New 2cd Phil Spector import

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by jb foreverchange, Dec 2, 2006.

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  1. El Bacho

    El Bacho Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    My guess it's Abkco bundles the two CDs together to get rid of the current stock of the Christmas album. If Bob Ludwig, Steve Rosenthal and Teri Landi are involved in (and paid for) the retrospective, I doubt they would only remaster 22 titles from the catalog.

    Anyway, a copy of the Christmas album still makes a good Christmas present...
     
  2. I just bought the "Back To Mono" box from Amazon.com for $12.99 I purchased another CD (Steve's Zombies best of) so that I could get free shipping (both the box and the Zombies shipped for $28) not a bad deal I think.:) If this new set has stereo versions of these classic songs then it may be worth picking up cheap as an addendum to the box.
     
  3. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    Forgetting the wav forms and the peak levels for a moment... how does "Be My Baby" on the new CD actually sound as compared to the Back to Mono box set?

    Oops, I just saw KennyG answered this...
     
  4. KennyG

    KennyG Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    It sounds brighter and less muffled. I always found that the top-end on ''Back to Mono'' was lacking and it sounded a little murky.
     
  5. storrs19

    storrs19 Life is Mono

    Location:
    Louisville, KY USA
    I have the Abkco 1989 version of "A Christmas Gift For You" by Phil Spector on cd and it is definately the mono version.
     
  6. El Bacho

    El Bacho Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    I've just listened to most of the tracks on my equipment.

    Color me impressed. Vivid bass on "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Heart?", good general balance which makes the instruments both sound compact and detailed. It's an improvement over the "Back To Mono" boxset, which had quite strange EQ choices. I was a little afraid with the peak values but it turns out they didn't trigger much with the recordings.

    Only "River Deep Mountain High" is in stereo and I don't like the mix.

    "Spanish Harlem" is a fine bonus track. Spector's voice is sweet and pleasant and there are few recordings where he sings lead, so I'll take what I can.
     
  7. KennyG

    KennyG Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    Yeah, I was surprised at how good his voice was. He could easily have had a decent singing career...
     
  8. houston

    houston Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, Texas, USA
    I see today that Amazon wants $27.99, they have eliminated the 'source' fee:realmad: but cduniverse wants $61! I think I will wait a month and see if the price follows the Box set's downhill trajectory:winkgrin:
     
  9. KennyG

    KennyG Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    I'm not so sure it will. The reason why the price is so high is that its an import. Here in Ireland, it retails for an incredibly cheap €19.99 (the price of a new release single CD album), which I can't see it dropping for quite some time.
     
  10. El Bacho

    El Bacho Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    In the UK, you can even get them for £8.99 (Amazon, HMV), which is €10 or $13.
     
  11. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I'm not sure where you are getting your currency conversion rates. The wholesale rates today, according to www.xe.com, indicate that £8.99 = €13.28 = $17.65.

     
  12. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    I ordered a set from a seller in the UK - about $20 for the discs plus shipping. It's supposed to ship via airmail, so hopefully it will get here soon.
     
  13. El Bacho

    El Bacho Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    Sorry, I typed the wrong number with a Mac widget. I get the same values as you, now.
     
  14. ClausH

    ClausH Senior Member

    Location:
    Denmark
  15. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    My copy arrived today - the Christmas disc is straight mono and has the "Santa Spector" picture that was on the Pavillion lp cover on the disc itself. The hits set is a nice improvement over the murky mess that came with the original ABKCO boxed set. You can hear the details of Spector's handiwork quite clearly - the popping drums, clicking castanets, and that great Gold Star echo chamber on Be My Baby really sound great.
     
  16. mark f.

    mark f. Senior Member

    How can anyone listen to Spector in stereo? The mixes suck IMO. You can tell that almost everything is reduced to mono with the expection of some overdubs and all of the power is gone. It can't be that PS approves of those mixes can it?
     
  17. TimB

    TimB Pop, Rock and Blues for me!

    Location:
    Colorado
    I hope it sounds better than the Back to Mono, if it does, I would definitly pick it up!
     
  18. jojopuppyfish

    jojopuppyfish Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    I've been listening to the 1st disc for the past week.
    It sounds kind of loud. Better than anything else I've heard on cd, though.
     
  19. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey
  20. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I know it isn't fair to judge when listening through inexpensive computer speakers, but I dare say that at least with that setup I prefer your EQ'd version from the Back To Mono box. I hope I like the sound of the new set on my main rig more than I did the sample you posted here; it not only sounds loud but overly bright, too. (Please tell me that that's just due to my inexpensive computer speakers as I've already ordered the new comp and hate to think that I just threw away $20 on it.)

     
  21. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey
  22. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey
    I used the version on the new compilation to futz with - I don't have the box set...
     
  23. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Louder than the box - yes, but the box seems kind of low in level. The new set has hiss apparent, the grunge that many tracks from the box set have isn't there.
     
  24. Charlie990

    Charlie990 Senior Member

    Location:
    Perrysburg Ohio
    I received my copy of the new UK Spector set just today. After a run through on my main audio system using both headphones and speakers I am quite pleased with the overall sound of the greatest hits disc. This disc is now running on my computer system and still sounds good The harsh mono from the Back To Mono box set is now gone. The overall tone and EQ on the new disc sounds good to me. I always cringed when hearing the Back to Mono box. The only stereo track "River Deep Mountain High" on the new disc sounds OK to me. The Crystals' tunes seem to be the most improved sounding tracks on this disc . But so does Darling Loves "Wait For My Bobby To Get Home". While I wish there was a good stereo version of this entire disc available I am am quite happy with the mono sound here. I do not feel the over compression and over loudness found in many newer titles is present here. Bob Ludwig is credited as the remaster engineer. Charlie
     
  25. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Charlie - is your avatar from the pulled video for Spector's He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)? :D
     
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