Search - Original Soundtrack, Amazing Spider-Man a Rockomic :: From Beyond the Grave

5 stars for content, 3 for "remastering"

MilkMad | 09/08/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It seems as though no attempt was made to remaster this material. This was clearly taken from a vinyl source rather than the master tapes. The result is quite poor... shrill highs, no lows and lots of pops and cracks. I've heard a few fan-created CDs of this material over the years... almost ALL of them have sounded better than this "official" release.



It's worth noting that, while not perfect, it is absolutely fantastic to be able to own this again, especially at such a low price point.



The four songs featured throughout the story are surely dated, but that only adds to the nostalgic charm of this release. The musicians and singers are top-drawer, despite the silly lyrics being delivered. The story is compelling enough to override the 70's pop. It is a retelling of Spider-Man's origin within the framework of a kidnapping caper. The Kingpin is a the main villain and Doctor Strange is also present. This story has a much harder edge than most kids' albums of the time. The material could prove to be a bit too scary for some youngster. The voice actors do a fantastic job from start to finish.



Recommended without reservations despite the terrible "remastering". It's essentially a low-grade vinyl rip of a really fun and well-produced album. It will appeal primarily to the nostalgia crowd, but today's kids would probably get sucked into the story as well. An essential purchase at below $2.00."

Download, do not buy physical product! Not an audio CD!

NazzNimrod | 11/16/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I had this on vinyl when I was a kid and the songs are still stuck in my head to this day. Despite the fact that its a kids album with narration and songs, this is a surprisingly mature storyline. My problem is not with the content (although the remastering IS terrible and sounds like it was done from vinyl without any noise reduction), but rather with the format.



This is NOT a ordinary factory-made audio CD. It's a burned CD-R containing audio files in a format I don't recognize - and even worse, my CD players don't recognize it, nor does my mac, so I can't copy it to iTunes. I eventually got it to play on one computer, but again, it can't be ripped. So do you want to pay $15+ for a volatile burned disc you'll struggle to play, or do you want to download the two tracks that comprise the whole album for $1.98?



The artwork (which was magnificent on the original album) is minimal here, with the great centerspread artwork fully deleted, making this even more of a disappointment.



Tragic that this project was so poorly handled when it could easily have been much, much better with minimal effort. A huge letdown.



Amazon should revise the description of this item so that future buyers won't have the same problem."