Did you ever wonder what mp3 compression takes out of a musical track? This ubiquitous compression format is used and loved because it makes it easy to copy and carry and trade files. But if you listen to music closely, you may have noticed that something always seems to be missing.
Here is a track made of mp3 remnants.
What's funny, just yesterday I received in the mail, a 1994 CD remaster of the Rolling Stones album "Goats Head Soup." This is the famous Virgin remaster done by Bob Ludwig.
I had been listening to an mp3 copy of the album a friend had given me the last few months. I love the album, and lately I'd consider it in the top 5 or 6 albums the Stones ever made, but I was sure the mp3 version was kind of just the gist of the record. I wondered "What's missing?"
I also own an old, scratchy copy of the record on vinyl, but ease of use of CDs, led me to listen to the mp3 on my old Walkman!
Anyway, the Bob Ludwig master is a revelation. Absolutely. Suddenly there are all these little details I never heard before. The music is more dimensional. More dynamic, and I can hear Nicky Hopkins or Billy Preston on piano, you can really feel the fingers on the keyboard, you can hear Mick Jagger catching his breath, Keith's pick on the strings, the backup singers distinct and soulful.
So yes, it's a different album. If you just pay attention and listen. It all just confirms that mp3s are really like a fast food meal. You get full, but you are consuming empty calories. Not the real, soulful, musical meal with which you should nurture your self.
