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Steven
02-20-2002, 10:02 PM
>Subject: Review: Polygram Girl Groups release
>Newsgroups: alt.rock-n-roll.oldies
>View: Complete Thread (2 articles) | Original Format
>Date: 1996/06/22
>
>There are vague rumors that the stereo master tapes for all of >the Red Bird and Blue Cat label hits are in the hands of Steve >Hoffman at DCC Compact Classics.

Don't think that ever happened. A shame because because most Red Bird (as well as Dimension) recordings haven't been released in great sound on CD. The biggest hits might have appeared here and there in decent sound, but the lesser known songs only appear on "complete" collections, most of which I've heard aren't that impessive, soundwise.

The complete "Red Bird Story" on 4 CD's (Charly) is awful (CEDAR).

Comparing the hits on The Complete Cookies (originally Dimension, CD on Sequel) that also appear on the "Brill Building Sound" boxset (ERA/K-tel), the Sequel is duller, and I'm Into Something Good" has some noises on it that aren't found the box (which is tinny on a lot of songs).

I haven't heard the Rhino "Colpix-Dimension Story, so I hold out hope for that.

Can any one recommended their favorite CD's of Red Bird and Dimension recordings (especially Shangri Las, there are so many CD's, one of them has to be the best!)

Steven

Alan T
02-20-2002, 10:31 PM
The Very Best of Red Bird/Blue Cat Record on Taragon (TARCD 1029) is a very good place to start. 14 of 15 tracks are re-mixed stereo, very good. I wonder what happened to Shadow Morton's lawsuit with Polygram/Universal over the rights/royalties? There is still a need for a few more Shangri-Las tracks to be remastered/remixed.

Steve Hoffman
02-20-2002, 10:37 PM
Our Red Bird/Blue Cat project never panned out. Too many royalties, too much lawsuit potential. This was back in 1993.

We only had outtakes. We never could get the issued takes except in mono. Our outtakes went to Ron F., who found the rest of the good stuff I guess.

At the time we didn't want to offer a typical "collector" package of great sounding stereo outtakes and crappy mono "master" takes (like the Elvis "Sun Sessions" package), so DCC passed on the project though I still REALLY wanted to do it. :(