Cheap Trick - In Color - Steve Albini Sessions -1998 Cd Flac- -

But here is the truth: In Color (1977) sounds like a beautiful photograph. In Color (Albini 1998) sounds like the negative. It is visceral. It is the sound of four guys in a room who hate the fact that they have to play their own hits again.

Deep Dive: Cheap Trick’s “In Color” – The Lost Albini Raw Nerve (1998 CD FLAC Review) But here is the truth: In Color (1977)

Critics in 1998 hated this. Rolling Stone called it "unlistenable." Why? Because Albini stripped the double-tracked vocals. Zander sounds isolated and angry. The backing harmonies are buried. It is the sound of four guys in

The original album starts with a crowd cheer. Albini deletes it. Instead, you hear Robin Zander count in, "One, two..." followed by the ring of Bun E. Carlos’s snare that sounds like a gunshot. The FLAC reveals the room —you hear the wood creak. Because Albini stripped the double-tracked vocals

The band hired him to re-record In Color to prove a point: That they were punks before punk went mainstream. That they could be as raw as The Stooges. Albini didn't just produce this; he wired it. Live room, no isolation booths, vintage mics, and a mandate: "Play it like you hate it."

The drum sound here is the definitive Albini sound. Bun E. Carlos’s kick drum doesn't thump; it punches you in the sternum. The FLAC preserves the transient perfectly. On MP3, that attack blurs. On FLAC, it’s a surgical spike.

Do you own the original 1998 promo CD? Have you compared the vinyl pressing of this session to the FLAC? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.