How good are Australian-made remastered CDs?

[Ramesh Gill]

More specifically, remasters of Led Zep, Pink Floyd and ACDC as compared to US or European releases?

[Paul C.]

That's a bit of a tricky question to answer, because it depends on the label, how old the reissue is, etc. In general, things have improved somewhat here in Australia with reissues, but only for some of the labels. I'm referring here to the general standard of packaging and production - I can't comment on things like longevity of discs, number of erros on a disc, etc., although I'd assume that a remaster that is made here would usually be taken from an exact digital dub from the head office in the US or whereever.

A good example is Sony - they have a limited range of locally manufactured releases, and in recent years they have done well in terms of making their 20-bit or 24-bit remasters look exactly like the US versions. They even manage to get the "Made in Australia" bits of tiny text to blend in with the rest of the text on the back of the CD case, so sometimes you have to look hard to see where the CD originates from. The printing on the actual CD itself also matches closely the US version. The booklets seem identical to the US versions, and may well be imported from there. The only thing I have noticed with the Australian Sony CDs is that they omit the yellow stickers that are on all Sony reissues from the US. And sometimes the printing of the rear case inserts is not as sharp as i would like. Also, Australian-made CDs are rarely shrink-wrapped or covered in cellphane. I was a bit disappointed with the local copies of Miles Davis' "Live At the Fillmore" 2CD set - they completely left out the plasctic slipcase, which was an integral part of the package. BTW, none of the Miles multi-disc sets have been manufactured in Oz. So in all, Sony are doing OK in Australia.

As for other labels, some just don't bother with manfacture in Australia - eg. Verev and Blue Note. EMI does manufacture some things here, eg. some Sinatra CDs, but these are all old versions (ie. transfers done in the 80s).

For some labels, it's buyer beware. On another thread I think Sckott mentioned an Australian series of "Original Remasters" of stuff on Electra/Asylum, such as Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell, etc. These are cheap, but just old remasters, poorly packaged - they are not newly remastered, just the same masters that have been available in other countries, and in some cases long phased out. In the case of Joni, the HDCD remasters beat them hands down - the HDCD versions appear here occasionally as imports, and one or two might have started to be manufactured here.

My sister bought me a copy of Pink Floyd's "Piper At the Gates of Dawn". It's the remastered version (Doug Sax) with the additional graphics in the booklet etc., and sounds fine. This copy was made in Australia, and the booklet was nicely printed - but the CD itself did not have the groovy graphics printed on it, as with all of the other Floyd remasters. Just a plain silver disc with lousy typography. Not a major problem, but annoying nonetheless.

Haven't noticed any Led Zeppelin remasters made in Australia, although they could be out there. If so, they are pretty close to what is made in the US and Europe.

In general, I'm always happy to buy a remastered CD made in Europe, because they tend to do an excellent job of making the package identical to the original US issue - I'm thinking in particular of Blue Note and Verve. In fact, Verve CDs made in Europe are sometimes packaged better than the US versions, IMO - better card stock, and tougher plastic.

So, personally speaking, I always try to find an import copy of whatever I'm looking for, because the local Australia product may not always be up to scratch. Hope this helps.

[Ramesh Gill]

Thanks for your elaborate reply, Paul.

I too have noticed that the newer releases (Iced Earth, Slayer) have excellent sound quality and top class artwork on the sleeve and the discs themselves.

Whereas on the Dark Side Of The Moon, the artwork on the disc is in black & white whereas the imported versions are in color. It quite irritating all right.

Cheers...

[Vivaldinization]

Fascinatingly, the Easybeats reissues from Australia (pre-dating the Repertoire ones) apparently used all mono mixes...I've been trying to track down Friday On My Mind for ages for that exact reason.

I also just scored a version of Happy Together from the middle eighties, although I doubt it'll be different from the Sundazed reissue (and probably worse), it could end up being mono.

-D

[Cousin It]

Really good response,Paul.
Pretty much as I've found it to be.It's true that in the case of box sets ,special packaging the Australian companies just import the U.S versions,BMG was importing a hell of a lot of stuff,I found that the initial copies of the disc would come from the states and then the local branch would stuff printing it with fuzzier artwork etc..
As far as the Easybeats I don't think any of their Australian recorded stuff exists in anything but mono.The first 4 track machine didn't land in Australia until 1965 and the Easys were only a recording band here until mid'66 and then went O/S.They kicked off in Australia in Mar '65 with their first release.I know Friday On My Mind was cut in London but I've never heard it in anything but mono.Their Australian albums are only in mono as far as I know.

[Steve Hoffman]

Bill Inglot did a stereo remix of "Friday On My Mind" years ago along with many other Easybeats songs. The mixes are still around on various Rhino compilations.

I, on the other hand, would LOVE to hear the Easybeats in mono, since the crappy old domestic LP's on UA were all in fake stereo...

[indy mike]

Wow, Bill Inglot , stereo remix and nowhere to be seen is the phrase "chose not to use" all in one sentence - never thought I'd live to see that! Well mastered mono can be mighty ok, but that man just makes almost everything harsh and midrangy (although every time he uses Just Like Me on a comp it flat out kicks ***...)

[Cousin It]

Here's an article on the Easybeats career that has more on their early Australian career than is normally available O/S.I was at the Stevie Wright Selina's show in Sydney that's mentioned in the article,it was bloody awful,It was very sad.There is a link to a discography at the bottom of the page with Australian album track lists and cat.nos.

http://www.geocities.com/soho/square/8216/easybeats.htm

[Paul C.]

Can't add anything further to the Easybeats issue.

But I will add to my earlier rave, re the Australian CD market in general - it sucks.

If you're talking about "Top 40" material, most of the CDs available in Australia would be made here and would generally be pretty well packaged, very close to the product you would buy anywhere abroad.

When it comes to jazz, and older rock/pop, things are less rosy, as we indicated earlier. What really gets up my nose is the local record companies flogging old CD stocks of stuff that may have been remastered elsewhere years before. The shops perpetuate this by trying to sell the old stuff. I'm sure this happens everywhere, and it's a case of the consumer needing to be careful.

A few years ago, I wanted to obtain the 20-bit remaster of Miles davis' "Sketches of Spain". I knew it was out, and could have ordered it from Amazon or CDUniverse. But I waited, and waited, for a couple of years - only the older version in the Columbia Jazz Masterpieces series was in the shops. In this case, I think it was the local distribution (ie. Sony Australia) getting rid of old stock. To their credit, Sony are one of the few to have improved their game in AUstralia.

[pigmode]

Originally posted by Paul Christie
Also, Australian-made CDs are rarely shrink-wrapped or covered in cellphane.

Hey I'm moving to Australia. You wouldn't believe how many cases I crack due to impatience. Plus I hate the sticky anti-theft stuff!

My Icehouse--Great Southern Land is Aussie issue. It's pretty good.

I have a Heeler.

[Vivaldinization]

Re. the Easybeats, I'm pretty sure from Friday on My Mind on, the LPs are availible on CD in stereo from Repertoire (No. 3 could be stereo as well, but I don't remember, honestly.)

-D