Elvis Costello Rhino Reissues

[GabeG]

Has anyone heard any of the latest Elvis Costello reissues?
Do they sound better than the typical Rhino reissues? How do they compare to the Rykos?

[PsychFan]

I've heard two of these so far: My Aim is True and Spike. My copy of Brutal Youth is on its way as we speak (or type). :) I have all the Costello Rykos.

I can't compare Spike to a Ryko 'cause there never was a Ryko of that; I only ever heard the original Warner Bros. CD. I've not A/B'd them yet but I heard no significant improvement in sonics. If anything, the new Spike is brighter, perhaps a hair too bright.

Regarding Aim, there's little difference in sound between it and the Ryko, I feel. Neither sounds as good to me as my copy of the original UK Stiff LP (which is sullied by the absence of "Watching the Detectives").

The best part of these new 2-CD issues for me are the additional bonus cuts, the fact that those bonus cuts are on a separate disc, and the new Costello-penned liner notes (and the photos). I still haven't decided to ditch all my Rykos for the Rhinos ... the jury's still out. I have to hear a few more Rhinos.

[Claus]

Believe me or not... they are better than the Ryko's!

[PsychFan]

T'anx Claus ... I actually haven't A/B'd Aim back to back. All I meant to say above is that when I heard the Rhino after being used to the Ryko for years, I didn't jump up and say "WOW! This is way better."

I'll have to try to make an A/B comparison. In the meantime, I'm going to slowly start collecting the rest of the Rhino's, I think ...

[Claus]

I would like to say... 5% better! Okay, that is not much, but they really sound better. I like the Rhino's*

* Sometimes they do a good job!

[Chip Stylus]

I found the Rhino "My Aim Is True" to have much better dynamics and a warmer bottom end. On headphones, the soundstage is wider, which may be a crosstalk/phase trick. More of a "ring" and less "fizz" on the top end.

[Matt]

Yeah, there seems to be more bass on the Costello (a number of Rhino discs, particularly the random compilations they make, seem to shave the bass, but not here), but the top on this album always seemed a bit much to me, not to mention a bit distorted. I don't have the original vinyl or anything, just the CD's, so I don't know if it's on every edition every made.

[KLM]

I purchased the first three Rhino Costello reissues and found them to be just a little better than the Ryko. I also purchased the latest three reissues and compared the Rhino reissue to its Warner Brothers original cd release. Not too much of a difference but as said before, I mainly purhcased these for the second cd of unreleased material. I would recommend these reissues, the sound is good (certainly no worse than the original releases and probably a little better) and the new material is terrific.

[GuyDon]

Although I own both the Rykos and the new Rhinos, I must qualify that I am no expert when it comes to a/b-ing. However, I did notice that the song Lip Service on Rhino's This Year's Model is, IMO, a huge improvement sound wise over Ryko.