Art Of Tea

Michael Franks "Sleeping Gypsy" & "Art Of Tea" are possibly two of my most favorite jazz vocal cd. I've listened to these cd's a thousand times and I'm still yet to be tired of them. I've always dreamed of hearing these cd's remastered. I know that with current remastering techniques and technology, old recordings can be made sound like todays if remastered properly. I've been impressed by many remasterings from Rhino records so I was excited to learn that several of MF's albums are being remastered on SHM-CD. After pre-ordering 2 cd's from MF I couldn't wait. Boy was I disappointed. While the remasterings are louder and brighter than the original release, I am annoyed at how unbalanced the remastering is. The soundstage seems heavier on the left channel than the right channel. I am expecting vocals at least to be dead centered. In this case as I mentioned it's heavier on the left channel. I find myself moving slightly a bit to the right just to get a better balanced. Man for 4x the price and for the supposedly superior technology like SHM-CD I was expecting to be blown away. It just proves that it's not the material, it's strictly the remastering techniques. Listen to Jim Croce's Classic Hits from Rhino or the Beatles remastered or the Fleetwood Mac's or the Eagles and many, many more. Don't waste your money on SHM-CD like I did. While I am not definitely turned off by MF's music, I am disappointed by the sound quality of the remastered SHM-CD.

This is what happens when an English Lit major becomes songwriter.The lyrics are thoughtful, intelligent, heartfelt, and entertainingall delivered with a sweet captivating voice.I believe the super talented backing band on this album is the Crusaders.I think this is about the fourth time I have purchased either the vinyl orthe CD as friends and relatives have made previous copies in my librarydisappear.