Born to Run: Why the Poor Sound Quality?

Bill, I stand corrected, I have probably never heard a first press Columbia.

Thanks Viridian! I really appreciate the tip.

Chad, you may find this helpful; it will allow you to identfy every Pink Floyd pressing from every country:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PFArchives/DiscTOC.htm

Ya, the guy has some time on his hands.

So many things go into why a record sounds good or doesn't. No tonly the rpoduction up to the master tape, but the quality of the tape made for the pressing plant, the source of lacquers, the source of the vinyl pellets, the metalworking... all of these variables are way outside the control of the artist and producer.

Even if they liked test pressings, that was no guarantee that would be what the public could buy. This is one of the things that CD was supposed to solve but not always did. Bottom line is that vinyl is as much art as process and there is good and bad art in the manufacture.

The first 2/3s of the Greatest Hits has poor sound quality while the last 1/3 sounds excellent. Kind of a chronology of music as well as recording technique.