BÖC - Imaginos cd release

[tsorl]

All the BÖC fans here probably know that acquiring their 1988 album Imaginos on CD has been rather challenging, to put it lightly. The only printing I know is indeed from 1988 and has been out of print forever.
American Beat Records just recently re-released Imaginos on CD. It does not have any bonus tracks like the ones in the Columbia remasters series and it's quite a low-key release in every way (no lyrics etc) but it's on CD, it's legit and it sounds great!

The album itself is of course probably the best thing they ever did (although it is rather heavily contested who actually did the album, in court even, but that's another story...)

Get it from Amazon or wherever you fancy.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

I got lucky and found the old Columbia cd release in a used cd store about 5 years ago. Before that, I could only listen on my chrome TDK recording off the vinyl. Glad to hear it is re-released though! It is not only the best album BOC ever did, but it's probably on my top-ten albums of ALL TIME list.

 

[Powermetal Rebel]

No wonder I haven't been able to find that thing on CD... Next to Secret Treaties, that is my favorite BOC album. Guess I can finally stick the vinyl in storage. Thanks for the info.

 

[Wyvern]

I'm a BOC fan but I'm not interested in "Imaginos" which was really an Albert Bouchard solo album that went with the moniker uinder label pressure, much like Tony Iommi and "Seventh Star". To me the best BOC album still is "Secret Treaties".

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

I'm a BOC fan but I'm not interested in "Imaginos" which was really an Albert Bouchard solo album that went with the moniker uinder label pressure, much like Tony Iommi and "Seventh Star".

Huh? You're not "interested" in Imaginos because it's not a true BOC album? What's the sense in that? It's a killer album, no matter who wrote it or who performed it. I'll agree Al Bouchard got screwed on the deal, but that's neither here nor there. It's still one awesome piece of work.

 

[desert_demon]

Hmmm. Interesting. I've never heard this album but I've heard OF it, and every time I read something about it it's always to say that it's the best album BOC has ever done and that it's extremely hard to get a hold of. Also I've read that the lyrics are rather cryptic.
I'll have to check it out for myself.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

every time I read something about it it's always to say that it's the best album BOC has ever done.

You should check it out. There's a reason why all those people are saying that.

This thread forced me to pull out my Imaginos cd and play it. Noticed one thing right off the bat... VERY low recording volume on it. Playing it on my computer, 5.1 surround, I have to max out the media player, the windows volume control, and my speakers, just to make it loud. I doubt this new version is remastered, which is a shame. This album needs it.

Still got my vinyl, but no turntable.

 

[Wyvern]

Huh? You're not "interested" in Imaginos because it's not a true BOC album? What's the sense in that?

My sense. I stopped with BOC after Albert left the band. I listened to them live back in 2004 and was good but to me it's not the true BOC.

Besides I also skipped the debut, "Mirrors", "Club Ninja", "On Your Feet Or On Your Knees", "Some Enchanted Evening", and "The Revolution By Night", so skipping "Imaginos" is not a big deal.

Oh and unlike Desert Demon, I've been told is the worst crap they ever put out (by a friend of mine who really knows my taste so...)

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

My sense. I stopped with BOC after Albert left the band. I listened to them live back in 2004 and was good but to me it's not the true BOC.

Besides I also skipped the debut, "Mirrors", "Club Ninja", "On Your Feet Or On Your Knees", "Some Enchanted Evening", and "The Revolution By Night", so skipping "Imaginos" is not a big deal.

Oh and unlike Desert Demon, I've been told is the worst crap they ever put out (by a friend of mine who really knows my taste so...)

Your logic baffles me, my friend. But I guess that's nothing new!

You miss out on so much good stuff because of your pre-conceived notions formed from your intimate knowledge of the band. Sometimes you just need to let all that shit go and listen to the music for the music...not the band members and their soap opera.

Besides, this is an Al Bouchard album for god's sake! Brain Surgeons! Great music! You're going to deny yourself the pleasure of such a great album because Al got screwed?

 

[tsorl]

You should check it out. There's a reason why all those people are saying that.

This thread forced me to pull out my Imaginos cd and play it. Noticed one thing right off the bat... VERY low recording volume on it. Playing it on my computer, 5.1 surround, I have to max out the media player, the windows volume control, and my speakers, just to make it loud. I doubt this new version is remastered, which is a shame. This album needs it.

Still got my vinyl, but no turntable.

I never had the original pressing CD, but compared to the mp3s I had this reissue is definitely louder. Don't think it's been seriously remastered or tweaked but in terms of loudness it doesn't sound like those late-80s CDs.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

I never had the original pressing CD, but compared to the mp3s I had this reissue is definitely louder. Don't think it's been seriously remastered or tweaked but in terms of loudness it doesn't sound like those late-80s CDs.

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll get this re-release then. I hate those low volume cds from the 80s (especially Columbia releases).

 

[mdmatt4ever]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll get this re-release then. I hate those low volume cds from the 80s (especially Columbia releases).

manowar is the worst of those. sound is way low

 

[FerretallicA]

The album itself is of course probably the best thing they ever did

That, "Club Ninja" and "The Revolution By Night" =
I didn't realise they've been re-releasing the other albums with bonus tracks. Have to check that out...

 

[FerretallicA]

I hate those low volume cds from the 80s (especially Columbia releases).

That's where ReplayGain is your best friend

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

That's where ReplayGain is your best friend

Clue me in. What is ReplayGain?

 

[FerretallicA]

It's a standard for analysing the perceived volume (what you actually hear, as opposed to what is 'technically' louder) of a file and applying a lossless gain adjustment accordingly. WinAmp has ReplayGain support built in these days which is rather mighty but there's ReplayGain plugins/modules/etc for most decent media players out there. If you use an old-school CD player / stereo you're out of luck though

 

[Hawk]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll get this re-release then. I hate those low volume cds from the 80s (especially Columbia releases).

Hey buddy, you might want to read this:

http://www.barrydiamentaudio.com/loudness.htm


And see this:

 

[tsorl]

Hey buddy, you might want to read this...

Well that's just the other extreme really, I can't see how that justifies those weak sounding 80s CDs. I do agree that the excessive compressing is a major annoyance in a lot of recent albums.

There are still good, clear sounding CDs coming out even today that don't need to be turned to 11 to be heard. Hell, there are even some remaster CDs out there that sound vastly better than the original.

 

[Hawk]

Well that's just the other extreme really, I can't see how that justifies those weak sounding 80s CDs.

It's not 'the other extreme', it the rule these days. The dynamics on most remastered metal cd's are lost these day's. And I never implied that weak sounding 80s cd's were justified. However that problem is easy solved. Its called a volume control.

I do agree that the excessive compressing is a major annoyance in a lot of recent albums.

There are still good, clear sounding CDs coming out even today that don't need to be turned to 11 to be heard.

Thats not the problem the loudness wars generate. The problem is not unclear sounding albums or albums that are not loud enough. The problem of the loudness wars is a almost complete loss of dynamics. Please read the article I linked to.

 

[tsorl]

It's not 'the other extreme', it the rule these days. The dynamics on most remastered metal cd's are lost these day's. And I never implied that weak sounding 80s cd's were justified. However that problem is easy solved. Its called a volume control.

It might be a rule these days but it still the other extreme in terms of loudness. Excessively loud vs. excessively quiet.
The weakness of the 80s CDs isn't just with the volume. See out for yourself: play a vinyl from the 80s and then play the same CD from the 80s with the volume turned up. It doesn't sound the same, the CD lacks "punch". Or it could be I'm just hearing things that aren't there: either way to my ears they don't sound as good as the vinyl.

Thats not the problem the loudness wars generate. The problem is not unclear sounding albums or albums that are not loud enough. The problem of the loudness wars is a almost complete loss of dynamics.

But to a human listener, lack of dynamics means just that: unclear and "muddy" sounding albums. Even the article and video you just posted emphasize that. And funnily enough, the sound on the compressed clip played at about 1m10s is quite a bit similar to the original CD versions of albums like Metal Church's "The Dark", Sanctuary's "Refuge Denied" and Helloween's "Walls of Jericho"... wimpy, flat sound.