Genesis - Abacab (1981) [2007 SACD 24/96 Stereo Analogue Rip]

Abacab was the first Genesis album to break the hallowed million-copy mark stateside. But Abacab wasn't entirely about charting Top 40 singles ("No Reply At All," "Man on the Corner," and the title track); it still exhibited some late-stage evidence of a trio courting the art-rock muse that had graced its past ("Who Dunnit," "Dodo," "Keep It Dark").


01 Abacab
02 No Reply At All
03 Me And Sarah Jane
04 Keep It Dark
05 Dodo,Lurker
06 Who Dunnit
07 Man On The Corner
08 Like It Or Not
09 Another Record
Tracks may be split with Foobar.


Abacab does suffer from the flattening effects of compression/limiting - especially as this was originally probably Genesis' most dynamic-sounding album to date. The 16-bit CD is so flat and compressed as to be unlistenable, but the SACD does fair better. Both the DER and the Atlantic Gold Standard edition sound better to my ears, having weightier, punchier drums and just sounding more 'alive.'

Remix engineer Nick Davis denies any use of excessive compression, and has stated that he is hurt by the criticisms.


But the visual displays of the files show otherwise: lots of dynamic clipping, just like the audiophile fans claimed they could hear. However, listening to the new vinyl masters of the Gabriel-fronted albums, shows that excessive compression is used far less on those vinyl versions. So the clipping prevalent on the new CD/SACD releases is certainly a result of the CD/SACD mastering by Tony Cousins.
LezDawson