Was "Fresh Cream" ever released on gold CD in stereo/mono like "Disraeli Gears" was? How do the DCC and MFSL titles hold up to the current Polydor CD's and the "Those Were The Days" box?
IMHO, the only CDs that are better on Those Were The Days are Goodbye Cream (the equalisation on the original album was tilted way toward the bass) and the Oakland Coliseum tracks from Live Cream Volume 2, which suffered a faulty transfer somewhere along the line during the production of the original Live 2 album and the MFSL CD - this was corrected on TWTD). AFAIK, no stereo/Mono version of Fresh Cream was ever released by DCC, although I seem to remember Steve wanting to do exactly that and it being vetoed.
So, thus is the tally? Fresh Cream: DCC Disreali Gears: MFSL Wheels Of Fire: DCC Goodbye: Box Set Live Cream: MFSL Live Cream 2: MFSL / Box Set (Oakland tracks)
That's it and, no, we never got the mono mixes for FRESH CREAM(well, you get "I'm So Glad" but then, you always will--has no stereo master, and wasn't even rechanneled for the Lp editions--mono over here on Atco, anyway). Too bad: a good mono Lp, packs a punch and tightens up the sound nicely. "I Feel Free" is the single mix, and it should have been a stateside hit(took almost a year, but finally Bubbled Under in Billboard in December '67--it had been issued here in January). ED
The original version (unissued) of DCC's "Fresh Cream" had the mono mixes of several songs (like "Rollin' & Tumblin'", and a few others that sounded way different in mono). PolyGram nixed it. HOWEVER, on the first pressing of the DCC "Fresh Cream" LP, the mono "Rollin & Tumblin'" survives as the last song on side two. A rare collectors' item!
Anybody here prefer the remaster of Disraeli Gears to the MFSL of this title? I have the MFSL and was wondering if it was worth picking up the remaster used on Ebay?
Its the same as the box set correct? I have the boxset and the MOFI, and i like the MOFI better,just smoother to my ears,not so fatiguing.
When the Box set came out, I was absolutely blown away by how much WORSE the Fresh Cream tracks sounded than on the DCC (one of Steve's best ever-has a punch my LP has never had). However, apparently, I'm the only one who prefers the Box Set's Wheels Of Fire tracks to the gold discs (kill me NOW). I also prefer the MFSL's Disreali & Goodbye. I prefer the Box for the Oakland tracks also. But Fresh Cream has by far the biggest difference.
What's the general feeling on the gold Disreali Gears? And is there still a Deluxe Edition of that on the horizon?
I might be in the minority here but I really like the mono/stereo option. There is no doubt in my mind that Steve could really make this album stellar but for now my money's on the MFSL.
There is only one Disreali Gears for me, and that is the MoFi gold disc. Every thing else is just this same tape with a giant treble bump. Urggh.
With regard to Goodbye, the original album obscured too much of Ginger's snare - you can't even hear the snare rolling at the very beginning of Sitting On Top Of The World, whereas on the TWTD set he is much more audible. Wheels of Fire sounds much brighter on TWTD than the DCC, but the deep bass is also a little rolled off. There are a few other problems on TWTD - distortion at the beginning of TrainTime (Jack's harmonica) for example that make me suspect that Steve's version may be the only one from the master.
Ginger had an actual snare? I thought he was just playing practice pads! (That's the engineer's fault). One can't make the snare come to life without dire consequences to the vocals and other instruments. Can't be done, so I left well enough alone!
Steve, that's why I didn't sell the MFSL Godbye even though I can hear Ginger better on the live Goodbye tracks on TWTD. I also would have missed the killer version of Politician therein that was one of the few track selection mistakes on TWTD - the other was the wimpy "new" version of NSU chosen (compared with that on Live Cream.) What was the story with the Oakland Coliseum tracks on Live Vol 2 - they sound like completely different mixes on TWTD.
Steve - Any clue as to why they'd allow the MoFi Disreali Gears with Mono and Stereo, and nix it in this case?
I've seen the Deluxe Edition listed as an upcoming release on some retailer web sites - but I'm not sure what's going on anymore. The tentative track list for the Disraeli Gears Deluxe that I saw included several BBC radio tracks from 1967. Perhaps the recent release of the BBC sessions has actually replaced the idea of a Disraeli Gears set...
Can you give us some more on the tentative track list? Stereo/mono like the MoFi, were there demos, outtakes? Just curious.