A Bigger Bang on 180g Vinyl – How the 2016 Reissue Fixed the CD’s Loudness Problem

The Rolling Stones’ 2005 album A Bigger Bang was a victim of the loudness wars when it first hit CD, squashing the life out of what was actually a surprisingly raw and dynamic record. The 180-gram vinyl reissue (cut by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering and pressed at QRP) went back to the original analog tapes, restoring headroom and transient punch. Audiophiles immediately noticed that Keith Richards’ guitar grit and Charlie Watts’ snare attacks had air around them again, while the CD’s brickwalled midrange melted everything into a fatiguing blur.

The track that benefits most is “Streets of Love.” On the CD, the delicate piano-and-string opening fights to breathe against the slammed mix; on vinyl, the quiet verses unfold naturally, and when the drum fill kicks in, the dynamic swing sounds like a real band in a room instead of a compressed waveform. “Laugh, I Nearly Died” also gains drama from the