New 80s MP3 Only Compilation on Amazon

What's hilarious is that the sample of Gene Redding on Amazon CONTAINS a jump AND loud pops! I guess that's truth in advertising! I did report this to somebody at EMI.

EdisonLite wrote: Wait a minute - there's a way to tell a 256 mp3 was up-rezzed to 320?? I never knew about this. Can you explain in layman's terms how that is done? Is there cheap software that can determine this? Or for that matter, when a CD contains a file that was transferred from an mp3 - is there any way to tell the exact bitrate the original mp3 was encoded at?

Yes. The software Gene linked to is not completely reliable, but it can be helpful. (I've had it misidentify audio that was NOT lossless as lossless before, and vice-versa.) But CoolEdit Pro and probably some other audio editors have a "spectral analysis" feature, where you can look at a wave form's frequency range, rather than its volume. A 256kb MP3 will show no audio information above 16hz... there will be a thick, black bar at the top of the spectrum, and all frequencies above that point will be cut out. The lower the bitrate, the thicker that black bar at the top. In lossless audio, the frequency range will normally go up to 22hz or higher.

That's how Aaron was able to identify that at least some elements within one mix of "Hey There Delilah" on CD were taken from an MP3, and that version likely does not exist as full lossless audio.

With a 320kb MP3, it can get trickier. Most 320kb MP3s are encoded with a rolloff at about 19hz, but not all of them... some of them I would mistake at first glance for a full 16-bit wav.

Here is freeware that allegedly will perform spectral analysis on audio, though I haven't tried it myself:

http://www.trueaudio.com/rta_abt1.htm

Edited by Brian W.

Brian, I believe you intended to use "kHz" instead of "hz". In any case an RTA can tell a lot about an audio file. I use a Banner RTA-1232 analyzer (it's a rack mounted unit).
For example, if I play "Both Sides Now" from the 1987 Judy Collins "Wildflowers" CD I see little information above 10 kHz whereas the same track on her "Forever, An anthology" or "The Very Best of Judy Collins" shows greater high end and listening bears the evidence of this. Same for the album version of "Moonlight Feels Right" on the Music Club Starbuck album vs the Rhino Have A Nice Day vol 18 45 version. I compared the vinyl LP and 45 and came up with the same results.
Looking at any stereo version of "Teach Your Children" will show a distinct notch around 5 kHz as you hear the phasing issue which is present on vinyl and CD releases.
"Theme From Shaft" on a Virgin English import "Flares: Feel Good Funk 'N' Disco" set has a very distinct notch at 6 kHz with audible phasing.
An RTA is a good tool and knowing how to interpret the display can be a good guide to quality. All of the above is based on a L+R mode display.

I missed this thread earlier, glad it came back up.
Nice track line-up, i was pleased to see they got around
to the awesome Soulsister song again, that was
famously ommitted from the CD version of "Lost Hits Of
The 80's" even tho the title appeared on the cd jacket.
I forget what track they put in its place that went
unlisted.

Anyway for those interested - this may come as great
shock - i believe they actually FIXED the source for Gene
Redding "This Heart" on 70's vol. 2. I checked it on
Amazon (the samples are kinda swishy there), I-tunes and
Spotify.   Sounds like clean tape to me, no pops, no
vinyl, good sound.
I'm just stunned that apprently complaints were addressed
and someone bothered to fix the problem. I guess i've
become somewhat jaded that i wasn't expecting that.
("I'm comin' to join ya Elizabeth!")

One other thing;
Re: Robbie Patton - for Gordon, that does sound like a
clean tape source to me, pretty normal, however - funny,
i compared it to our master from your mint LP, and i
still think your LP sounds best!

Edited by MMathews

MMathews wrote: Nice track line-up, i was pleased to see they got around to the awesome Soulsister song again, that was famously ommitted from the CD version of "Lost Hits Of The 80's" even tho the title appeared on the cd jacket.

Hmmm, I've owned the 1997 Lost Hits of the '80s CD in question for more than five years now, and this comment of yours left me scratching my head. So I pulled out my copy, and sure enough, NOWHERE on mine does it mention "The Way to Your Heart" by Soulsister - not on the CD itself or on the back insert. (The front "booklet" isn't even a booklet - just a slipsheet that's BLANK on the back/inside. Wow, nice liner notes, EMI/Capitol!) So I decided to check the matrix no. printed around the hub of the disc itself, and lo & behold, it DOES end w/ "RE1" - something I hadn't noticed before. Okay, time to do some digging on-line...

I forget what track they put in its place that went unlisted.

Seems the substitute track was "I Do What I Do" by John Taylor. My on-line investigating revealed that there are actually THREE versions of the Lost Hits of the '80s CD: 1) First pressings state the Soulsister song as track #3 on the CD, and it's actually ON the disc itself (i.e., correct); 2) Second pressings - which is what you have - have the Soulsister song deleted on the disc itself, w/ the John Taylor hit now substituted as track #2 and Phantom, Rocker & Slick's "Men Without Shame" bumped down to track #3, yet still retained the original back inserts stating the Soulsister song was on there (i.e., not correct), and 3) A third pressing - which is what I have - that has the John Taylor hit on the CD itself, AND has corrected back artwork, stating John Taylor as track #2 and Phantom, Rocker & Slick as track #3...

So it DOES exist w/ the Soulsister track on the disc itself (and those obviously wouldn't have the "RE1" tacked on to the end of the matrix no.) - it's just that that's probably the rarest of the three. So thanks for pointing that out - now to track down one of those first pressings...

Edited to add: Just checked my copy of the 10th edition of Pat's book. "I Do What I Do" was a top 40 hit; "The Way to Your Heart" was NOT. The only other top 40 hits on Lost Hits of the '80s are "If You Should Sail" by Nielsen/Pearson, "Cryin'" by Vixen, "How Do I Survive" by Amy Holland, and "Someday" by Glass Tiger - and EMI-Capitol Special Markets 19460 is included in Pat's listings for all four of those; however, I see he DOESN'T show it under "I Do What I Do" by John Taylor. So Pat may very well have the first pressing w/ the Soulsister song; at the very least, he'll need to add the CD under John Taylor, w/ the note "only on later pressings of the CD", or something to that effect (actual timing is 3:43, which matches its only other U.S. CD appearance to date, on the soundtrack to 9 1/2 Weeks...)

Edited by 80smusicfreak