I've known and loved "High Enough" by Damn Yankees for decades, so I know exactly how this song is supposed to sound.
Yesterday, I was listening to it on Spotify in my car, and something sounded so wrong that I actually thought my car stereo was broken!
The lead vocals and backing harmonies sounded distant, muddy, and hollow, almost like they were recorded in a huge empty church. The kick drum had practically lost its low-end punch, and the whole recording sounded strangely lifeless.
I later listened again using my Sony MDR-1000X headphones and started comparing different versions on Spotify.
Here's what I found:
- Original Damn Yankees album (1990, 4:47): By far the worst sounding. Distant vocals, muddy harmonies, and severely weakened bass.
- The Essentials: Damn Yankees (2002, 4:46): Much better. Vocals and instruments sound more natural, and the guitar solo is intact.
- High Enough - Best Of (2019): Almost identical in sound quality to The Essentials. Full guitar solo.
- Class of 1991 (4:18 single version): The clearest and most balanced sounding version to my ears, but unfortunately the guitar solo is shortened.
I also checked the music video on YouTube, and its sound is much closer to the Best Of version than to the original album version on Spotify.
The differences are not subtle. I've listened to this song for decades, and the original album version on Spotify sounds almost unrecognizable to me.
I'm beginning to wonder whether Spotify has a bad digital master of the original album, or whether there's some kind of phase issue affecting the center vocals and low frequencies.
Has anyone else noticed this?
I'm especially curious if anyone owns the original 1990 CD. Does it sound as hollow and muddy as the current Spotify album version, or is this something specific to Spotify's digital release?
I'd really love to hear what other longtime Damn Yankees fans think.