Various – Mind Rewind³

The mastering here is absolutely atrocious. The tracks are crushed to the point of being genuinely hard to listen to, and I'd never play these versions in a DJ set, much preferring a vinyl rip (however imperfect that might be). A real shame.

I've waited for more than 20 years to see the release of Little Blue Men "Dr. Snuggles Dilemma" track. Thank you guys! My other highlight here is Alkaloid "Influx" (Mix 2). Too bad that Sam Elcox has produced just a few tracks with his (in my opinion) powerful skills.

I have always been a huge fan of the track X-3 by Gangguru. Heavy bass, ominous sounds, and bright spiraling melodies combine to create a unique, dark, and magical track that stands out to me as a gem in the genre of goa trance.

Knowing DAT Records' propensity for poor remastering (and commenting on it multiple times on their previous releases), I was curious what they would do to this track. The results are as I feared: DAT Records are still compressing their tracks and playing the "loudness" game.

The original 12" release of X-3 had a powerful bass and wider dynamic range; there were quieter sounds that were in the background, giving the track more depth, atmosphere, refinement and focus. In the remastering here, the bass has been greatly reduced. At a modest listening volume, the bass seems almost non-existent (using reference speakers). Those sounds that used to be in the background are now much more in the foreground, giving it a brighter tone. All sounds are now of similar volume.

I can only theorize about why some people, such as the owner of DAT Records, consider this sort of mastering an improvement, or "more modern" as they sometimes say. My guess is that perhaps they think it's more "psychedelic" to have all the sounds loud and in-your-face. Whatever it is, it's unfortunate for those of us who do not enjoy this effect and don't want to feel like victims of a psychedelic assault while listening to music. As is well known, this effect causes listening fatigue for many people, and headaches.

Sadly, for tracks unreleased in the 90's, this is the best we might get. We might never get to hear them in their original glory. I think I would personally prefer an option to purchase the unmastered original tracks instead of the remastered versions.

Awesome Tracks & Super Clean Quality ! What a Pleasure !!! :D <3 <3 <3
LIVELY RECOMMENDED to All Old School GOALOVERS !!! ;)