5 out of 5

Label: Landland Colportage

Produced by: Dave Gardner (remaster)

Wowow – not a remaster I knew I wanted until I heard it.

Dianogah is a formative band for me. Mirroring the above statement, it was a sound I was hunting for but didn’t know it until I discovered it, and I discovered it by happenstance of used CD shopping, liking the album art, and recognizing recorder Steve Albini’s name.

Those many years ago, I understood the “bet” of an Albini recording: that he brought, at base level, a generally recognizable sound, but it wasn’t a guarantee of music I’d necessarily like: he was a businessman; if you paid him, he’d work on your record. But I had good vibes about Dianogah. …And I was a sucker for the double bass setup.

The original record is perfect. I’m not here to revisit that, rather just to assess how this remaster affects things, if it does. Though I suspect my take on that is spoiled by the rating.

What I want in a remaster is something that maintains the spirit, but gives the recording new legs. Sometimes, you are actually rescuing something – a poor recording / master that your ears had to initially fight hard to appreciate – but often, especially when it’s a favorite album, you’re ideally given a master / mix that highlights the sounds in new ways. Dave Gardner does that here, very precisely.

Albini’s emphasis on low end and what I identify as “roundness” in his sounds generally gives his material a very immediate feeling in terms of energy, but it can also be a little distancing. It’s not a live sound, to me; it’s one played in isolation – the group in a room, up close. That’s a particular vibe. For As Seen From Above, it gave the recording a kind of punk edge, which suited me just fine. Gardner doesn’t change that, but he lifts up some of the “lighter” sounds, making the dual basses not trading the spotlight, but supporting each other equally, and turns Jay Ryan’s humdrum vocal (which was a good fit in Albini’s mix!) into something a bit more sprightly. The album is essentially revitalized: it sounds new. And it sounds closer to a studio recording in the sense that it has more room to breathe. This is a fundamentally different vibe, hence the five stars: I love listening to the original and the remaster back to back.

I can’t even play at a debate as to which would be better to own if you’re going with only one, although it’s fair to say that Gardner’s mix requires Albini’s original to play off of… so there’s something there. But anyone with passing familiarity of this classic should take this opportunity to double dip on a revisit.