After “Les mots” in 2001 and “2001-2011”, Mylène Farmer releases his third compilation.
Available as a CD or vinyl box set, it contains 52 songs. A mix of live concert songs (16 tracks) or studio songs.

In ten days, “Histoires de” was certified gold record for 50,000 sales, then within two months platinum record for 100,000 sales (in France).

Then, Mylène followed a string of successes, her first album, Cendres de lune, was released in 1986 and the famous “Ainsi soit je…”, Mylène Farmer’s second studio album, released in April 1988. Then there will be :

L’Autre… (1991), Anamorphosée (1995), Innamoramento (1999), Avant que l’ombre… (2005), Point de suture (2008),
Bleu noir (2010), Monkey Me(2012), Interstellaires (2015), Désobéissance (2018).

With 11 studio albums, 7 live albums, 5 compilation albums or remixes, Mylène Farmer has sold more than 16 million albums.

Technical:

• Mastered At La Villa by André Perriat, Jeremy Henry

This album includes 52 tracks : 

1. Libertine (live Lyon 2009)
2. Sans logique (live 2019)
3. Sans contrefaçon (live Lyon 2009)
4. Ainsi soit je (live Lyon 2009)
5. Pourvu qu’elles soient douces (live 2019)
6. Je t’aime mélancolie (live Lyon 2013)
7. Regrets (live Paris 1999)
8. Désenchantée (live Lyon 2013)
9. Beyond My Control (live Paris 1999)
10. XXL (live Paris 2006)
11. California (live Paris 2006)
12. Rêver (live Lyon 2009)
13. Comme j’ai mal (live Lyon 2013)
14. L’Instant X (live Paris 2009)
15. Mad World (Timeless 2013 live)
16. Diabolique mon ange (Timeless 2013 live)
17. Innamoramento
18. L’âme-stram-gram
19. Souviens-toi Du Jour
20. Optimistique-moi
21. Je te rends ton amour
22. C’est une belle journée
23. Les Mots
24. Fuck Them All
25. L’amour n’est rien…
26. Avant que l’ombre…
27. Q.I.
28. Redonne-moi
29. Dégénération (radio edit)
30. C’est dans l’air (radio edit)
31. Appelle mon numéro
32. Si j’avais au moins…
33. Oui mais… non
34. Bleu noir
35. M’effondre
36. Lonely Lisa
37. Du temps
38. à force de…
39. Monkey Me
40. à l’ombre
41. Je te dis tout
42. Interstellaires
43. Stolen Car
44. City of Love
45. Un jour ou l’autre
46. Rolling Stone
47. N’oublie pas
48. Désobéissance
49. Sentimentale
50. Des larmes
51. Histoires de fesses
52. L’âme dans l’eau

We will review 3 editions (Vinyl 2021, CD 2020, Streaming) of this album.

First we will analyze each edition in detail (technical and qualitative analysis) then we will compare the successive editions with their dynamics and assign a final score and you will be able to listen some samples.

Summary

Review of the editions:

Ed1 : Vinyl Stuffed Monkey ‎– 19439837921 (2021)

Ed2 : CD Stuffed Monkey ‎– 19439837432 (2020)

Ed3 : Streaming Amazon HD Album, Stereo (2020)

Analyse of dynamic

Notation/Rating/Samples

Ed1 : Vinyl Stuffed Monkey ‎– 19439837921 (2021)

Presentation

It’s a superb box set with 6 vinyl records and a 24-page booklet. Everything is very well finished with superb graphics.
It’s a deluxe collector’s item.

Label	Stuffed Monkey
Reference	19439837432
Format (speed)	6 x vinyl
Type	Box set Best Of Studio & Live, Edition collector
Master	Digital
Mastering/Pressing	Mastered At  La Villa by André Perriat, Jeremy Henry
Original recording	Digital (Analogic)
State	EU
Year original	2020
Year production	2021

Waveform

The 3 waveforms represent :

• the Side A, B, C and D of the album
• the Side E, F, G and H of the album
• the Side I, J, K and L of the album

The graph clearly shows the differences in levels and thus in dynamics for this track. You can clearly see the differences in volume and musical instruments impact.

Spectrum

The Spectrum allows to check the tonal balance of the music (balance between treble, medium and bass sounds) and to detect process that may have been carried out during the recording, the mixing, mastering or manufacturing phases. It is also possible to detect frequency interference issues.

The curve represents the average frequency distribution over the track 4 Ainsi soit je (live Lyon 2009), with a DR12 for Vinyl and CD. Interesting characteristics on this curve are:

1.      The spectrum between the two versions is similar, except above 10 kHz, where the vinyl has more treble than the CD (in the green zone).

2.      It is a little collapse in the signal level after 22 kHz  (Yellow), normal for a master in 44.1 kHz.

Spectrogram

Spectrogram is another representation of frequency versus time of a track. For each channel (right and left), horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents frequency. The amplitude is represented by the intensity (brightness) of the color of each point in the image.

The 3 sprectrogram represent :

• the Side A, B, C and D of the album
• the Side E, F, G and H of the album
• the Side I, J, K and L of the album

The yellow zones represent the collapse at 22 kHz  (in Yellow in the previous graph).

Ed2 : CD Stuffed Monkey ‎– 19439837432 (2020)

Presentation

It’s a superb box set with 3 CD is included in a super book. Everything is very well finished with superb graphics.
It’s a deluxe CD collector’s item.

Label	Stuffed Monkey
Reference	19439837432
Format (speed)	3 × CD, 16/44.1
Type	Box set Best Of Studio & Live, Edition collector
Master	Digital
Mastering/Pressing	Mastered At  La Villa by André Perriat, Jeremy Henry
Original recording	Digital (Analogic)
State	EU
Year original	2020
Year production	2020

Waveform

The 3 waveforms represent :

• the CD 1 of the album
• the CD 2 of the album
• the CD 3 of the album

You can see in red that the music is compressed with an almost totally flat max level for all the tracks. Except for 3 tracks on CD 1.

The numbers 1, 2 and 3 of CD 1 correspond to tracks “Ainsi soit je (live Lyon 2009)”, “Rêver (live Lyon 2009)” and “Mad World” with DR12, DR13 and DR15. It is a regret that the whole album is not treated with the same dynamic way as these three tracks.

Spectrum

The Spectrum allows to check the tonal balance of the music (balance between treble, medium and bass sounds) and to detect process that may have been carried out during the recording, the mixing, mastering or manufacturing phases. It is also possible to detect frequency interference issues.

The curve represents the average frequency distribution over the track 8 Désenchantée (live Lyon 2013), with a DR11 for Vinyl and DR7 for CD. Interesting characteristics on this curve are:

1. The spectrum between the two versions is similar, except above 10 kHz, where the vinyl has more treble than the CD (in the green zone).
2. It is a collapse in the signal level after 22 kHz (Yellow), normal for a CD in 44.1 kHz.
3. In blue, the bass sound level is a little louder on the CD.

Spectrogram

Spectrogram is another representation of frequency versus time of a track. For each channel (right and left), horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents frequency. The amplitude is represented by the intensity (brightness) of the color of each point in the image.

The 3 sprectrogram represent :

• the CD 1 of the album
• the CD 2 of the album
• the CD 3 of the album

The yellow zones represent the normal collapse at 22 kHz  (in Yellow in the previous graph) of the CD.The black part shows no signal above 22kHz.

Ed3 : Streaming Amazon HD Album, Stereo (2020)

Presentation

No box set in streaming version.

Label	Stuffed Monkey
Reference	Streaming Amazon Music HD
Format (speed)	16/44.1, and 24/44.1(Track 48,49,50,52), 24/48(Track 46), 24/96kHz(Track 2,5,47,51)
Type	Streaming
Master	Digital 16/44.1kHz, and 24/44.1, 24/48, 24/96kHz for some titles
Mastering/Pressing	Mastered At  La Villa by André Perriat, Jeremy Henry
Original recording	Digital (Analogic)
State	EU
Year original	2020
Year production	2020

Waveform

The 3 waveforms represent :

• cut according to CD1 of the album
• cut according to CD 2 of the album
• cut according to CD 3 of the album

Like the CD, you can see in red that the music is compressed with an almost totally flat max level for all the tracks. Except for 3 tracks on eq CD 1.

The numbers 1, 2 and 3 of CD 1 correspond to tracks “Ainsi soit je (live Lyon 2009)”, “Rêver (live Lyon 2009)” and “Mad World” with DR12, DR13 and DR15. It is a regret that the whole album is not treated with the same dynamic way as these three tracks.

Spectrum

The Spectrum allows to check the tonal balance of the music (balance between treble, medium and bass sounds) and to detect process that may have been carried out during the recording, the mixing, mastering or manufacturing phases. It is also possible to detect frequency interference issues.

The curve represents the average frequency distribution over the track 8 Désenchantée (live Lyon 2013). Interesting characteristic on this curve is that the spectrum between the two versions is identical.

Spectrogram

Spectrogram is another representation of frequency versus time of a track. For each channel (right and left), horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents frequency. The amplitude is represented by the intensity (brightness) of the color of each point in the image.

The 3 sprectrogram represent :

• cut according to CD1 of the album
• cut according to CD 2 of the album
• cut according to CD 3 of the album

The black part shows no signal above 22kHz (track in 44.1 kHz sampling), with 2 exeptions Track 2 “Sans logique (live 2019)” and 5 “Pourvu qu’elles soient douces (live 2019)” in 24/96 Khz (marked Ultra HD at Amazon Music).

The black part shows no signal above 22kHz (track in 44.1 kHz sampling), with 2 exeptions Track 46 “Rolling Stone” (24/48), Track 47 “N’oublie pas” (24/96), Track 48 “Désobéissance” (24/44.1), Track 49 “Sentimentale” (24/44.1), Track 50 “Des larmes” (24/44.1), Track 51 “Histoires de fesses” (24/96), and “L’Âme dans l’eau” Track 52 (24/44.1) marked Ultra HD at Amazon Music.

Dynamic

Dynamic represents the ability to reproduce a wide range of sounds from the softest to the loudest. For the 3 editions Dynamic Range (DR) is as follow:

	ED1 Vinyl	Ed2 CD	Ed3 Streaming Amazon
DR Global	DR11	DR7	DR7
DR min	DR9	DR4	DR4
DR max	DR15	DR15	DR15
Libertine (live Lyon 2009)	DR12	DR7	DR7
Sans logique (live 2019)	DR13	DR7	DR7
Sans contrefaçon (live Lyon 2009)	DR12	DR7	DR7
Ainsi soit je (live Lyon 2009)	DR12	DR12	DR12
Pourvu qu’elles soient douces (live 2019)	DR13	DR7	DR5
Je t’aime mélancolie (live Lyon 2013)	DR14	DR8	DR8
Regrets (live Paris 1999)	DR11	DR7	DR7
Désenchantée (live Lyon 2013)	DR11	DR7	DR7
Beyond My Control (live Paris 1999)	DR12	DR7	DR8
XXL (live Paris 2006)	DR11	DR7	DR7
California (live Paris 2006)	DR12	DR7	DR7
Rêver (live Lyon 2009)	DR13	DR13	DR13
Comme j’ai mal (live Lyon 2013)	DR12	DR7	DR7
L’Instant X (live Paris 2009)	DR12	DR7	DR7
Mad World	DR15	DR15	DR15
Diabolique mon ange (Timeless 2013 live)	DR13	DR8	DR8
Innamoramento	DR11	DR7	DR7
L’âme-stram-gram	DR11	DR7	DR7
Souviens-toi Du Jour	DR12	DR8	DR8
Optimistique-moi	DR11	DR8	DR8
Je te rends ton amour	DR10	DR7	DR7
C’est une belle journée	DR11	DR6	DR7
Les Mots	DR11	DR8	DR8
Fuck Them All	DR11	DR6	DR7
L’amour n’est rien…	DR11	DR6	DR7
Avant que l’ombre…	DR11	DR6	DR7
Q.I.	DR10	DR5	DR7
Redonne-moi	DR10	DR7	DR8
Dégénération (radio edit)	DR11	DR4	DR4
C’est dans l’air (radio edit)	DR10	DR5	DR6
Appelle mon numéro	DR12	DR7	DR7
Si j’avais au moins…	DR10	DR6	DR6
Oui mais… non	DR11	DR6	DR6
Bleu noir	DR10	DR5	DR5
M’effondre	DR11	DR5	DR5
Lonely Lisa	DR11	DR5	DR5
Du temps	DR10	DR5	DR6
à force de…	DR10	DR5	DR5
Monkey Me	DR11	DR5	DR5
à l’ombre	DR9	DR5	DR5
Je te dis tout	DR10	DR5	DR5
Interstellaires	DR11	DR6	DR6
Stolen Car	DR10	DR5	DR6
City of Love	DR11	DR6	DR6
Un jour ou l’autre	DR11	DR7	DR7
Rolling Stone	DR11	DR6	DR6
N’oublie pas	DR9	DR4	DR4
Désobéissance	DR10	DR5	DR5
Sentimentale	DR10	DR4	DR4
Des larmes	DR10	DR6	DR6
Histoires de fesses	DR10	DR5	DR5
L’âme dans l’eau	DR10	DR5	DR5

The DRs vary globally from 9 to 15 for the vinyl with a average of 11, which is a good dynamic.
For the CD and streaming Amazon, the DRs vary globally from 4 to 8 for 49 tracks, and 3 exceptions with 12,13,15. the average is 7, which corresponds to a compressed album. It is in the current tendency unfortunately.
As it is a compilation, we can compare the DR to the original albums (in CD Format). Here are a few examples:

• Sans contrefaçon in « No 5 on Tour » DR8 (DR7 in Histoires de)
• Ainsi soit je… in « No 5 on Tour » DR13 (DR12 in Histoires de)
• Désenchantée in « Timeless 2013 » DR7 (DR7 in Histoires de)
• L’ Ame-Stram-Gram in “Innamoramento” DR7 (DR7 in Histoires de)
• Oui Mais… in « Bleu Noir » DR6 (DR6 in Histoires de)

The remastering is very similar or identical to the original DR in Vinyl. Most of the albums were already compressed.

A low DR deviation (1 or 2) may be due to compression or a different treble level. Indeed, an increase in trebles has the effect of accentuating the perception of dynamics during listening but also during measuring.
As a reminder, the scale goes from 0 to more 20, but the dynamics are considered good from 12, quite good between 10 and 11, and deteriorate below 10.

Notation/Rating/Samples:

The streaming versions may evolve over time, those presented here correspond to the version tested at the date of publication, or update of the review.

Ed1 : Vinyl Stuffed Monkey ‎– 19439837921 (2021)

It’s a very nice box with 6 vinyls, it’s a collector’s item for Mylène Farmer’s fans. The manufacturing is of great quality.
Vinyls are a very nice pressing, the sound is very dynamic with low surface noise.
The sound rendering is more natural than the cd, but without the “louder” effect of compression.
The sound balance is similar, but with a little more detail at the top of the spectrum.

• Ratting :
  • Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5/5)
  • Spectrum: ●●●●o (4/5)
  • Surface noise: ●●●●o (4/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●●o (4/5)

• Samples :
  • Sample 1 “Mad World” is an example of the maximum DR15 in the Vinyl
  • Sample 2 “Sentimentale” is an example DR10 in the Vinyl, to compare to the DR4 of the CD.

Ed2 : CD Stuffed Monkey ‎– 19439837432 (2020)

It is also a very nice boxed book, very well finished with 3 cd.
The CD is in the current standards of the “pop” music with a strong compression (except for 3 titles).
This gives more power to the sound, but loses all the finesse.
This was interesting for listening to headphones in transport, but now, with the noise reduction headphones that have become affordable, it is not necessary to compress so loudly.

• Rating :
  • Dynamic: ●●ooo (2/5)
  • Spectrum: ●●●●o (4/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●oo (3/5)

• Samples :
  • Sample 1 “Mad World” is an example of the maximum DR15 in the CD
  • Sample 2 “Sentimentale” is an example of the lower DR4 in the CD

Ed3 : Streaming Amazon HD Album, Stereo (2020)

In this version, there is not a superb box set but we have the album without compression. The music is more airy, more natural with more dynamics and nuances than on the CD.
It is a regret that the CD box set is not used the same master to propose a better musical rendering.Compared to vinyl, we find the same precision with a tighter bass in digital.

• Rating :
  • Dynamic: ●●ooo (2/5)
  • Spectrum: ●●●●o (4/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●oo (3/5)

• Samples :
  • Sample 1 “Mad World” is an example of the maximum DR15 (Streaming)
  • Sample 2 “Sentimentale” is an example of the lower DR9 (Streaming)

*The level has been adjusted to have the same RMS level for an easier comparison.

The choice between the 3 editions is rather in favor of the vinyl box which alone allows to have the box with an uncompressed sound.
For the digital version, the streaming version is better than the CD. We can only regret that the loudness continues on the CD, especially with such a beautiful CD box.

Updated the 06/14/2021 with Streaming Amazon

Detail of the ratings :

• Dynamic :
  1. Significant dynamic compression, DR less than 7
  2. Compression of the present dynamics, DR between 7 and 9.
  3. Correct piece DR >=10
  4. No dynamic compression (DR >12), dynamic rendering
  5. No dynamic compression, high DR and very dynamic sound rendering
• Spectrum :
  1. Spectrum cut and less than 15 khz
  2. Spectrum cut at 15 khz
  3. Spectrum not conforming to the original and cut (not HD) or original but limited bandwidth (but less than 20 kHz)
  4. Spectrum conforming to the original (but not HD)
  5. Spectrum conforming to the original with HD resolution (higher than 24kHz)
• Surface noise (only for vinyl):
  1. Continuous audible noise
  2. Audible surface noise except on passages with a high level of noise
  3. Reduced surface noise, barely audible on low level crossings
  4. Low surface noise, very good quality
  5. Very low surface noise, no defects, almost inaudible on the quiet passages (exceptional disc)
• Restitution :
  1. Low quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  2. Average quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  3. Quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Good record.
  4. High quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Very high level disc.
  5. Maximum quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Exceptional disc.

---