Definitive Pink Floyd on CD

Hi all

I've been reading and reading... and reading... and it's a huge task to try to make sense of it all... Is there a definitive Pink Floyd CD guide?

I would really like to find what are considered the best CD versions for these titles in particular:

# Meddle (1971)
# The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
# Wish You Were Here (1975)
# Animals (1977)
# The Wall (1979)

I Know each of these there are several "good" CD versions... but if someone can point me out the most unanimously considered best versions, like the top 4 versions for each title, it would be great.

Can you help? Thanks

 

yep, those threads go on forever. Nothing definitive, because there has been no unanimous agreement on any of these titles.

 

Very true

Still, I'm pretty sure it should be possible to make a list of the top 3 or 4 favorites for each title....

 

Use the search facility, do the hard yards and propose your list based on forum research (with some stats) and then we can start again.

 

From what I remember reading here was that there was "sort of " a consensus that Pink Floyd fans are lucky because the Doug Sax remasters that are the most current remasters are very good and obviously very available.

 

Based off what I've read, here's the following versions that get the most acclaim (and if all else fails, you can always rely on a Sax remaster to get the job done):

Meddle: MFSL or CP32
Dark Side: Non-TO CP35-3017
Wish You Were Here: Sony Mastersound or 35DP 4
Animals: 32DP or Sax Remaster
The Wall: Original Columbia (ck36183) or original Harvest

If you want to get into more detail (blackface, black triangle, manufacturing differences, etc.), I recommend a search. I will say, however, that there are supposedly many versions of Animals, all much cheaper than the 32DP, that share the same mastering as the 32DP.

 

SergioRZ, I'd say this is about as good as it gets without going through every thread.

Quick question about Animals. Does the early US Columbia share the same mastering as the 32DP or 28DP (or 28 something)? I swear I've read it did somehwere, but I've also read people say the hated the US CK, but loved the 32DP (breath of life?)

 

Thanks

It does seem like the only unanimously acclaimed MFSL is Meddle...

Are the other MFSL Pink Floyd CD's not good? Are they usually considered to be inferior to the latest Doug Sax remasters?

 

I have read differing opinions on whether the MFSL or the EMI Swindon is best. MFSL seems to win out, but the Swindon has it's champions. So, majority, yes, unanimous, no.

 

How about a report and powerpoint presentation too?

 

The regular Doug Sax remasters are really great in my opinion and I think that they offer the “best bang for your buck".

 

Indeed, I like most of the Doug Sax remasters... but I believe there could be a little more refinement to the sound to make them more comfortable to hear at high volume levels. Sometimes I find them a bit too powerful (for lack of a better word) and edgy... I find myself hoping they could sound a bit more "old school" ehehehehe

Sure, for the money and availability, the DS remasters are absolute killers, very good indeed and not even close to the dreadful modern remasterings we are now used to have.

Still... my goal is to find something even better. Even if not the absolute best... I'm looking for smoother sounding versions, that make me "dream" more, fall into the music, and forget about the "noise" when I play them loud.

I was hoping the MFSL titles would be a good option as a first step in this way to smoothness... but only Meddle gets mentioned, and even that one is not unanimous as it was well pointed out.

 

I have several versions of most of these particular albums, and if there are differences, the differences are minor.

Pink Floyd has a very well produced and remastered catalog.

 

I wonder if one couldn't go wrong with the Animals Japan 25DP instead
of the much harder to find 32DP?

 

Does the Doug Sax remastered Animals have his name on it? Or how can you reconize it? Thanks, JD

 

I have the Doug Sax Animals cd, it's #CK68521on Columbia. It does say mastered by Doug in the liner notes. It also has a sticker on it that says
Pink Floyd Anniversary Edition.
BTW I just scored a NON TO Harvest Blackface of DSOTM on ebay for
$12 so I'm a happy camper tonight!


Mike

 

It's pretty easy. If you walk into Best Buy and say "I'd like a copy of Animals" the Sax version will be the copy they give you. If you're looking to buy used then look for a full color booklet with "mastered by Doug Sax" in it somewhere.

 

I'm not sure which CDs Sax has mastered, but there's two Animals remasters that I know of. The Columbia remaster came out in 1997. The Capitol remaster came out in 2000 (in the US anyway). The original USA Columbia had "Pink Floyd Animals" on the cover instead of just the power station. Check out this site for more info. Hope that helps.

IMO, I have yet to hear a "bad" sounding legit version of Animals. So far, I have had the most difficulty finding the US 97 Columbia remaster (anyone want to get rid of one? ).

 

And what is a "hard yard"?

 

Could somebody please tell me a couple of things I couldn't figure out in ALL my searching and reading of threads....what exactly is TO or non TO? and is the WG Blackface The Wall a different mastering than the Japanese Blackface, or is it just the pressing that makes it different?

 

For Dark Side, there's two Japanese pressings with the cat. number of CP35-3017. One has a TO in the matrix, the other doesn't. The non-TO is usually the preferred version.

From what I've read on The Wall, all the early Harvest CDs have the same masterings with different volume levels.

Regarding Meddle, I (and many others) prefer the MFSL, but some (like forum member Dave) prefer the CP32.

You asked prices:

Dark Side Blackface: $30-60
Dark Side Black Triangle (non-TO): $50-100

WYWH Mastersound: $50-100
WYWH 35DP 4: $200-500

Lastly, regarding all the different early versions of Animals, the best thing you can do is utilize forum member Vernon Fitch's website, which is astoundingly comprehensive. Go when you have time on your hands: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PFArchives/DiscTOC.htm

 

As far as know as fact:

TO and Non-TO are only important when referring to the Japan-pressed Dark Side Of The Moon. The 'TO' matrix usually means you have the second mastering. The first mastering(without the 'TO' in the matrix) is the forum preferred version. These exist on both Black Triangle and Blackfaced varieties, pressed in Japan.

The original unremastered Black-Faced Japan, West German, and UK Silver-faced Harvest CD's of 'The Wall' are all from the same mastering, but some have been output-level shifted. The UK is loudest, then the W German, then the Japan having the lowest output level. Some would say the pressings sound different, but to me, one just sounds a bit louder than the other, with no other differences.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Brilliant. Thanks, guys.

 

Jay F, I apologise for using Australian/British/NZ slang. It's not singular - the phrase is always used as in "do the hard yards", "putting in the hard yards".

The meaning is fairly transparent and probably came from Rugby, though you could transpose it to American Football.

How about "making an effort"?