Note: I’m listening to the 1998 EMI remasters, and this is the first album I’ve had a problem with – the remastering is brickwalled to death and is truly, truly horrible, it’s a screech of clipped cymbals and actively hurt my ears. I wish I’d still got the original 1988 CD to compare it to. I note the booklet doesn’t include any remastering credits, all the albums so far have, but after this they don’t. This version is all but unlistenable - Does anyone know if the new remaster is any better?
I've got Somewhere on Time on vinyl (and I think it's one of the earlier pressings, i.e., not a "new because vinyl is cool again" press). And I also have Number of the Beast on vinyl (a recent re-issue). Both albums sound superb, much better than those remastered CDs which were my first exposure in the 00s.
Not that the CDs were bad... I suspect they were being remastered and compressed to sound good on headphones, but everything does sound squashed. The biggest giveaway is the drums - seems like a lot of life was sapped out of them in those CD remasters. Listening to the vinyl loudly on my stereo system is awesome, I hear so much detail I never heard before.
Anyway, I like both. Those CDs were perfect for a new kid trying to hear the music over a loud school bus, especially with all the linear notes and pictures. The vinyls are great for a guy who just wants to play them loud in the living room on the weekends.