing of the white album, it was by far better. I will not get into the argument about why I thought it was better, so let’s just say it was different, but in a totally good way.

I then looked around and found another copy (in my collection) of the white album from back in the day? So at that point I had two copies.....plus the CD.

A great way to experience the Beatles is with Japan CD pressings too.

I've never really got into CDs but it is the most accessible physical format for me as of right now and I do have a lot of CDs handed down from my grandfather, so I will look into that, thanks for the advice!

 

[Redcarmoose]

I've never really got into CDs but it is the most accessible physical format for me as of right now and I do have a lot of CDs handed down from my grandfather, so I will look into that, thanks for the advice!

Yes, just explore and find a format that you can relate too. There are positives and negatives to every way to go. If you really like vinyl then there is a whole history to it. I spent years collecting it, when it was almost free. Before 2010 it was cheap. Remasters are at times digital remasters too, even if they are vinyl. But that's the thing, collecting vinyl can be a lifestyle, where you go to record conventions, make record collecting friends, go to thrift shops, or place advertisements in the paper to scout collections. The cool part is finding special records that are only special to you. But you can also make digital sound pretty good. Good luck.

 

[Evan McNaughton]

Yes, just explore and find a format that you can relate too. There are positives and negatives to every way to go. If you really like vinyl then there is a whole history to it. I spent years collecting it, when it was almost free. Before 2010 it was cheap. Remasters are at times digital remasters too, even if they are vinyl. But that's the thing, collecting vinyl can be a lifestyle, where you go to record conventions, make record collecting friends, go to thrift shops, or place advertisements in the paper to scout collections. The cool part is finding special records that are only special to you. But you can also make digital sound pretty good. Good luck.

I love the culture around vinyl and I have slowly but surely been collecting bits and pieces I’ve always wanted, and picking up a few from small artists here and there. Thanks for the advice, I’ll be sure to try out different formats and find the one that speaks to me!