Aimee Mann - The Discography - The Audiophile Reviews

[audioguy3107]

I haven't listened to this record is a long long time. This is Aimee Mann's first solo record after being the lead singer for the 80's band 'Til Tuesday know for their hit single "Voices Carry". While probably not known as the typical female vocalist, Mobile Fidelity did release audiophile versions of two of her later albums, "Bachelor No. 2" and "Lost In Space" which are now out of print and very expensive on the secondary market not to mention the hit "Save Me" from the popular Magnolia soundtrack. So does her debut album have anything to offer? We'll see.......

Aimee Mann - Whatever, 1993, Geffen Records
Review version - 1993 Redbook CD mastered by Bob Ludwig @ Masterdisk




From Wikipedia: Whatever is the first solo album by the American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released in 1993. "I've Had It" is one of the songs featured in Nick Hornby's book 31 Songs. The album, with special note for the song "4th of July", was included by Elvis Costello in his "Costello's 500" list for Vanity Fair. It has also been included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list. Whatever received mostly positive reviews from critics. Most praised her sense of melody and the wordplay of her lyrics, exemplified by Entertainment Weekly in "hooky songs" and "evocative lyrics". The Los Angeles Times reflected this by saying she "mixes words like a master, catching lifetimes of ache and Angst" in her songs.

1. I Should've Known - The first track is fairly congested with the guitars in the background behind her voice. The bass guitar is well represented and powerful, sound nice and full. Aimee's voice is centered nicely and fairly natural sounding but also pretty much you'd expect from a typical CD of these years. Not much air or space surrounding this recording so far. I will say the highs are pretty natural, not as harsh as your typical recent compressed releases, but nothing to really show off a high end system with this track.

2. Fifty Years After the Fair [DEMO] - Pleasantly surprised....the bass guitar sound EXCELLENT on this song....if you're system's low end is well balanced, smooth and without a whole lot of peaks and valleys, the bass line is strong, smooth and perfect....you can hear every note perfectly. This is a nice demo of a bass guitar recorded in the background of a mix.

3. 4th of July - Aimee's voice begins with only an acoustic guitar in accompaniment....it's further forward in the mix and sounds a bit bigger, more airy as well. Not up to the level of audiophile quality, but still sounds pretty good. One thing to listen for is when the drums kick in, they seem to appear far in the right background as she's on stage. You can hear this pretty easily.

6. Stupid Thing - This is a very nice mellow track, very smooth almost analog sounding.....the one thing about this track is the soundstage seems to bit quite a bit wider here than on the previous few tracks...there's also a nice guitar solo halfway through the song which sounds very natural. Nothing to really demo here but it is a nice sounding song start to finish.

7. Say Anything [DEMO} - This is a pretty good soundstage demo FWIW on an album like this......guitars reach well to each side of each speaker as well as some vocal effects throughout the song...the music flows very naturally and is filled in very nicely throughout the song. This is by far the most "analog" sounding song on the album so far. Imaging is decent too, but I'm impressed with how wide the soundstage is on this song. This is not bad.

9. Mr. Harris - Nice song......solo piano in the right channel as well as an oboe! and strings in the left channel. Her voice is nice, full and smooth but nothing to really get too excited about here but a nice relaxing song. Enjoyable to listen to.

10. I Could Hurt You Now - Really catchy tune here, always been my favorite song on this album, good deep bass throughout the track, Aimee's voice is very smooth and analog sounding on this song. Take a listen to this track and you'll get a pretty good feel for what Aimee Mann is all about on her earlier records.

11. I Know There's A Word [DEMO] - Probably the best demo track on this album so far, it begins fairly benign with only her voice and an acoustic guitar off to the left of her voice. Then the song kicks in and the bass guitar explodes out or the right channel and sounds amazing. It's more powerful here than on earlier songs and sounds excellent. Once again, strings make an appearance over in the left channel.

12. I've Had It [DEMO] - This is the most "atmospheric" song on this album, she does a duet which sound excellent centered right in the middle of the soundstage, drums, congas can be heard in the background. Aimee's voice sounds sublime, especially toward the end of the song. This is a good demo, especially for a standard pop CD without any audiophile pedigree. I could see this song played at an audio show for a demonstration if you don't want to hear the typical stuff.

This was an interesting listed, it's varied and holds your attention......it sounds like a typical pop record and then changes drastically with strings and other instruments making appearances throughout the record. Aimee Mann has a fairly unique voice which is pretty pleasing to listen to. The recording is pretty good for an early 90's CD. It's not going to blow you away with audiophile adjectives but sound pretty good from start to finish with a couple of very interesting moments along the way. I would definitely check out "I've Had It" for the most demo worthy song on this record. I'd be curious to see what this album would sound like on one of the online services...whether or not it's been compressed since the original CD sounds pretty good on its own.

Audiophile Rating: 5/10 (overall sonics)
Demo Rating: 30% 4/13 (number of cool demo tracks/tracks on album)

[2fastdriving]

I'm a big fan of hers. Bachelor no. 2 is the one to get. If I can find some time, I should review it. Buck, you're doing great with these reviews! I just have so little time.

[vegaracer1]

These reviews are great!

[audioguy3107]

Originally Posted by 2fastdriving

I'm a big fan of hers. Bachelor no. 2 is the one to get. If I can find some time, I should review it. Buck, you're doing great with these reviews! I just have so little time.

Thanks Marc, I’ll get there on Bachelor.......I’ve got the MOFI SACD for that one which sounds awesome but trying to stay in order!

- Buck

[2fastdriving]

Originally Posted by audioguy3107

Thanks Marc, I’ll get there on Bachelor.......I’ve got the MOFI SACD for that one which sounds awesome but trying to stay in order!

- Buck

Oh wow I don't have that. Now I have to find one.

[Humbuster]

Love “ I’m with stupid”, Magnolia.

Lost track of her for a while, however Mental Illness is superb.