Hear 'Blaster' on Pandora Premieres Through 3/30

[SoftVinyl]

Anybody who bitches about the quality of this Pandora stream obviously never had to hear their new music through this old fashioned thing called "FM radio"

I remember well! I found an old tape I put together in the 80s of radio songs. It was wild hearing the way they sounded back then.

[drynaski]

Anybody who bitches about the quality of this Pandora stream obviously never had to hear their new music through this old fashioned thing called "FM radio"

I remember well! I found an old tape I put together in the 80s of radio songs. It was wild hearing the way they sounded back then.

Well, I think the issue is more with the production / mix, not the stream, but I'm trying to give the album the benefit of the doubt until I hear the real thing.

For example, it's hard to ignore the audio blips and autotune on the vocal track of Hotel Rio, despite the melody being good, the tones being great, and everything else it has going for it. Does anyone else hear it? Like the first pass through the chorus... (not sure these are the lyrics) "Do you believe this is our life? Feel like the fi**[SKIP]**final final mission" Like... what the hell? It's like they had 2 takes for that part, one started, got cut off by the next take, and no one heard it. I like the energy the band and producer captured, but it's definitely missing a professional quality even the lo-fi sounding Tiny Music had. And yeah, Brenden is expensive, but it's not expensive to listen back on your music critically to avoid mistakes like the ones in Hotel Rio.

[EyesOfDisarray]

It's definitely the stream. I'm not concerned one bit.

Yeah, generally streaming audio doesn't sound as good as what you'd pay for on a CD or high quality mp3.



Anybody who bitches about the quality of this Pandora stream obviously never had to hear their new music through this old fashioned thing called "FM radio". Otherwise it would have turned their sensitive ass, dog eared selves off of all music, period.


Then again, maybe I'm the only one who used to record new songs from the radio onto cassette tapes and listen to those until I was old enough to finally buy my own music. Then again, this IS an STP forum we're all reading & typing on.

I don't know if Pandora's streaming technology is to blame; other stuff on Pandora sounds fine. My guess is that the copy of the album Pandora received is slightly unfinished.

Whatever the reason, it doesn't sound BAD by any means -- just lacks a bit of "polish," which leads me to think it's a mastering thing. I am old enough to remember recording songs off the radio on tape -- I remember waiting hours and hours to catch Big Bang Baby when it was released to radio, and when I missed it, I had to drive to my friend's house to listen and get a copy from his tape.

So yeah, the fact that we can listen to the whole album for free in near-perfect quality a week before release is a privilege, and the quality issue is a very minor one.

[kravdog]

After a few 'spins' I am really digging this album. Best of "solo" work yet. Was listening just now and thought, "I'm glad doug isn't on these songs adding weird noises."

[Slither]

Anybody who bitches about the quality of this Pandora stream obviously never had to hear their new music through this old fashioned thing called "FM radio". Otherwise it would have turned their sensitive ass, dog eared selves off of all music, period.

Then again, maybe I'm the only one who used to record new songs from the radio onto cassette tapes and listen to those until I was old enough to finally buy my own music. Then again, this IS an STP forum we're all reading & typing on.

 

I hardly feel the need to defend myself on here, but I wasn't trying to be a sound quality snob - I used to do the same thing recording songs off the radio back in the day. However, since it's not 1999 anymore, I expect a certain level of sound quality to come out of my speakers. I've used Pandora in the past and never had an issue with it till last night. That combined with the fact I've been listening to the much higher quality Spotify versions of Way She Moves and White Lightning for weeks now, I was concerned they re mixed the album to give it a more muffled, garage-y tone. Hopefully, that is not the case and they just gave Pandora a shittier version for whatever reason.

[Sklashboombash]

After a few 'spins' I am really digging this album. Best of "solo" work yet. Was listening just now and thought, "I'm glad doug isn't on these songs adding weird noises."

Yes, Scott was right in "adding more space" by saying goodbye to Doug.
HiG had some great moments but it's the weakest of the 3 solo albums by far.

[pjstp]

Man, this album is great! I can't say this is the best STP related work since Shangri La because I love Self Titled, but this is a really solid album. My favorites are Amethyst, Blue Eyes, Beach Pop (surprisingly because I didn't like this one a while lot live), Parachute, and Circles.  Parachute especially is  classic Weiland greatness. I really like Jeremy's guitar work on the album too. I hope I can catch Scott on this tour because I would love to see these songs live. 

[gravedancer]

I love it. I would agree with some of the comments here that the songs we heard previously are not my favorites. I currently have the chorus to Blue Eyes stuck in my head. The two songs that surprised me the most were Blue Eyes and Youth Quake. They both sound like some sort of cross between Joy Division and The Cult.
As much as I like Self-Titled... this sounds like a band effort, as opposed to people recording and writing songs in different studios. Obviously the Pandora quality isn't the greatest, but it's not so bad that I can't enjoy the music. I give it an 8/10 because I just keep skipping Way She Moves and White Lightning. Maybe because I've over-listened to them.

[Unglued]

I haven't had a "full album" excitement moment like this in a while.  This album is better than I expected.  Can't wait to blast this in my car.  Gonna be a nice summer record.

As far as the quality.. it's not the best being streamed from Pandora but for me I just wanted to hear the full album and I'm grateful for the opportunity to have heard it.

It was like 'Between the Lines' around here a few years ago.  When the first versions were starting to get out there and the good folks here posting links, they weren't the best quality but I was stoked to just hear it.

My two pennies anyway.

[DankoJones]

Great to hear so many liking the album, havent heard it yet but all the talk here is making me real anxious to get my hands on this album

[Casual]

So did AlternHATEive Nation miss the mark on their 6/10 review? Lol

[STP92]

After a few extra listenings, the bridges on "Parachute" and especially "Amethyst" remind me of No. 4 era STP and it makes me nostalgic.

I also think that James Iha might've played on "Blue Eyes" because the underlying guitar in the verses is very reminiscent of the guitar tone and style on the Smashing Pumpkins' album, Machina.

[Chris Pepper]

My face is melting....

[sharky]

So did AlternHATEive Nation miss the mark on their 6/10 review? Lol

I can't fathom how he listed Hotel Rio and Youth Quake at the bottom of his rankings. Those are two of the best ones. Definitely much better than White Lightning and Modzilla.

I also think that James Iha might've played on "Blue Eyes" because the underlying guitar in the verses is very reminiscent of the guitar tone and style on the Smashing Pumpkins' album, Machina.

I thought the same thing after I heard it for the very first time. There's definitely a subtle hint of Machina in that song.

[Jim The Stimulator]

I like Blue Eyes so much today!  This album is so good..