Mercury Records cd: 45's on CD Vol 3( 66-69)

[Dr. Winston]

Anyone else have this?-- a neat compilation of miscellaneous 45's from the vaults of the Mercury/Smash/Philips/Fontana/MGM/and Verve labels including Keith, Blues Magoos, Troggs, Blue Cheer, Cowsills, Steam among others. Little to no background hiss. Mastered by Dennis Drake in 1988-Polygram Studios--supposedly used the original master tapes--The songs from Vol 1 and 2 didn't interest me enough at the time and I never picked them up--but this volume kicks. Good dynamics, separation for what it is.

[Sckott]

Yep! Got 1&3. Steve himself talked about this compilation, and raved about it as well.

The radio station I worked for had DJ's who were mainly mainstream fans, but got gooey over this set and the DCC Toga Rock(s).

The Mercury/Smash/Verve compilation CDs are prime cut, very ahead of thier time, especially for the price it went for (9.99-11.99 USD)

[ October 13, 2001: Message edited by: Sckott ]

[Grant]

Excellent CD's. I have them both.

[FabFourFan]

I have #2. It seemed to be the only place to get Dire Straits' Twisting By The Pool.

[Pat]

Twistin' By the Pool On VolumeII??? That was indeed a rarity during '60-'66! Seriously, that was a great companion set to Steve's wonderful Vintage Music series. I picked up all 3 (there were only 3, right?) in the 45s On CD series on Polygram when they originally came out in 1987-88.

Hey Steve H., how 'bout continuing with another series in the same genre?! ;)

[Larry Naramore]

Originally posted by Sckott:
Yep! Got 1&3. Steve himself talked about this compilation, and raved about it as well.

Sckott- Vol ll is a must have for "Ride Away" by Roy Orbison. One of them there sonic mindblowers

[FabFourFan]

Originally posted by Pat:
Twistin' By the Pool On VolumeII??? That was indeed a rarity during '60-'66! ... I picked up all 3 (there were only 3, right?) in the 45s On CD series on Polygram when they originally came out in 1987-88.

I guess that my Vol 2 is from a different series. It is titled HITS ON C.D., Volume 2, Mercury 822 843-2, Made In W.Germany By Polygram, 1984. It is decent sounding but not startling, which made me wonder why it got recommended - but it wasn't being recommended at all, was it!! Sorry!

[Unknown]

I hate it when people "gush" over a CD and don't give the label name & # and where you can buy it.....sooooo, I'll do the honors!

There were only 3 volumes in the *original* issue of the series: "45's ON CD", which are now out-of-print. All 3 volumes were:
1] produced by Tim Rogers and mastered by Dennis Drake.
2] contained 16 songs on each CD
3] on the Mercury/Polygram label

They were:
45's ON CD Volume 1 ('56-'59)
832041-2 [©1987]
45's ON CD Volume 2 ('60-'66)
816555-2 [©1987]
45's ON CD Volume 3 ('66-'69)
834216-2 [©1988]

WARNING!!! --- I'm almost positive there has been a more recent incarnation of this series with the same name: 45's ON CD. Each disc has FEWER songs and there is NO guarantee that they are using the same digital masters (although they *may* be). This newer reissue may even be spreading the (same?) songs over 5 discs.

I would suggest trying to find the originals in used CD stores or *perhaps* BMG Music Club - that's where I got my original 3 volumes, 4 years ago. The BMG order #'s are:
Volume 1 - 150044
Volume 2 - 134598
Volume 3 - 100029

Good luck!,
Bill

[FabFourFan]

Originally posted by billyboy:
I hate it when people "gush" over a CD and don't give the label name & # and where you can buy it.....sooooo, I'll do the honors!

There were only 3 volumes in the *original* issue of the series: "45's ON CD", which are now out-of-print. All 3 volumes were:
1] produced by Tim Rogers and mastered by Dennis Drake.
2] contained 16 songs on each CD
3] on the Mercury/Polygram label

They were:
45's ON CD Volume 1 ('56-'59)
832041-2 [©1987]
45's ON CD Volume 2 ('60-'66)
816555-2 [©1987]
45's ON CD Volume 3 ('66-'69)
834216-2 [©1988]

WARNING!!! --- I'm almost positive there has been a more recent incarnation of this series with the same name: 45's ON CD. Each disc has FEWER songs and there is NO guarantee that they are using the same digital masters (although they *may* be). This newer reissue may even be spreading the (same?) songs over 5 discs.

I would suggest trying to find the originals in used CD stores or *perhaps* BMG Music Club - that's where I got my original 3 volumes, 4 years ago. The BMG order #'s are:
Volume 1 - 150044
Volume 2 - 134598
Volume 3 - 100029

Good luck!,
Bill


Bill,

Thanks for the more specific information! I found Volume 1 BMG used today, and it is quite impressive. Can't wait to find the others!

[FabFourFan]

Originally posted by FabFourFan:
I found Volume 1 BMG used today, and it is quite impressive.

Now that I have had a chance to listen to my copy of this CD a little more closely, I am sort of puzzled.

There seems to be something 'unnatural' about the mono tracks on this cd - nearly all of them aren't exactly in mono!

Weird, huh? At first listen, I was startled (and impressed) by how 'BIG' some of the mono tracks sounded. Flying Purple People Eater, Chantilly Lace, and Handy Man, for example, all sounded great, but oddly 'FULL' sounding.

However, upon inspection, this 'fullness' seems to have been artificially added using echo and/or reverb, and it's present throughout the entire length of each track!

All I had to do was 'OOPS' (listen for difference between) the channels, which I was compelled to do once I got suspicious about the soundstage. If anyone else oops's these tracks, they should also be able to isolate the non-mono sounds.

So, yes, my copy of this cd sounds nice, but it is not a 'natural' as I expected it to be. Because I got this used, I don't know how old or new it is. Maybe there were better versions of this cd before?