tragabigzanda wrote:I don’t believe the song is any more or less compressed than the other rock songs on Binaural, and the public Dynamic Range Database supports this.
I also don’t find the guitars to be particularly edgy, but that’s more a matter of taste.
The one consistent criticism I’d give to the BOB mixed songs on Binaural is that there’s generally a lack of depth and width. The stereo spread is fairly crowded, and most tracks of the guitars are right at the front of your speaker, rather than set back a bit to create some depth.
"The “Unofficial” Dynamic Range Database uses a sliding scale from 1 to 20 (1 being the worst, 20 being the best) to rank the dynamic quality of each of the recordings they list. This number represents the difference between the peak decibel level on a recording and the recording’s average loudness. DRD applies the following descriptors to these ranges: 1-7=bad; 8-13=transition; and 14-20=good. Evaluation for each album on the website includes the album’s average dynamic range, the track with the weakest dynamic range, and the track with the greatest. The Unofficial DRD also provides individual dynamic range measurements for each track on the album."
Binaural scores an avg of 7. TO be fair, it appears the scale doesn't go beyond 14, which makes the explanation above a bit confusing. Nonetheless:
Grievance has the weakest range on the album (scores a 6) except for Insignificance (another great song that suffers bc of this production). Frankly, even if you don't understand dynamic range and compression, you can just hear it. The impression is flat, blunt, and really hurts some of the tracks. I know they have much more potential, but I can't hear it.
Analyzed folder: /Volumes/DATA/music/Pearl Jam/Binaural
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DR Peak RMS Filename
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DR7 -0.10 dB -7.91 dB 01 - Breakerfall.m4a
DR6 -0.10 dB -6.65 dB 02 - Gods' Dice.m4a
DR7 -0.10 dB -8.43 dB 03 - Evacuation.m4a
DR6 -0.10 dB -7.45 dB 04 - Light Years.m4a
DR7 -0.10 dB -8.96 dB 05 - Nothing as It Seems.m4a
DR7 -0.10 dB -9.24 dB 06 - Thin Air.m4a
DR6 -0.10 dB -7.18 dB 07 - Insignificance.m4a
DR7 -0.10 dB -9.41 dB 08 - Of the Girl.m4a
DR6 -0.10 dB -7.38 dB 09 - Grievance.m4a
DR7 -0.10 dB -9.00 dB 10 - Rival.m4a
DR6 -0.10 dB -8.52 dB 11 - Sleight of Hand.m4a
DR12 -1.26 dB -16.51 dB 12 - Soon Forget.m4a
DR7 -0.05 dB -10.75 dB 13 - Parting Ways _ Writers Block.m4a
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