Moondance

[RandyHat]

What is the best version of Van Morrison's Moondance currently available? I've got an old vinyl copy that is seems to be recorded well but has too many loud pops and scratches. I also have it on CD but it is not one of the remastered Van Morrison CDs. I would prefer to find a good viny re-issue. What do you think of the WEA vinyl re-issue? Are there other vinyl re-issues of this album available?

Thanks

Randy

[peterC]

Don't know about the vinyl, but on CD the first 3 Van albums Astral weeks/Moondance/His Band and Street Choir have not been remastered. I think Warners retained the rights to those three.

The good news however is that the sound of those original release CDs, particularly the 2nd and 3rd is pretty good.

[cunningham]

This is one where you have to just give Port your credit card number and wait. Very mysterious.

[peterC]

Originally posted by cunningham
This is one where you have to just give Port your credit card number and wait. Very mysterious.

Are we talking CD or LP here?

[RandyHat]

Originally posted by cunningham
This is one where you have to just give Port your credit card number and wait. Very mysterious.


I'm sorry but I have no idea what this means....

Randy

[TommyTunes]

I always thought that the Superdisk version was pretty good. So are original Green label WB versions.

[cunningham]

i was refering to lp

[clayton]

Van recently signed a deal with universal music and got the rights to all his back catalogue titles so I would guess that the warners titles would be remastered, Vans official web site may have details on this. I have the warners cd of moondance and it sounds ok to me.

[Lorin]

Clayton,

It wasn't clear to me that those few Warners titles were included in the new deal. Was there ever a list of the individual titles posted anywhere to confirm Astral Weeks and Moondance will be part of the transfer?:confused:

[peterC]

The Polydor press release says the agreement "includes the rights to a back catalogue of thirty titles".

Start countin' em!

[Gary]

Originally posted by RandyHat


I'm sorry but I have no idea what this means....

Randy

Randy, I believe that it means that you should contact Tom Port or "Humoreum" (see the SH home page under Better Records) and ask for the best copy of this release. Tom, because of his position as a seller of new and used music, gets to audition many many LPs. He has probably heard hundreds of versions of Moondance, all different stamper numbers. There are differences between pressings, masters, mothers, etc. and he probably has the best sounding LP version of this title in the world. Or so he says! I tend to believe him.

It may be a bit pricy but if you have an all time favorite record, it may be worth it.

[Sckott]

Yeah, the green label WB issues are best, if you can find them. The Polydoor/UNI remasters are ok, but boosted high end, and sometimes thin. :(

[Craig]

Originally posted by peter castanos
The Polydor press release says the agreement "includes the rights to a back catalogue of thirty titles".
Start countin' em!

You can go back thirty titles easy without getting to the first three Warner Bros. releases. I don't think they're part of the deal.

1.Astral Weeks (1968)
2.Moondance (1970)
3.His Band and the Street Choir (1971)
4.Tupelo Honey (1971)
5.Saint Dominic's Preview (1972)
6.Hard Nose the Highway (1973)
7.It's Too Late to Stop Now (1974)
8.Veedon Fleece (1974)
9.A Period of Transition (1977)
10.Wavelength (1978)
11.Into the Music (1979)
12.Common One (1980)
13.Beautiful Vision (1982)
14.Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (1983)
15.Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast (1984)
16.A Sense of Wonder (1985)
17.No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986)
18.Poetic Champions Compose (1987)
19.Irish Heartbeat (with the Chieftains) (1988)
20.Avalon Sunset (1989)
21.The Best of Van Morrison (1990)
22.Enlightenment (1990)
23.Hymns to the Silence (1991)
24.Best of Van Morrison Volume Two (1993)
25.Too Long in Exile (1993)
26.A Night in San Francisco (1994)
27.Days Like This (1995)
28.How Long Has This Been Going On (1996)
29.Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison (1997)
30.The Healing Game (1997)
31.The Philosopher's Stone (1998)
33.Back On Top (1999)
34.The Skiffle Sessions - Live in Belfast (2000)
35.You Win Again (2000)
36.Down The Road (2002)

[Beowulff]

I'm sorry but I have no idea what this means....

Actually, I think the poster was refering to the long ago announced, but yet to show DVD-A. One track was included on one of the dvd-audio samplers and I've seen the artwork for it, but no reason as to why it hasn't been released. This was one of the titles that kept showing up and then being postphoned on Rhino's website before they finally took it off completely. A number of the online dvd sites were at one time accepting pre-orders for it.

[cunningham]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Craig
[B]

You can go back thirty titles easy without getting to the first three Warner Bros. releases. I don't think they're part of the deal...........

nice list, but man, do i feel out of it!
these are the only releases i need for the desert island thing.



1.Astral Weeks (1968)
2.Moondance (1970)
3.His Band and the Street Choir (1971)
4.Tupelo Honey (1971)
5.Saint Dominic's Preview (1972)
6.Hard Nose the Highway (1973)
8.Veedon Fleece (1974)
9.A Period of Transition (1977)
10.Wavelength (1978)
17.No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986)
18.Poetic Champions Compose (1987)
20.Avalon Sunset (1989)
22.Enlightenment (1990)
23.Hymns to the Silence (1991)
25.Too Long in Exile (1993)
28.How Long Has This Been Going On (1996)
30.The Healing Game (1997)
31.The Philosopher's Stone (1998)
33.Back On Top (1999)


is he good or what?

[peterC]

Originally posted by Craig


You can go back thirty titles easy without getting to the first three Warner Bros. releases. I don't think they're part of the deal.



Yep that's them alright!

Leave out the new one which is not part of his "back catalogue" and the first 3 and the "How Long.." album and fix the numbering and you're left with 30 just as the press release says.

[peter]

Originally posted by TommyTunes
I always thought that the Superdisk version was pretty good. So are original Green label WB versions.

Correct. The Superdisc is beautiful, and even if the vinyl looks scratchy, it still plays well, at least mine does. As for U.S. WB green label origs, look for ones that end in 1A in the run out grooves. I have both Astral and Moon this way and they are great. I also have an orig. UK orange label Moon but haven't played it yet.

Peter

[Joseph]

Last night I listened to the regular "non-remastered" Moondance and was pleasantly surprised at the sound quality. There's more on the master i'm sure but definitely a decent sounding cd.

Followed it up with Van's latest "Down The Road" and found that I preferred the sonics on Moondance! His new one has some hardness on the vocals.

Never woulda thunk it.:confused:

[GoldenBoy]

Oh but the new one is a really, really good album. I dig it man, even if it does sound like he went backwards musically. But, so what? He still does it well, and retro seems to be the way to go for most 'older' acts these days. Bowie, Elton John, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, they've all done it rather succesfully. As for the Moondance CD, it sounds alright to me, if not a little muddy.

[Joseph]

Originally posted by GoldenBoy
Oh but the new one is a really, really good album. I dig it man, even if it does sound like he went backwards musically. But, so what? He still does it well, and retro seems to be the way to go for most 'older' acts these days. Bowie, Elton John, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, they've all done it rather succesfully. As for the Moondance CD, it sounds alright to me, if not a little muddy.

Agree with you about the music on "Down The Road". One of his best efforts in a long time.

In terms of Moondance I wonder if there are differences in some pressings because I didn't notice any muddiness on my copy #CD 3103 pressed in Canada by Cinram. Definitely looks like an early pressing.

[Jeffrey]

Originally posted by TommyTunes
I always thought that the Superdisk version was pretty good. So are original Green label WB versions.

Hi,

I agree 100%, the Superdisk is very good!

-Jeffrey

[John Carsell]

I bought a new German vinyl pressing (not the 180 gram version) from Port earlier this year. Good sound and the cost was only $17.00.

He did say the Direct Disk Labs Superdisc were the best ones tho.

[MMM]

It seems to me that there are two different mixes out there of this album. The Direct Disk Labs Superdisc LP, which I understand is the best version ever (I have one and it sounds wonderful) and the import that Tom sells (probably the same one I bought from him a few years back) both seem to have a different mix than "common" U.S. versions (don't know about other imports though). The biggest difference is that tamborine on "Into the Mystic".

Now, the only versions I own of "Moondance" are the two LP's mentioned above, so I can't compare to an original W7 green label LP, but anytime I've heard tracks from this album that weren't played off either of these two LP's (whether on the radio, or someone else with the CD, etc. - a poor comparison I know), the mix sounds a little different to me, and I've definetly never heard that tamborine on "Into the Mystic" anywhere else.

Does anyone know if all the songs are different mixes between the "common" U.S. versions and the Superdisc and the Tom special import? I get the impression that most, if not all the songs are. Why are there different mixes out there and what were they intended for? Any help would be appreciated.