Cream's Disraeli Gears

[Mark H]

I know Steve's work on Fresh and WOF is definitive but is there a decent sounding Cd of Disraeli out there? I wonder why Steve never did this one. I suppose the re-mastered one is no-noised to death right?

[Sckott]

MFSL grabbed Disraeli before DCC, and since it was done fairly well, DCC skipped it. Steve wanted to.

The MFSL is possibly the better choice, IMHO. Not to say Steve couldn't a done better. But the mono and stereo versions are there. Get one if you can, or a CDR of it. Don't bother with the remaster. If you gotta get something not-so-bad, get the earlier Drake mastering. It's the Polydoor, with the framed pink artwork in the back. Should be obvious it's the old one. But the MFSL kills them both.

FWIW, Fresh and WOF blow Disraeli away anyways, especially in the DCC realm. Dowd recorded that album in sort of a rush because he had to. Raw sounding record. Not like how "Wrapping Paper" sounded with close vocals and textured sounds. They may have all wanted a 'live' as-is sound for Disraeli.

The remaster (as well as the Days box) is Eq'd real hot in the top end. It works for the rest of the catalog, but Disraeli specifically did NOT sound like that. Ouch.

[Dave]

Mark. Make sure if you grab Disraeli that you grab the UD1 version of MFSL.;)

Unless of course you're going for the vinyl.

[Todd Fredericks]

I like this MFSL CD. I thought it was very nice to include the stereo/mono versions of the album. The sound is pretty dull but I think that's the way it was recorded...

Todd

[Richard]

The MoFi is the best of the Disraeli CD bunch - no ands ifs or buts! However not the best of MoFi's and I was a little disappointed with the sound when I got it. Best Cream CD - by far - is DCC Fresh Cream. Now that's excellent sounding to my ears. A little disappointed with DCC Wheels ... CD also. No question the best available Wheels ... CD, but not up to sound on Fresh. Stay away from remasters at all costs - those CD's were criminal (IMHO)!

[Rob LoVerde]

Wow, I'm surprised that there aren't more of you that love MFSL's "Disraeli Gears"! I hunted down a copy as soon as our man Steve told me that it was transferred FLAT from the MASTER. I was actually knocked out by it!

As Steve once said, yeah it's a little dull, but it is what it is...

Or something like that.

;)

[Steve Hoffman]

Thazz right. It is what it is.

Now, I would have mastered it differently, but that's another story....

[Dave]

Steve,

So what's your vote the stereo or the mono?

Mono has to be the vote for me, it just sounds right. The stereo version just sounds too liquidy.

[Steve Hoffman]

Well, I like them both for different reasons.

That mono mix of "Tales" rules though!

[John Buchanan]

My biggest objection to the MoFi D.G is that the fold-out cover reproduction is printed in relatively low resolution - like so many of the MoFi booklets. War Child (Jethro Tull) is the worst example of this - very shoddy for a premium priced product. DCC would have done it with good sound AND crisp graphics.

[Andy]

The CDs come with graphics? WOWZA! That must be what all of those annoying papers are in front of the CD player.

[John Buchanan]

???????

[Michael]

Just Love that MFSL Stand Up ! One of the best ! Definitely stands alone.

[Mark H]

Thanks for input guys. Mo-Fi ultra disc one it is.

[Paul Chang]

I bought my MoFi Disraeli Gears at Costco. It was housed in a long, black platsic rack with a matching card in the back. I hate that platstic thing which gave my hands and wrists some torturing workout to get the jewel case out. Both the long card and the CD back cover say ULTRADISC II but the CD is labeled ULTRADISC (so is the fold-out poster cover) and MADE IN JAPAN. Which is it?

Love the Stereo/Monaural combination. It's quite interesting that for some songs two mixes of the same track have slightly different lengths. They must have come from different takes. It'll be fun to run a A/B test back and forth between S/T and Mono. Time to buy a CD-R machine. On a second thought, another copy of this disc could be cheaper.

Found this on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1517188584 Bidding ends in 20 mins and counting. "SEALED with original J card". UD II ?

[Rob LoVerde]

Paul,

The way I see it...if the disc says ULTRADISC, I assume it's a 1, not a 2...and vice versa, as they say.

:cool:

[Dave]

Paul,

That's a first! Usually it's the other way around UD packaging with UD2 disc. You're the lucky one!;)

Yup it's the UD2 as the UD1 doesn't have a J-card.

[Paul Chang]

Originally posted by Rob LoVerde
Paul,

The way I see it...if the disc says ULTRADISC, I assume it's a 1, not a 2...and vice versa, as they say.

:cool: Originally posted by Dave
Paul,

That's a first! Usually it's the other way around UD packaging with UD2 disc. You're the lucky one!;)

Yup it's the UD2 as the UD1 doesn't have a J-card.
Rob and Dave,

Thanks a lot! I thought I'd been had. Maybe over time MoFi changed the roman ULtRAD!SC TM to italic ULtRAD!SC and then transitioned to ULtRAD!SC II. Discs and cover got mismatched in packages during the transition period.

Most of my MoFi gold CDs were purchased at Costco so none of them have J-card, except for the UD II Queen: A Night At The Opera. The others, UD, UD or UD II, were all packaged in the aforementioned plastic rack/long card.

J-card means UD II but UD II could be packaged in other ways.
Is it possible that a sealed UD II package with J-card actually has a UD disc inside?

Post No 200 already? I should use my ammo more sparingly. Well, at least I try to shoot straight most of the time. :rolleyes:

[Rob LoVerde]

Hey Paul,

Being that I came into the MoFi game in 1993, I never purchased any Ultradisc "ones". However, there have been several times when I bought a CD with a J-Card that said Ultradisc 2 and there was a "one" disc sitting inside the case. Sometimes the booklet would say "Ultradisc" and the disc would be a "two". Sometimes the inlay card would say Ultradisc 2 and the disc would be a "one". All this and vice versa. Aw, the heck wit it!

:confused:

[Andy]

The moral of the story is DO NOT buy a sealed MoFi disc unless it’s from a dealer that will allow a return.