Tina Turner – Private Dancer

I normally use the stars to rate my particular copy of an old vinyl record, but in this case it reflects over 40 years of ownership from the time it was new, and its ability to stand up to anything and everything I've thrown at it. Even now, it sounds phenomenal, having been played on all manner of rigs with suspicious styli and stored in less than favorable conditions as I've moved from one place to another and gone through ups and downs of vinyl enthusiasm. I've probably played this record at least 100 times over its lifetime and it sounds as good now as it did brand new. If you can get one of these in good condition used, do not hesitate.

Thought “pearl colored vinyl” would just mean white vinyl so I was really surprised to pull out this beauty. Was very excited to throw it on the turntable only to be a bit let down. It doesn’t sound bad, but not particularly great either. Just kinda ok. It’s serviceable, I’m not scrambling to get another pressing anytime soon, but I feel like an album like this def deserves better for its 40th anniversary. Especially given the price, I’d go for an original which I’m sure will blow this out of the water and can be found for much cheaper

Sounds way better than a later edition which I reviewed earlier here: Tina Turner - Private Dancer

This one is warm, clear and frankly perfect to my ears as far as CD copies go.

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Analyzed folder: C:\Audio Work\Private Dancer early CD\
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DR Peak RMS Filename
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DR12 -1.69 dB -15.41 dB 01 Tina Turner - I Might Have Been Queen.wav
DR13 -0.20 dB -16.29 dB 02 Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It.wav
DR13 -2.38 dB -17.00 dB 03 Tina Turner - Show Some Respect.wav
DR13 -3.16 dB -18.60 dB 04 Tina Turner - I Can't Stand The Rain.wav
DR14 over -17.49 dB 05 Tina Turner - Private Dancer.wav
DR10 -3.31 dB -15.88 dB 06 Tina Turner - Let's Stay Together.wav
DR13 -0.95 dB -16.68 dB 07 Tina Turner - Better Be Good To Me.wav
DR12 over -13.01 dB 08 Tina Turner - Steel Claw.wav
DR14 -3.59 dB -20.29 dB 09 Tina Turner - Help.wav
DR12 -2.96 dB -17.95 dB 10 Tina Turner - 1984.wav
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Number of files: 10
Official DR value: DR13

Note that the two tracks which go 'over' here.. guess that means they clip a bit, are the same two tracks which have compression/limiting applied on that later version. Overall DR average isn't much different, but Steel Claw sure is.. from 12 here down to 9 on that inferior version. And the title track, while being 'over' has a DR of 14! It sure sounds pretty here too.

Got this today as a cheap backup for my original, which has nice low volumes and full dynamics and sounds wonderful. This one must be a much later reissue... technically it's definitely a remaster as 8 tracks are raised to the maximum without being compressed, except for Private Dancer itself which is compressed for the louder parts and Steel Claw is heavily compressed, looks like a modern brick-wall job. Capitol were early adopters of such nonsense and without labeling them as remasters.Oddly though, when I run an analysis it's got a DR of 12 and 'Steel Claw' at 9, which is decent by today's standards.

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Analyzed folder: C:\Audio Work\Private Dancer CRC\
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DR Peak RMS Filename
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DR11 -0.20 dB -12.99 dB 01 Tina Turner - I Might Have Been Queen.wav
DR12 -0.20 dB -13.93 dB 02 Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It.wav
DR13 -0.20 dB -14.58 dB 03 Tina Turner - Show Some Respect.wav
DR13 -0.54 dB -15.98 dB 04 Tina Turner - I Can't Stand The Rain.wav
DR12 -0.20 dB -15.07 dB 05 Tina Turner - Private Dancer.wav
DR10 -0.89 dB -13.46 dB 06 Tina Turner - Let's Stay Together.wav
DR12 -0.20 dB -14.30 dB 07 Tina Turner - Better Be Good To Me.wav
DR9 -0.20 dB -10.39 dB 08 Tina Turner - Steel Claw.wav
DR14 -0.97 dB -17.65 dB 09 Tina Turner - Help.wav
DR12 -0.54 dB -15.53 dB 10 Tina Turner - 1984.wav
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Number of files: 10
Official DR value: DR12

As for sound quality itself, 'Queen' always sounds muddy so hard to tell a difference, 'What's Love' sounds a bit dull, not as clear as my early version. 'Respect' definitely missing some high end. I wonder if they applied some NR when they maximized the volume. Damn. Title track sounds nice though, so it's uneven mastering. I don't know who's to blame for this. I suspect it's Capitol and not Columbia House. Awhile back I set out to get a nice early copy of 'Double Fantasy' "before it was remastered" and got a Capitol version first, which had tracks up to 100% and compression. Carried the same "CDD pre-mastering by" credit as the Geffen version which I got next, which was way quieter and more dynamic, and sounded better in my opinion. I think Capitol was the first to start maximizing volume, and did it without noting that the mastering had changed.

If you actually read this, you may be wondering then, what version is my early copy. It is Tina Turner - Private Dancer variation 4, with S 1-5-6 CAPITOL JAX

I have to say I am really disappointed with this re-issue. The cover looks horrible (as if they scanned the original cover and then printed it on an inkjet). The vinyl itself also looks much different than the preview / advertising picture. I am aware that these pictures are mock-ups but it'd be nice if they looked at least similar, so customers know what they can expect. I am not saying the vinyl looks bad it just looks VERY different from the previews. The cover however really does not look good.

So, I was hoping that this re-issue sounded as good as it looked. Quite disappointed.

* Very low level recording. Need to crank the volume up for a decent sound.
* Flat, lifeless tone. No punch, no sparkle.
* Has crackles upon first play, but most likely due to stactic.
* Jacket is a matte finish. This should've been glossy.

I have the original pressing and this one doesn't hold a candle to it. It's sad that companies churn these out without consideration to the artist's original intention. If you are going to do an anniversary edition of anything, would expect top notch quality for the price paid.

Will keep it for aesthetics, but I doubt I'd listen to this very often.

Is it really that bad? Someone already give it a listen? The vinyl looks nice. But when the quality is bad I stick to my 80s copy!

CD2-11 is indeed the full 7:45 "Extended Remix", where previous editions have used a 7:03 edit

CD3-3 is an instrumental using the 'Alternative Radio Mix' as its basis but goes to a cold ending instead of fading out. The name indicates that this would have been a backing track for TV appearances with a live vocal from Tina.
CD3-4 while listed as a 'Dub Mix' is a full instrumental which follows the album mix except for some high hat sounds for the intro and a longer fade out
CD3-5 is the standard single edit but with the lyric "American Express" changed to "A few pounds Sterling"
CD3-8 is the single edit
CD3-9 is the single version which is edited and slightly remixed
CD3-10 is the soundtrack album version, not extended or remixed

Blu-ray audio is PCM 48/24 for all content
Video is 1080i
BD-17 audio has been altered from its original, now seems a hybrid of the video version and the aforementioned 'Extended Remix"

Don't waste your money and find an original - it's still available in abundance and sounds much better (uncompressed, dynamic etc.). Those reissues are a sad shadow of those cheap 1st pressings.

Quite a dynamic sound with a beautiful pressing. No complaints other than I wish there were a disc 2 with the B-sides and new track.