Genesis Abacab - Original vs 2016 Remaster - Vinyl Comparison

The 1981 Genesis album Abacab is the first recorded by the band at their own studio in Surrey dubbed ‘The Farm’ and set the tone for the more pop-oriented output that would follow throughout the 80s and early 90s. The question is, if you are seeking a copy of Abacab on vinyl should you go for an original 1981 pressing or a later remaster. In this post I will give my thoughts on two variants including a UK original and a 2016 remaster along with some samples so you can make your own mind up listening on your own equipment.

Samples

Let’s get right to it with some samples. The following recordings were captured using a Behringer U-CONTROL UCA222 played on an AT-LP5x turntable with AT-VM95ML cartridge and MoFi StudioPhono preamp.

1981 UK Original

2016 Remaster

Thoughts…

First of all a couple of caveats. These samples were by no means captured with high end equipment but the setup was at least consistent. It’s also fair to say that I haven’t owned the 1981 original record from new and whilst it’s in great shape with a nice glossy surface who knows how much play time it has actually had which could account for some loss of high frequency detail and other groove wear related side effects. The 2016 record had been played around 4 times from new when the samples were captured.

Onto my thoughts and bear in mind this is just that… my thoughts and purely based on what I hear on my system. The 2016 remaster is the clear winner here. Bass is extended and yet better defined compared to the original and high frequency detail is far superior leading to a much deeper and wider soundstage. The original 1981 vinyl sounds muddy and low fidelity in comparison. The low end is squashed and weak and there is very little clarity to the presentation due to a sharp roll-off above 6kHz. In contrast the 2016 remaster delivers plenty of content up to 12kHz and beyond. My digital reference for Abacab has always been the 1994 Definitive Edition Remaster which sounds very similar to the 2016 half-speed master to my ears but I would still give the edge to the 2016 vinyl.

I’m interested to know your thoughts on this. Maybe you have an original pressing of Abacab which sound vastly superior to mine in which case let me know in the comments. I will be posting some more vinyl comparisons in the coming weeks.