Nimrod marked something of a return to form for Green Day after the disappointing sales of its predecessor Insomniac, which lacked the memorably catchy, radio-friendly appeal and wit of their breakthrough album Dookie. It's a better album which displays growth in lyrical maturity and songwriting over its two predecessors without at all losing sight of the juvenile humor that made the band catch fire in the mid 1990s. Nimrod was one of a few thousand CD titles encoded using a process known as High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD), which aimed to improve dynamic range when played back on compatible equipment. How does the HDCD decoded version compare to the regular, non-decoded version that most listeners will be familiar with?
Note: The HDCD decoded waveforms have been individually normalized to allow for a more accurate comparison of each song with its standard CD version.
Nice Guys Finish Last
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Hitchin' a Ride
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
The Grouch
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Redundant
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Scattered
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
All the Time
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Worry Rock
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Platypus (I Hate You)
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Uptight
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Last Ride In
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Jinx / Haushinka
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Walking Alone
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Reject
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Take Back
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
King for a Day
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Prosthetic Head
Regular CD version
HDCD decoded
Comparison of "Worry Rock"
A comparison of the decoded and regular versions using volume matched samples. Click or tap the image to toggle.
And the winner is:HDCD decoded release. Every little bit helps, and the decoded HDCD version has a better, more extended dynamic range than the regular, non-decoded version. Finding a machine capable of playing HDCD encoded discs to their full potential can be somewhat tricky, so you might be better off using Windows Media Player 9 or later on your PC, or a little command line utility called hdcd.exe. It's a shame HDCD encoded discs never really caught on. If we can't have properly mastered CDs, we could at least have the option of improved sound quality.
