Queen – Jazz

Jazz is the worst sounding Queen album from the 70s. The drums are dry and the cymbals harsh. Bass is a bit tame and lacks depth. I own an original pressing and the 2019 pink special edition which is the same as the 2015 half speed here. The half speed has good detail with headphones and the cymbals chime is a bit more metallic.

I’m surprised by the negative reviews here - it sounds amazing on my Technics SL-1500c with Ortofon 2m blue. Great dynamics, wide soundstage and excellent separation. As for Mustapha, it’s meant to sound as quiet as that in the intro before kicking into gear (dramatically).

Absolutely appalling remaster. Lacks any dynamics. Makes Queen sound as exciting as a trip to the dentist. Search out a decent copy of the first pressing.

Yes i agree with remarks re. sound quality over the original 1978 first edition vinyl.
I the very first pressings of this album had faults on track 2 side one where the needle would jump and i returning 3 copies back to Woolworths in the UK, the 2011 mix pressed onto 180g vinyl in 2015 has no faults but it sounds so, well, lame is the correct word. If you can find a mint 1978 pressing without the faults then purchase that, these 2015 Virgin/EMI pressing are best kept with the clear wrapper on them and kept as 'Collectors Items Only' Original First Pressings Are The Best. I love the poster and the packaging and the general presentation, shame about the sound quality.

In "Mustapha" levels and general feel is a bit.... lame, certainly before the guitar kicks in. The rest of the disc it is clear, clean and great sound. Makes me think that what the mastering engineers arrived at at the time hasn't been reproduced correctly at the pressing plant, sadly, because I find it hard to believe track 1 was made to deliberately sound that way. Other albums in this series sound great.

I have this version but with a pink colored disc. The rest is exactly the same (matrix number etc..). The pink disc is not on discogs, if somebody can help me to know if it is an official or unofficial version ? Many thanks for your help. Antoine

I'm hugely disappointed with this pressing - Jazz is one of the best sounding records I own (the original pressing)...I got greedy, naively imagining that perfection could be improved upon... I was wrong!!! I've learned a valuable lesson... it cost me around £20 but was worth it in respect of the fact that I won't buy into this sort of thing again.