Heart’s “Dreamboat Annie” was one of the first rock albums to be chosen for half-speed master issue, prior to the introduction of the compact disc, which killed the market for high-end audiophile vinyl. (Steely Dan may have been the first, but then, they were jazz musicians slumming as rock stars; they already had one foot in the door, as noted below.)
Before “DA”, the albums chosen were almost exclusively classical and jazz, not only because of the greater sophistication in harmonic progression, instrumentation, fidelity, and musicianship, but because those two genres tend to have a broader dynamic range than typical rock music. Thus the louds are louder, and the softs are softer. Such superior sound reproduction is largely wasted on a typical hard rock song, which typically has little dynamic variation.
“Dreamboat Annie” was exceptionally well produced and recorded, and Nancy’s classical background infused it with soft textures that contrasted richly with the hard ones of a group inspired by Led Zeppelin.
(Half-speed masters were ultra-virgin vinyl records produced from limited-run masters and cut at half speed. This produced deeper, cleaner, subtler, and more accurate grooves, with less signal noise. On a truly good stereo system they were awesome to hear. My favorites were the above album and Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours”.)
Interesting. Never knew that. Thanks.
Oh, golly, I just HAVE to jump in here!
“Dreamboat Annie” IS a well recorded / produced album, but, there were MANY other well recorded rock albums. For example, Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” is arguably better, including from the standpoint of the dynamic range on the original:
Source = http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=heart&album=dreamboat+annie
vs.
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=black+sabbath&album=paranoid
(I’m going to have to try to find that German release of Paranoid! The drumming toward the end of “Ironman” and in “Jack the Stripper / Fairies Wear Boots”, is both awesome, and awesomely recorded, and that’s just on my 1987 release CD. On a really good system, it sounds fantastic!)
Incidentally, Heart’s “Dog and Butterfly” is IMO slightly better recorded than Dreamboat Annie.
Now, you did say “typical”, and “typical” has become worse with the advent of the loudness wars. While not 100%, one can often follow the releases of an album with continuing popularity over the years, and watch the quality degrade. Although none of the releases are truly awful, Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” is a good example, excepting what appears to have been a specialty vinyl release in 2011:
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=fleetwood+mac&album=rumours
There is so much crap sound quality out there that it is truly appalling. Even an album you’d think might be half decent:
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=adele&album=19
(Note that the vinyl release of “19” is a little better than the CD, which is actually not unusual even for “modern recordings”. I would guess that the LP’s are targeted more toward discerning listeners, although there is so much wrong with “19’s” production that I don’t know if a little more dynamic range helps it much.)
Of note though... There HAS been some resurgence of the audiophile vinyl market.
Dynamic range is, of course, only one component of a good recording, but, it is often sort of a reverse “canary in the coal mine.” Using that Dynamic Range Database, I look for releases of albums I like, with high dynamic range ratings. Then I try to find them at a reasonable price. If I do, I am rarely disappointed...