David Bowie, Let's Dance MFSL lp

[Tullman]

I just picked up a this MFSL lp on ebay. I paid $25.00 for the lp. Thankfully I didn't have to bend over and grease up for it.

I know MFSL takes a bit of a beating on here. You know, the smiley face eq remark thrown around on here. I am not here to argue that the EQ isn't tilted a bit in the lows and highs. It is. This doesn't mean it totally sucks. Let's Dance is great.

I really enjoyed this lp. The vinyl was dead quiet with plenty of detail, imaging and sound stage. The special thing about this recording is that it features Stevie Ray Vaughn on lead guitar.

[vconsumer]

It's fascinating how wildly perceptions can vary. I find this MFSL pressing unlistenable: sharp, aggressive, fatiguing.

[Dave]

Originally posted by Tullman
I really enjoyed this lp. The vinyl was dead quiet with plenty of detail, imaging and sound stage. The special thing about this recording is that it features Stevie Ray Vaughn on lead guitar
I often wonder why MFSL didn't release this one as a cd, it would have been great!

[Gary]

Originally posted by Tullman
I know MFSL takes a bit of a beating on here. You know, the smiley face eq remark thrown around on here. I am not here to argue that the EQ isn't tilted a bit in the lows and highs. It is. This doesn't mean it totally sucks. Let's Dance is great.


Hey, I think MFSL knocked the audiophile world on it's arss! Even with the smiley face EQ, it always beat the pants off of stock releases!

Maybe it's just because Steve's work beats the pants of MFSL thay it tends to get a bum rap.

Hmmmmm seems like there are a few buns .... uhhh ... puns! ... in this response... :D

[Tullman]

Originally posted by vconsumer
It's fascinating how wildly perceptions can vary. I find this MFSL pressing unlistenable: sharp, aggressive, fatiguing.

It also depends on one's play back system. I didn't expect it to be a sonic master piece. I just thought it was nice and clean, including the vinyl surface. Keep in mind this recording was made in 1983. The production was typical for the time, with the type of effects, EQ, mix and other production tricks. I suppose for the first time I could hear everything that they used. It sounds better than the cds I am hearing from Bowie. I will listen again, but I really enjoyed it last night.

[Dave]

Tullman,

Have you ever heard the RCA Bowie cds? They really are superior to the other versions.;)

[DanG]

I didn't know SRV was on this. I will have to give another listen to this cassette.

One of the things that's struck me about the Smiley EQ recently is that this was exactly what I wanted on poorly recorded music, some more bass kick and better clarity on the highs. Maybe it was the recording, maybe it was my playback, but Smiley solved the problem, and made me smile. :)

Now that the recordings/playback/my ears are better, Smiley is less appreciated.:(

This is just WMETM (what my ears tell me)

[MMM]

Don't look too hard for an RCA CD of "Let's Dance" though. That came out on EMI.

[Tullman]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DanG
[B]I didn't know SRV was on this. I will have to give another listen to this cassette.

Most people wouldn't know SRV was on Let's Dance. On the video they show David Bowie playing guitar on SVR's lead.

[Oatsdad]

SRV was also supposed to play on the 1983 tour, but he bowed out at the last minute. Can't recall the specific reason - I think his manager was unhappy with the deal and wanted SRV to pursue his solo career, but I'm not positive. I do know it wasn't Bowie's idea.

And when I say "last minute", I mean it. The band rehearsed for quite some time with SRV on lead, but they never made it to the stage that way. Earl Slick - who played with Bowie on the 1974 tour and features prominently on the "Station to Station" album - replaced SRV. I have some, uh, "unofficial" recordings of the SRV rehearsals - not revelatory, but very interesting...

[Claus]

EMI will release a CD set of Ziggy Stardust as 30th Anniversary Edition mid of July. Newly remastered!!!

[Tullman]

Originally posted by Oatsdad
SRV was also supposed to play on the 1983 tour, but he bowed out at the last minute. Can't recall the specific reason - I think his manager was unhappy with the deal and wanted SRV to pursue his solo career, but I'm not positive. I do know it wasn't Bowie's idea.

And when I say "last minute", I mean it. The band rehearsed for quite some time with SRV on lead, but they never made it to the stage that way. Earl Slick - who played with Bowie on the 1974 tour and features prominently on the "Station to Station" album - replaced SRV. I have some, uh, "unofficial" recordings of the SRV rehearsals - not revelatory, but very interesting...

I thought he did Tour with the band and quit, but I am not sure. You probably are right. I did read somewhere that Bowie was cheap and offered SRV $300.00 per gig. Not much when one considers SRV's pedigree.

[Tullman]

Originally posted by Claus
EMI will release a CD set of Ziggy Stardust as 30th Anniversary Edition mid of July. Newly remastered!!!

Claus, let us know when it is release and give us a comparative review.:)

[Claus]

"The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spider From Mars" (1972 LP; 2-CD 30th anniversary edition)

(U.K./Europe - EMI, July 8; U.S. - July 16)

[Gary]

Will they let me trade my Virgin CD for the anniversary edition (he said sourly:mad: )?

I have four versions of this release. RCA LP (excellent), RCA CD (good), Polydor CD (tolerable, fair), Virgin CD (yeeeechh!).

Well I am a sucker for punishment, I guess.... I'll have to pick it up - but on sale!

[Humorem]

I once chanced upon an English import LP of this title and it went straight into my collection. Smooth, tubey, liquid sound, and punchy deep bass. The MOFI has wonky bass, not very deep compared to the Brit. Not a bad MOFI; give it a "B".

As is so often the case, when the right pressing comes along, it's time to put the MOFI up for sale. Until then, keep it around, it ain't bad.

TP

[Tullman]

Originally posted by Humorem
I once chanced upon an English import LP of this title and it went straight into my collection. Smooth, tubey, liquid sound, and punchy deep bass. The MOFI has wonky bass, not very deep compared to the Brit. Not a bad MOFI; give it a "B".

As is so often the case, when the right pressing comes along, it's time to put the MOFI up for sale. Until then, keep it around, it ain't bad.

TP

WOW!! If Humorem liked this one, it really must not be too bad. After what vconsumer said I had my doubts.

Gary, I like your idea. The record companies should let us trade our inferior discs for the new and improved version.

[mcow1]

Originally posted by Tullman


I thought he did Tour with the band and quit, but I am not sure. You probably are right. I did read somewhere that Bowie was cheap and offered SRV $300.00 per gig. Not much when one considers SRV's pedigree.

The story at the time (If I remember right) was SRV was offered union rates to play in Bowies backup band $300.00, Stevies first LP was just being released and he thought he would be better off on his own tour. I never heard of him playing on Bowie's tour but it is certainly possible.:)

[dwmann]

So far as I know SRV NEVER played on the tour with Bowie. When his first album was released he was offered his first real concert dates and opted out of the Bowie tour at the last minute to play with his own band. Bowie was not happy. However, offering SRV union scale for the tour was not unreasonable in 1983 - playing with Bowie could have been his first real break. Most people had never heard of him, and his first album was a big IF. No one had any idea his career was about to explode, including SRV. If his first album had taken a dive, SRV probably would have been better off touring with Bowie and gaining the experience and exposure, so NOT touring with Bowie was a big risk. And if things had turned out differently. He could have learned a lot from Bowie, who is a master showman.

In 1983 SRV was playing small halls, mostly in Texas. He was a great guitar player, and he had a small cult following, but his live shows sucked. He played for HOURS for very little money, tickets were dirt-cheap (the first time I saw him it cost $2), and his performances consisted of long cocaine-inspired jams full of Hendrix-style pyrotechnics that were boring after about 45 minutes. You could wander into a SRV performance at any time and not really miss anything, because it was all so repetitive, and even though the halls were usually full, there was a lot of turnover in the audience. However, that first 45 minutes before it got boring was pretty amazing no matter how many times you saw him. The man could PLAY.

The first time I ever saw him play in a real CONCERT setting with assigned seats, etc. was on New Years Eve 1983 in Houston. It was one of his first REAL concerts, just after the release of his first album, and over half the audience walked out before 12:00 AM. A good portion of the other half was milling around by the concession stands talking about what a great guitar player SRV was, but that everything he played sounded just like everything else, and how quick that got old.

The point is, in 1983, SRV was not someone who was obviously going to make it. He was someone everyone knew SHOULD make it if he could put it together, but there was no gaurantee that was ever going to happen. He took a risk and it worked out. However, when he agreed to work for Bowie for scale, he wasn't even making THAT. And Bowie was incredible on the Let's Dance tour even without SRV.

[John Carsell]

Originally posted by Claus
EMI will release a CD set of Ziggy Stardust as 30th Anniversary Edition mid of July. Newly remastered!!!

And let us hope they don't no-noise this new version while at it!

[Tullman]

Originally posted by dwmann

The point is, in 1983, SRV was not someone who was obviously going to make it. He was someone everyone knew SHOULD make it if he could put it together, but there was no gaurantee that was ever going to happen. He took a risk and it worked out. However, when he agreed to work for Bowie for scale, he wasn't even making THAT. And Bowie was incredible on the Let's Dance tour even without SRV. [/B]

My point is Bowie was making plenty of money. He featured SRV on let's dance. The guitar playing, albeit buried in the mix, was certainly not a generic studio guy's playing. The fact that SRV wasn't making much money at the time has nothing to do with Bowie being a cheap ****. It obviously took many years of hard work and study for SRV to reach the point of playing for Bowie. Why do people think it is ok to pay some lawyer $200.00 per hour to handle some simple legal matter but $300.00
to a first rate guitar player for an entire days work is plenty??

I bet the bar tender made more than the entire band during those Texas gigs. That shows you where people's priorities lie.

[Ben]

Bowie's cheapness is legendary in the industry....



Just his way, I guess.....he can afford it.

[Mart]

Originally posted by Dave

I often wonder why MFSL didn't release this one as a cd, it would have been great!

I wonder why Ryco AU20 never released it

[John Buchanan]

Ryko didn't handle his post RCA stuff (on EMI)