Michael Jackson: Thriller [Ultradisc One Step LP]

Michael Jackson - Thriller [Ultradisc One Step LP]

The best-selling album of all time and firmly anchored milestone in music history celebrates its 40th birthday. If that is not a good reason to revive the thrill of "Thriller" once again. And in a breathtaking quality that allows fans and audiophile collectors to immerse themselves intensely in the brilliant music of Michael Jackson. The long-awaited reissue of the 1982 classic as an Ultradisc one-step pressing surpasses the sound of previous releases and gives songs like "Billie Jean," "The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney) or "Beat it" a new sonic dimension.

In contrast to the initial release with a mastering by Bernie Grundman, dynamic compression has been omitted, making the album sound much more detailed and listenable. Dancefloor fans will miss the "slam" of the initial release, but the bass is now contoured. Eddie van Halen's guitar solo for "Billy Jean" is now concise and not just kind of there. The spatial effects in "Thriller" cleverly appear outside the stereo range of the system, and Vincent Price's sepulchral voice is much more somber than previously known. Initially, one has to get used to the fact that the album now no longer "jumps out at" the listener, but captivates him. The level is much lower than on previous versions and it's worth turning up the knob once to enjoy real dynamics.

If you're now wondering how MFSL did it, here's what you need to know: The label's sound engineers went back to the master tapes with the goal of transferring their sound in the best possible way. What we hear is a mastering of the mix under producer Quincy Jones. What we knew before was the work of Bernie Grundman, who had the task of turning the mix into a hit album. The album, which at the time set musical, cultural and social standards, broke racial barriers and shaped generations of great musicians, can boast 34-times platinum. So it's safe to say that Bernie Grundman did an outstanding job. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, however, has now released this album the way owners of high-end hi-fi systems have always dreamed of.

The original analog tape was transferred to a 4xDSD file by the MFSL sound engineers, after an individual adjustment of the tape's track position and the bias setting for each track. This was then used to create the lacquer cut in the Sebastopol studio.

The One-Step-LP-Boxes from MFSL are the measure of all things in the field of audiophile re-issues and qualitatively still above the other productions of the probably most famous remastering studio in the world. What is special about the LPs is above all the one-step process of LP production. This means the following: In normal LP productions, the lacquer cut is turned into an initial "father stamp with inverted groove structure". From this, a "mother stamp" with correct groove structure is then created. From this, the actual press stamp with inverted groove structure is then created and consumed for pressing the actual LP with correct groove structure. This approach allows almost any number of LPs to be pressed with just one coating cut.

In the One-Step process, this is all done much more simply. The actual coating cut itself is converted directly to the press die used to make the LP. So two steps of mechanical conversion are eliminated. Unfortunately, each coating cut can only produce a limited number of LPs. So if more than a few hundred LPs are to be produced, several lacquer cuts are needed. MFSL has issued the motto that a new set of press stamps should be used every 500 copies. This means that for a run of 7,500 copies, fifteen sets of the four lacquer cuts are used. However, since things sometimes go wrong in production, 18 sets are usually created at once. That means 72 lacquer cuts are made for the double LP. By hand, one after the other. Every day, the created lacquer cuts are flown by express to RTI for reworking and then a test pressing must be created for each side and also listened to in MFSL's studio. A time-consuming and also expensive process, resulting in an expensive product and high collector demand. The delivery is made in an elaborate box. The serial number is entered by hand on the back. MFSL states that there will be no further re-pressings.

This edition is limited to 40,000 copies.

Titel auf der LP:
1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
2. Baby Be Mine
3. The Girl Is Mine
4. Thriller
5. Beat It
6. Billie Jean
7. Human Nature
8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
9. The Lady in My Life