#24 karat

Queensrÿche:Empire (24 Karat Gold Disc)

© 2000 EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets/DCC Compact Classics

So good I had to buy it twice… or was it? If you’re not familiar with these gold C.D.’s, they’re essentially remasters by Steve Hoffman but done “right” There were certain qualifications to which album would get a gold remaster. I believe one requirement was it had have gone gold or platinum in terms of sales. These were marketed towards Audiophiles and the gold on the disc meant that the laser would read the information more accurately. They were also marketed as having outstanding quality that one could hear without the use of an expensive audio system. They have since been out of print and they command ridiculous prices on eBay. I bought mine at a yard sale for 10 dollars not knowing or caring about the actual sound quality.

What it comes down to is the actual mastering. I own the original as well as the 2003 remastered version of Empire and I’ll be honest, this one is much better. But does it triumph over the original? It’s hard to say. This release does sound much cleanerand I thoroughly enjoyed it. I still wouldn’t pay the large sum of money that some of these releases command online. Gold or not it’s ludicrous. Do not let my opinion deter you however as I am only talking about this particular release. There are other gold discs out that have superior remastering over their original releases such as the Creedence Clear Water Revival sets (for all you CCR fans) and if your are very much into high quality audio then these might be something to look out for in the future.

• —-Personal Album Rating—-
•     9 out of 10(Sexy!)
• —-Audio Quality—-
•     Exceptional
• —-Recommendable?—-
•     Debatable