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Kenny Rogers - 25 Greatest Hits
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crapfromthepast View Drop Down
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Points: 255 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote crapfromthepast Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Kenny Rogers - 25 Greatest Hits
    Posted: 27 May 2018 at 3:22pm
I recently found a copy of EMI's 2-CD Kenny Rogers collection 25 Greatest Hits (1987), and I was fairly pleased with the sound overall. Reasonably good source tapes (good, not great), excellent levels (nice volume level, no clipping), reasonable EQ (no smiley-face EQ), and not a hint of noise reduction anywhere. I'd guess that except for the abysmal Liberty's Greatest Hits (copyright 1981), 25 Greatest Hits is probably the earliest appearance on CD for most of its tracks.

I discovered that for tracks on 25 Greatest Hits, there are plenty of later-released Kenny Rogers collections that base their masterings on 25 Greatest Hits. I will generalize:
  • 42 Ultimate Hits (2004) uses the same analog transfer as 25 Greatest Hits for all the tracks that they have in common, but has a slight smiley-face EQ on a few tracks.
  • Ten Best Series (1991) also uses the same analog transfer as 25 Greatest Hits for all the tracks that they have in common, but clips on a few tracks.
  • Curb's Greatest Country Hits (1990) also uses the same analog transfer as 25 Greatest Hits for all the tracks that they have in common, but has the left and right channels swapped on all the tracks. Avoid this disc.
  • Liberty's Greatest Hits (copyright 1981) has comically low levels, uses high-generation source tapes, and seems to run a little fast on a few tracks. Avoid this disc at all costs.
I will be using the version from 25 Greatest Hits for these tracks in my library:
  • Love Lifted Me (#97, 1976)
  • Lucille (#5, 1977)
  • Daytime Friends (#28, 1977)
  • Sweet Music Man (#44, 1978)
  • Love Or Something Like It (#32, 1978)
  • The Gambler (#16, 1979)
  • She Believes In Me (#5, 1979)
  • You Decorated My Life (#7, 1979)
  • Coward Of The County (#3, 1980)
  • Lady (#1, 1980)
  • I Don't Need You (#3, 1981)
  • Through The Years (#13, 1982)
  • Love Will Turn You Around (#13, 1982)
  • Scarlet Fever (#94, 1983)
The version of "Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer" (1980) sounds about the same as the other tracks on 25 Greatest Hits, but sounds infinitely better on the Kim Carnes CD Gypsy Honeymoon The Best Of (1993). If this one song is indicative of the Kenny Rogers tracks, then there are probably some terrific lower-generation source tapes out there than what was used for 25 Greatest Hits. Similarly, "We've Got Tonight" sounds better on Sheena Easton's World Of The Singles Collection (1993).
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CountryPD View Drop Down
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Points: 37 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CountryPD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 6 hours 41 minutes ago at 7:36am
Resurrecting this thread for 2026.

Appreciate Ron's excellent analysis of the 25 GH CD. That was one of the earliest Rogers' CD comps I bought and I was surprised to see how highly Ron rated that one in 2018.

I've been reviewing the Kenny Rogers hit compilation discs in my library - mostly from the late 80's & early 90's - I was wondering if any recent comps have improved audio and are worth obtaining.

A 1999 Capitol 14 track comp Kenny Rogers - A Musical Anthology - issued in conjunction with the A&E Channel & Biography has very good audio quality in my opinion. It's an excellent companion disc to the 25 GH set as it includes singles that were not issued there including Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got), Love The World Away, Share Your Love With Me, Blaze Of Glory, A Love Song, All My Life, and the Dottie West duets - Every Time Two Fools Collide, Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight, All I Ever Need Is You and the Dottie West single with Kenny's uncredited duet appearance, What Are We Doin' In Love.

https://www.discogs.com/release/12528251-Kenny-Rogers-Kenny-Rogers-A-Musical-Anthology

Most of Kenny's original United Artists & Liberty albums are now available as downloads. Has anyone obtained those and is the audio any better on those releases? (Referencing FLAC or WAV files available from sites like Qobuz)

Appreciate any comments on this topic. Thanks!

Edited by CountryPD - 6 hours 9 minutes ago at 8:08am
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LunarLaugh View Drop Down
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Points: 150 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LunarLaugh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 3 hours 26 minutes ago at 10:51am
Sadly, no. Kenny's Liberty output is in desperate need of a sonic overhaul but as far as I can tell, it seems like no new digital transfers of most of the material have been attempted since the 1980s. I think Kenny's estate controls his masters now (through some deal with Universal).

An engineer friend of mine did some excellent sounding transfers from original vinyl sources that sound a lot better than anything out there digitally.
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Points: 31 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ChicagoBill Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 1 hour 20 minutes ago at 12:57pm
Originally posted by LunarLaugh LunarLaugh wrote:



An engineer friend of mine did some excellent sounding transfers from original vinyl sources that sound a lot better than anything out there digitally.

I'll do a quote from my good friend the late Steve Massie. 'A transfer from a new or near mint vinyl recording can sound a LOT better than a poorly manufactured CD'. Sure, we would all like to see the lowest generational tapes used for construction of any CD, but for the music I grew up listening to, that is becoming almost impossible to find. Now with the addition of AI and the most current software, it's getting hard to tell if it's not from tape. -Bill.
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Points: 423 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote aaronk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 56 seconds ago at 2:16pm
A while back, I dubbed one of the original vinyl 45s, but I don't recall which one it was. I was expecting it to sound better than what I had on CD, but sadly, the vinyl sounded just as bad and "high gen" as the CD. Obviously one track is not indicative of his entire output, but it does make me wonder if at least some of the songs we have on CD sound as good as the original first gen masters.
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