Oasis - Headshrinker (Dynamic Edit)

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Description

This is what I like to call a ‘dynamic edit’ of “Headshrinker” by Oasis! On the heels of a remastered release of _The Masterplan_ coming out next month, I thought it would be fitting to try and make its original release sound better as well! Like all of Oasis’s albums, _The Masterplan_ faces a heavy amount of dynamic range compression (not to be confused with data compression, which concerns MP3s and such) in its mastering, which, when used in excess, can make music fatiguing to listen to over time and sometimes result in audible distortion. In this, I attempt to undo that mastering compression and resulting distortion, making the music more dynamic and hopefully, more listenable!

For those not in the know, the Loudness War is a phenomenon beginning in the mid-90s onward, in which music was mastered louder and louder, with the underlying reasoning being that louder music sounds better, and thus, should sell better. As with any medium, however, there is a peak loudness a signal can reach, so dynamic range compression (which makes the louder parts of the signal quieter while keeping the quiet parts the same loudness) and sometimes even clipping (attempting to make a signal louder than maximum loudness) were used to make music as loud as possible.

The issue with this is that overuse of dynamic range compression and clipping can make music fatiguing to listen to, and sometimes even audibly distorted. Additionally, clipping, poor compressors, or overuse of compressors can result in artifacts such as hiss or crackle being audible atop the signal. In fact, many present the mastering of _(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?_ as a jump-the-shark moment in regards to dynamic range compression in mastering and distortion that resulted from it. In the case of this compilation, I noticed a sizable amount of crackle all over the end of “The Swamp Song”, as well as some crackle over the vocals of “Going Nowhere” and on the guitars of “Acquiesce”. Overall, the mastering is not nearly as distorted as their _(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?_ or _Be Here Now_ albums, but it is nevertheless heavily compressed.

I attempted to undo the album’s heavy dynamic range compression with a program called “Perfect Declipper”, which can not only affect clipping, but other types of compression found in mastering as well! As such, I was able to undo the distortion in “The Swamp Song”, “Going Nowhere”, and “Acquiesce” that I noted, as well as make the album as a whole more dynamic! Through this process, I was able to bring the dynamic range of the album overall from 6 to 11, which hopefully makes it more listenable!

It’s important to note that the dynamics are not being restored with the “Perfect Declipper” program that I use, but rather, they are being approximated. While one may not be able to “declip” an album as one would be unable to “unbake a cake”, I find the results here to be a convincible attempt at doing so. Only in the most extreme examples have I heard the program produce odd artifacts that would appear unintended in the album’s mix.

I also want to make clear that dynamic range compression is not an inherently bad thing. It can tighten up performances, add grit, and help remove dynamic outliers that would take you out of the mix. Additionally, mastering engineers are often underneath the implicit and explicit pressures of artists and record labels to master albums loudly, so the results of mastering may not necessarily reflect a mastering engineer’s intentions for how they wanted an album to sound. Also, whether my edits sound better than the original release is up to what the listener thinks!

I produce many more dynamic edits on this channel as well as further descriptions in posts over on Reddit! You can look at this for a full list of the albums I’ve done: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1975IIQohEqbV-iZOSCWD0Cupbk0kGn3l5MgzB_ZCwQ8

If you like my work, consider donating to me on Ko-fi! I prioritize suggestions for $15, but any amount donated is appreciated! https://ko-fi.com/dynamiceditor