Rush "Roll The Bones" on Audio Fidelity

New gold CD of Rush "Roll The Bones" on the underwhelming, mistake prone Audio Fidelity label.

An original digital recording, presumably 16 bit from the early days, remastered by Kevin Gray.

I have to question the value of giving this kind of early digital recording the 'audiophile' reissue treatment. Sure, I have actually heard some fabulous 16 bit digital file remasters lately ( The Dutoit - Holst/Planets on Classic Reissues vinyl sounds knock-down amazing), and in truth, there are many early digital recordings that are very good sounding (1980's Denon Japanese vinyl sourced from PCM files are one sterling example), so I have no inherent bias against early digital.

But here, the sound is likely as good as it gets - and Gray's remastering brings greater clarity, smoothness, and a punchy sound. Without a doubt, it is good sounding. But it has very little bass - inherent in the digital file - and sounds rather clinical.

It's good, and I figure Gray has done what can be done here. But I question Audio Fidelity's judgement in bringing this title to market in a pricey audiophile edition. But then again, title choices have been Audio Fidelity's weak point all along, as well as their unfortunate penchant for mistakes, happily not present here.

It's an upgrade, and I'm happy to have it. Others may want to decide based on whether they feel the value proposition is strong enough.